i have a question about content.
I understand that one should gear his/her content to the studio being applied to (ex- sending a gory short to nickelodeon, i’m guessing, would be a huge risk)

But are there certain (more universal) subjects that should be left out of a demo reel? (religion, sex, politics, etc)

Speaking for myself, I was brand new to using any kind of graphic software when I started studying CG animation a year and a half ago. BRAND NEW — no Photoshop experience, no MSPaint, no Adobe products to speak of at all on my Macbook aside from the giant beast that is Maya.

So I of course started out using stock rigs provided by my school, and never altered them (because I simply did not know how). I always envied those that did alter them, because YES, they are so much more appealing to look at and DO allow me to focus more on the animation at hand. Using unmodified stock rigs myself for so long, I was very tired of them and recently taught myself some basic modeling and Photoshop techniques in order to modify my own characters…for my own viewing enjoyment (not necessarily because a blog post told me to). It makes looking at my own work more bearable, and I can only imagine makes a demo reel review day at a studio more interesting as well.

Like Andrew said, it’s not about BUILDING a whole rig/model yourself. But you’d be amazed how far some hair, ears, glasses, or basic clothing applied via Photoshop can go. I know I was.

- Rob Somers

What percentage of applicants actually have the animating craft strong enough so that you can evaluate whether their acting chops are a fit for the studio? (or to put it another way, what percentage of people who submit are not yet ready for the big league?)

thanks, keep up the great work on the blog

“You’re not wrong, Walter, you’re just an @$$h0l3″

Sorry, Big Lebowski relapse. It happens from time to time.

I’ve seen your student work Andrew, and I really loved it especailly the flour sack short animation. I have also seen various other Pixar animators student/early work and it has all had great thinking behind it with great talent in animating it. I honestly haven’t seen any better work than it currently today, and whoever said that you guys wouldn’t get into Pixar today doesn’t really know what they are talking about.

Also about the stock rigs. I 100% agree with you Andrew on the alterations to them. If the piece you are creating is for an exercise to help to you learn animation which isnt for your reel, then dont alter. But it is the same in all walks of the working life…..presentation is key. I know for applying as an animator they will look for great animating skills, but also for someone who really loves their work and will put in the extra time to make it their own, and be the best it can be. It tells a lot about the person strangely enough in what rigs they use, and how they use them.

I encourage Tim to go to one of your animation master classes and see what Pixar animators are really like; I think he will change his mind.

Let me try to address you comments. First off I am sorry if I come of as pretentious. I don’t want to. I’m sorry that you think Pixar animators are that way. We are not. In fact, I think Pixar animators are a humble group of artists. I can’t speak for any of them, but I care about the medium and helping people weed through the BS. I can see how it might seem that we are sitting on a high horse, judging. I suppose there might be some truth to what you say, but in general we only have the best intentions when looking at work.

Now, if you don’t like what I have to say, that’s one thing. But I can’t sugar coat the process and just tell you that no matter what, as long as the animation is great, you can use any rig. I’m mostly talking about a stock rig with no modifications such as hair, makeup, props etc… It’s great to see a scenario where an animator is really thinking about the who, what when and where of the character they are doing. If they are just using a stock rig on a grid bg, then its hard to see that detail.

As for you comment ” It was a lot easier to get into Pixar in the earlier days when a lot of the higher ups got in. I wonder if any of them would be able to get in if they tried to apply with all of this amazing competition now. Something tells me I doubt it.”

First off, how do you know it was so much easier to get into Pixar back then? Did you work there? Did you apply? Because of the maturity of the medium, less might have been expected, but it was equally as hard. It was and still is about the quality of the animation, the ideas, and character. I guess you could say the same about someone like Babe Ruth. “Ah, I doubt he would have been as great with all the talent out there now.” Not true…

I got in to Pixar after working at Warner Brothers for 2 and a half years. I had some 3d looney tunes stuff, two Bug tests (yes I built the rigs) and a 2 and a half minute short of a flour sack acting like Rambo. You are probably right that I might have a tough time getting in now, but the thing is, a recent intern got in on a very similar assignment. A flour sack… People saw the quality of his timiing, ideas and raw talent. So 12 years later, someone was able to do impress enough people with a simple half filled sack of flour.

So you say, get off your high horse… Maybe the post does sound a bit pretentious, and I am at fault for that… I have been known to be a bit rough around the edges. The thing I have to say to you is to not let a post on demo reels upset you. Let it push your work to the next level. I am just being painfully honest. If you don’t like it, change the channel.

-Andrew