Although SIGGRAPH officially ended last Thursday, its reach continued into Friday when 3D Animation & Visual Effects alumnus Lino DiSalvo, Disney Supervising Animator and voice of Vinnie the pigeon in Bolt, visited with students to review their reels. DiSalvo, who had already treated students to a wildly entertaining presentation the day before, provided valuable feedback from his years of experience at the world’s largest animation studio.

One beneficiary was 3D student Bob Wijgman, who provided us with this account of the day.

Guest Post by Bob Wijgman

I remember about three and a half years ago I started working in 3D. The first two years were quite hard. I was working in my parents attic for days and nights, learning how to work with these insanely complicated 3D programs. I’m from a rural place in the Netherlands so nobody understands what you’re going through. These years were quite lonely. But stubborn as I am, I stepped up and kept learning and learning. Because I had my own important deadline — I had to finish this shot, or I had a major problem which I hadn’t solved yet.

At SIGGRAPH, I’ve met to so many big people from the industry. It’s funny if you think about it. This lonely, locked-up boy in the attic, from a small town in the Netherlands, talking to all the big animators who work on amazing movies. But the best part was yet to come — Animation Supervisor Lino DiSalvo, who worked on Chicken Little, Tangled, Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, and the upcoming Prep & Landing, came by to check out our stuff. I don’t think I’ve been that nervous since I came to Vancouver for the first time. He gave me some really nice feedback about my animation, which I will be sure to apply in the future. I think he was talking for half an hour straight about poses, animation, and how he approaches problems. It’s so nice when people speak your “language”.

What I want to say with this story is that no matter where you’re from and which computer you are using, you’re not going through this alone. You will meet people who speak your “language” and understand your artistic input. And if you’re lucky and keep working hard, maybe, just maybe you will meet someone who can give you amazing feedback on your work, which will help you to become better at what you love to do most. And for me, thats animating.

Thanks, Bob!

Update: 3D student Andrew McCartney shares his experience with Lino DiSalvo.

Last Friday, just as we thought all the wonderful and crazy events from SIGGRAPH were over, we were visited by a team from Disney including none other than Lino DiSalvo himself. It was obvious that all the students were really looking forward to the presentation, since everyone had jammed themselves into the first few rows, eager to have a good seat.

The presentation was, as far as we know, the first time Walt Disney Animation Studios have visited VFS and it was amazing to hear from their own recruiters exactly what the studio is looking for from new graduates. We were shown some examples of student reels that resulted in students being accepted into their training programs. What really surprised me about it was how much thought and effort they put into selecting applicants. Each member of the team seemed to have really connected with the students who applied, and it was obvious that they spent a lot of time reviewing the reels that they considered for the positions.

What was even more inspiring was having Lino DiSalvo visit the the Antfarm, and watch a few of my classmates reels. Hearing advice and tips from a Supervising Animator at Disney is really an amazing opportunity which most students around the world would never get. All in all, it was an amazing day to wrap up an awesome week.

Thanks, Andrew!

Also on Friday was the presentation by Weta Digital Visual Effects Supervisor, Chris White. White, who started at Weta on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and spent three years working on Avatar, wowed the audience with the detailed CG animals Weta created for Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

While his talk sparked a flurry of highly technical questions, White stressed the importance of research, describing their trips to the Wellington Zoo to observe captive monkeys and apes. Small details, such as the fact captive chimps tend to overgroom, leading to patchy fur, allowed the Weta team to model characters that would “read as real chimps” on the screen. To give some sense of the project’s scope, 30 modelers at Weta worked on grooming the chimps’ fur alone, while the characters’ eyes were under a continual process of refinement that took between six to eight months.

Asked what he likes most about his job, White said, apart from seeing final shots on the screen, that it’s the people on his teams that make his work worthwhile. “The longer you’re in the industry, the more it becomes about the people.” He also stressed the importance of taking time to go outside. “Go out and look at the world. How can you be good at your job, recreating the real world, if you don’t take the time to look at it?”

Thanks, Chris, and the crew from Weta Digital!