Job Description
Join us for an opportunity to experience the art of animation and be a part of Walt Disney Animation Studios. The Talent Development Program is available for emerging artists and offers up to a 12 month paid position at Walt Disney Animation Studios. We offer an immersive Trainee experience where participants will work under the guidance of a Disney Mentor to develop craft skills while applying them in a real world environment.
The Talent Development Visual Development Program begins January 2022. Please note, the safety and well-being of our teams is very important to us. We will determine whether this program will be in-person at our Burbank, California studio or virtual in the coming months based on local state and county ordinance. The deadline for applications is October 24, 2021, 11:59PM PST.
The Visual Development Trainee
Visual Development Artists create the concept art and designs that help bring a film to life. They inform, inspire, and touch many aspects of our creative pipeline. A visual development artist visually translates a director's ideas into designs, color schemes, and lighting concepts that all serve a film's story. In addition to visual explorations, visual development artists also provide technical drawings, breakdowns, and color packets to inform the art direction of downstream CG departments.
We're looking for trainees who have a rich imagination, a sense of whimsy and appeal, and versatile drawing and painting abilities. An understanding of perspective, color, shape, and anatomy are also key skills needed to breathe life into our worlds and characters. Our trainees bring fresh, and unexpected viewpoints to our work and our workplace. We encourage and embrace original thinking and passion.
As a Visual Development Trainee, the first six months of your program are structured to introduce you to the art of our visual development process, our studio culture, and our production environment. These initial months will showcase the skills and philosophies of our Visual Development department while providing you nurturing mentorship with a Disney artist. A six month review provides you with real-time feedback and determines future assignments and promotional opportunities that would bring your skills into real-time production environments.
Job Responsibilities:
• Design inspiring worlds and moments based on the director's vision
• Execute detailed technical drawings to expedite collaboration with other departments in the pipeline
• Know your research and inspire through your art
• Fully engage in all training activities and classes
• Collaborate with and address notes from a Mentor/Supervising Artist in completion of all assignments
• Proactively engage and collaborate with the Walt Disney Animation Studios Art Department
• Attend and contribute to Art Department Meetings
• Proficiency in Photoshop
Am I Eligible To Apply? We're looking for:
• 18 years or older
• Emerging artists with less than 5 years experience in the Animation Industry
• Recent graduates - Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Original thinkers with a passion and dedication toward pushing their craft and skillsets
• Previous exposure to the art of animation is helpful
To apply for this position you must include a portfolio and resume.
Portfolios Should Include:
• Paintings and environment designs that demonstrate stylistic versatility and a strong understanding of specificity, storytelling, observation, mood, clarity, staging, color, perspective, and appeal
• Drawings of narrative moments and relationships, preferably with character and environment interactions
• Observational studies
• Work that is tailored to your strengths as a visual development artist featuring your best and most recent work
• If any of your work is password protected, please include the password with your application (even if just included on your resume)
• Social media accounts may be submitted as a supplement to your portfolio but should not be your primary portfolio (websites or multipage PDF files submitted via a google drive preferred)
WDAS continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to 2019's Frozen 2, the biggest animated film of all time, to our 60th animated feature, Encanto, releasing November 2021. Among the studio's timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia.
Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rbo8po-3-90-187-11-42 in your application.