Pixar is responsible for creating and animating many of the films I enjoyed when I was younger and still enjoy today. The Cooper Hewitt museum currently has one of the greatest and most influential exhibitions I’ve been to. The exhibit contained several different conceptual pieces all created for the many different movies they’ve made. The artwork gives the audience a better understanding of all the work that was put into a single film work they otherwise would never see as some of it never made it to the final film.

When you first walk into the museum you are given a digital pen to collect whatever piece into your collection to observe from home. This pen is very useful and extends the experience to your home to show family and friends what to expect when they choose to visit. With this pen I had chosen many different pieces that I found interesting and one of the first things to get my attention is the concept artwork done for Woody the cowboy from the Pixar film Toy Story.

The specific piece, as there were several, I’m referring to is labeled as Study, Woody, Toy Story, 1995. Bud Luckey did this piece on 8.5×11 paper in pencil. The museum only has this piece for a limited amount of time. The piece actually got my attention because as I observed it I realized how much thought went into the characters design. This design can be distinguished as its own character apart from Woody because of how different it seems. The color scheme is the same but the form and actions seem to pull away from the character. You can tell they started from this and slowly arrived to the Woody we have today.

The simplicity of the design Woody currently has contrasts the design Buzz has. Buzz in the movie is at first a competitor for Andy, the toys owner, because of Buzz being more advanced and from space. Buzzes design has a lot more details that distinguish him and make him a more modern toy. This design actually seems to have that same feeling of being outdated but has too many features, and the body being heavier doesn’t work well with Buzz. The next piece discussed is actually concept art for the first prequel Pixar has done Monsters University.

There were several different pieces that were displayed for the film but the one that got my attention was the concept art done for the character Sulley, called Concept Art, Sulley, Monsters University, 2013. At first I thought this was concept art for the first movie Monsters Inc. but then read it was actually for the prequel. The simplicity of this concept art is what got my attention. Rickey Nierva using both ink and watercolor on 10.25×6 inch paper did this piece. As a watercolor artist I had an admiration for the piece because I saw how simple it was and how if you take away the ink you’d have an unrecognizable blob of paint. With the ink you see the professionalism this artist had when giving this character his form. However this concept art seems to drive away from the character we knew from the original film.

Sulley in the films is known to be a very talented scarer, but this depiction is supposed to give us a younger version of the character and loses the strength the character has. The concept art seems too friendly and incapable of being scary. The expression the painting shows make Sulley look clumsy, but this is not the artist’s fault because, as said in the description, the character wasn’t fully realized yet in the production of the film. The last piece I’m discussing has to do with something around the character.

A Bugs Life was a very unique film exploring the life of insects specifically Flik. Flik was an inventor in the film whose inventions were created to help his colony. The first invention we seen in the film is the harvester. The drawing itself is labeled Concept Art, Flik’s Harvester, A Bug’s Life. Bob Pauley using markers, pencils and ink on 11×17 inch paper created the concept art in 1998. The artwork itself details how the invention works and how it was made using only nature itself. From this we can see the work and thought put into making this look possible for talking ants. The work also models the invention around the character taking into consideration the scale of the machine over Flik and giving him natural handles for him to operate the machine. The piece itself is a very rough sketch but gets the message across on the color scheme and natural feeling the invention needs to have. You can even see writing pointing out the various functions certain parts need to have.

Overall I enjoyed my experience at the Cooper Hewitt museum and enjoyed getting a second look at the pieces that interested me online. I hope to revisit the museum again before the Pixar exhibit is removed, as I would like to take the time to see each piece in person again. The exhibit made me think and respect the films I grew up with even more than they did before and make me look forward to any future work Pixar produces.

Links to artwork descriptions:

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/visits/ncc2t/89718053/

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/visits/ncc2t/89719893/

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/136251433/

So we’ve been first working at this office around 23nd street, It was where I was interviewed and worked at for the first few weeks. It was very nice, very comfortable, with a nice open space, They even had a break room for coffee refreshments and  other snacks. Unfortunately we needed to move because of budget issues and ended up at a different location at the IAC Building. It was much nicer there much larger space better snacks and a huge variety of coffee and candy. But again we had to move, We stayed at the IAC building for only about a week and soon moved to our current location. We are now working on 75 Varick St, same office as New York Magazine. Its a much smaller space for us but still comfortable.

As soon as the second interview ended I asked when I should expect to hear back from them. They told me the very next day I would receive an email on whether or not I was hired. The next day I did receive the email asking me to join them along with my first assignment, and I was incredibly excited. My first assignment involved animating a ladybug holding a peace sign to fly around a person in a photograph. As soon as I walked in to the office I was given a space to work and was asked to create more variations of my animation. I spent my first day animating my ladybug, and was even asked to present my work to our potential investors. It felt really great knowing they liked what i was doing. Unfortunately not all the various different version i made could be uploaded and fit into this post.

After submitting my test Lisa got back to me a few days later, she let me know that she really liked the work I did. I was really excited because she told me she wanted me to meet her boss Brian. I scheduled the interview for after Mondays class at 3. I was actually pretty early I got there around 2:30 but they had no problem talking to me then. I met Brian and he explained what the main goal of the company is, to get people more likes on instagram. They said I was the only one of their applicants to crop they’re test to the right size and liked what I can do. This included the traditional style drawings and paintings I make. I was a little worried when they told me I wasn’t exactly what they were looking for, but they did say that they needed someone like me.

So after looking for a few weeks a start up got in touch with me. Someone named Lisa through email, asked me to come in for an interview. I was excited but nervous at the same time, I wanted to research the company but they had very little web presence. Their website had some content but didn’t make it very clear what they did. Because it was an interview I prepared by revising my resume, making sure I had everything I needed, and dressing sharp. When I got there I wasn’t as nervous as I though I would be. The person interviewing me was an intern representing the boss because he was, at the time, out of the country. It was a very comfortable environment and Lisa asked me questions like “what I wanted to do in a couple of years from now” and what is my “goal”. I told her that I didn’t really know because I’m open to most things and I would want to find something where I’m comfortable. After the interview Lisa send me a test to see the type of skills I have. It was a simple photo and the test was to do a touch up, an artistic version, and a gif. This is what I sent them.

Before I started the class this semester I was worried about how and when I would find an internship. I had actually started doing the research a few weeks before the class started. I set up an account on internships.com and already had applied to a couple of places and so far none of them got back to me. I actually was getting tired of applying through websites so i went ahead and looked up a few companies emails and phone numbers. Still didn’t receive many replies.