by Jake Friedman

With the June 9th release of Cars, Pixar takes a step back towards its roots of animating anthropomorphic objects. However, this time the trap is sprung with a cultivated talent for art direction and design that has taken decades to perfect. As we’ve seen in making-of books, DVD extras and museum exhibits, the Pixar design team works as hard on the pre-production process as it does on the actual animation. Though maybe not as technologically innovative, the approach of these artists using clay, wire, pencil, paints and paper is to inspire the final product just as the classic artists have done since the golden age of animation.

Jay Shuster, as a Pixar sketch artist, is one such person. Though his art cannot be seen directly on the screen, he is one of the talented few who shapes the look of the movie. I had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about what work is like for a sketch artist at the world’s most popular CG studio.

JF: How much does pre-production art influence the final Pixar film?

JS: I’ll start with this bonus statement just because I like the imagery: Story is the fuel, Art is the engine and Technology is the transmission. Story and Art power the project, Technology finds the best way to get the power to the road, and management makes sure the project doesn’t get sideways or burn up the clutch. The projects I’ve contributed to naturally commence with pre-production art, however there’s not real perceived boundary between pre- and production art. It seems to me pre feed into the serious, committed production realm fairly seamlessly. The art continues to evolve as story evolves. And this continues, in some cases, right to the end when the film releases. So yes, pre-production art is very influential on the final film.

JF: How do you approach drawing differently as an artist for a CG film?

JS: Presently there’s no huge difference here. As I continue to dial into the needs of technical directors, shaders and painters, I suspect my skill set will grow to forecast the needs and wants of the technical. This doesn’t mean accommodation at the price of design – it just means designing smarter so when a specific kind of shader, for example, needs to be applied a particular way, the geometry is there to accept it. Speaking of my actual physical drawing materials, they’ve remained unchanged for decades. I’m using ellipse templates I bought with lawn-mowing money in high school, the T-square I bought in college, and Pixar provides all the pencils, pens and markers. I’ll do some simple Photoshop re-work if necessary for presentation. Since starting at Pixar about three years ago I’ve experienced a re-birth of sorts concerning the finish of my artwork. Previous job customs and expectations drove me to execute a certain level of polish in my drawings. Not a bad way to hone a technique. But spending time on my presentation skills was cutting into my invention time. I’d much rather spend a week pumping out reams of ideas as opposed to producing a few pieces of fine art. Pixar is a perfect fit in this respect. Knowing I can sketch on a piece of paper towel (with stain) at a moment’s notice, hang it up at a review and the idea gets noticed blows the creative process wide open.

JF: What particular instructions are you given at Pixar?

JS: I’m not instructed, per se, yet the people and culture of the place compel one to act. Consider these:
Talk to strangers – they’re not stealing your lunch money or climbing over you to be the next project lead (… I haven’t experienced this). The people are authentic, happy people (a rare breed in the tiny San Francisco bay area film circles). By the way, the “people in the lab coats” [i.e. the tech innovators] are your friends. They don’t wear lab coats but they do invent the software that makes the ghost flames rendered over metal flake paint look not-of-this-world.

Assert yourself – speak up, speak out, ask questions.

Play – research for these films is all about play. It is also essential to the process. People on Nemo went on that fabled scuba diving trip to Hawaii… The Cars project took numerous drives down Route 66 to take in the rich patina and history of the Mother Road. It’s play and it’s homework. You immediately know when someone hasn’t done their homework – you pick it up in the obscure details, in the overall proportion of things. Your eye knows when something is off. If you can’t relate to the minutia in a movie, it’s hard to focus one’s attention on that all-too-often-overlooked Story thing.

Educate yourself – keep an open mind. Pixar sponsors internal classes and pays for extracurricular.
Relax – you’re making cartoons. Really excellent cartoons. (… okay,we’re deadly serious about making extremely excellent cartoons.)

JF: What would be your ideal job?

JS: I’m there.