How Pixar Influenced Me

In the years that I’ve been alive, a lot of art and media has influenced me as an artist. I’ve been able to hone in on these skills that I’ve picked up on to personalize my own artwork and writing skills, improving them greater than I’ve ever thought possible. These studios, such as Disney, Dreamworks, and Warner Bros., have opened my eyes to what a drawing or writing piece can do in the mind of an individual, but the studio above all else that has shown me this has been Pixar Studios.

As a kid, this might be surprising, but I hated drawing. It was truly the bane of my existence. I could not create a simple art piece for the life of me, yet as I matured, I was able to see certain movies and animations for more than just the story. I’d say the first movie that was able to pull me in was Wall-E.

Within the first showcase of how Earth had collapsed onto itself with trash, I knew this story was something more than just a family-friendly love story between robots. At the age I was, I was captivated by the various era of technology in the movie; the old rusted Wall-E paired with the new and bright EVE, the torn down trashed buildings, later replaced with the Axium (the best spaceship design I’ve ever seen by the way!). The first few minutes of the movie alone do their best to show any aspiring artist how to captivate an audience with designs and color.

Now, Wall-E isn’t the only movie to do this. Almost every Pixar movie to date has its own unique flair that gave me inspiration for my own creations. When creating my story characters and just random designs, I think about the movies I’ve seen. Sometimes, contrasting art design helps me, like Sully from Monsters Inc. A giant, scary beast that has fur and pink polka-dots. Or perhaps a more extravagant character in a land of dull, monotone colors such as Merida from Brave. These examples, shown through animation, give an artist like myself the chance to create something from scratch. When I hated art in my early childhood, these ideas allowed me the opportunity to test them.

 Although the true thing that gave me the shove to draw was a video game and not a movie, I still stand with how Pixar, overall in my life, has had the most impact on my art career. They show the methods to make a person cry, laugh, and feel emotions for any type of creature… even a rat. I hope to use these experiences that I’ve seen throughout the years to the best of my ability in order to create art and animation of my own in the future, giving future generations the ability to feel the same inspiration that I was given.