How Pixar Inspires Computer Animation Students

Is Pixar your dream employer? You're not alone. The CG animation film studio draws the most talented animation degree graduates from across the nation, each hoping for a chance to create the next Wall-E or Toy Story.

What's so inspiring about the studio? For many students, inspiration rests in the company's ability to fuse cutting-edge technology with the old standards of a high-quality animated film. Animation studios like Pixar inspire students to head to the drawing board, earning animation degrees to match their interests and help them compete in this inspiring industry.

Pixar Promotes Authenticity in Animation

Animator Simon Allen appreciates how the studio invests time in making authentic movies. "When you look at the films, you see that we really go into in-depth research with the subject matter so that it has that level of authenticity," he recently told The Vine. For Wall-E, he reports that animators researched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton films.

Whether Pixar animators are working on cutting-edge CG animation or character modeling, they still have to respect a basic level of research and connection with the characters they create. That combination of reality and high-tech innovation is another element that inspires students at computer animation schools across the country.

Inventing the Future of 3D Rendering

Innovation when it comes to 3D rendering and 3D animation is another key benefit of working at Pixar, and another reason why computer animation students are inspired. As the studio's stereoscopic supervisor, Bob Whitehill takes charge of preparing the studio's films for release in 3D theaters throughout the country.

When describing the 3D effect to CNet News, his excitement for the technology shines through. "But imagine if [a scene] is dimensional, and you're seeing burning trash and heat ripples or the jagged edge of a railroad trestle over a canyon," he says. "It's almost like a premium experience, almost like seeing it on a big bright screen rather than a smaller screen."

Pixar's "Brain Trust" Inspires Animators

Inspiring leadership in any business is built from a basis of trust. Perhaps Pixar's inspiring place in the minds of computer animators comes from the trust young animators put in their elders, including John Lassetter, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter.

As Simon Allen embarks on his next Pixar project, he thinks back to that "brain trust" of original animators. "These guys have a fantastic relationship with each other, and they've created this environment at Pixar where you can throw ideas at each other and it feels very safe," he says. "You're never going to get shot down. Those guys are the reason why Pixar is so successful."

Ready to join the ranks of a top company like Pixar? Learn more about computer animation schools and take your first steps towards a professional education in an industry you admire.