Pixar Personal Project
During my time at Pixar, another intern, Liza, and I wanted to continue learning and challenge ourselves by practicing with Pixar’s production pipeline and tools outside of our regular work. We decided to create a personal project inspired by miniature dollhouses, giving us the opportunity to explore the pipeline in a fun and collaborative way. We dedicated at least four hours, three times a week, to developing the project and worked together to complete it within our internship timeline. I really enjoyed collaborating with Liza and learning from the process. For my contribution, I focused on creating and developing the textures, while Liza handled the 3D modeling and layout of the scene.
Props
Created and shaded a variety of props, adding subtle variations to smaller assets to help fill out the scene without making the environment feel repetitive. The mugs, plants, and macarons were especially useful for creating multiple variations, while larger props remained as singular statement pieces within the space. Since we wanted the miniature house to feel well-loved and lived-in, I also incorporated subtle wear and imperfections into the assets, giving each piece more character and helping create a warm, authentic environment.
Tracking Progress
To make the shading process more efficient and organized, I created an Excel tracker to monitor each prop’s progress from modeling and UVs through to the final render. Each prop was also provided with a reference image, which allowed me to quickly understand the intended look and create the shaders without having to spend additional time searching for references or imagining how each material should appear. In total, we modeled 39 props, with 10 featuring multiple variations. This workflow helped keep the process organized and allowed me to move through the shading process more efficiently.
Final Renders
