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Ralph Eggleston
Ralph Eggleston
00:31

Ralph Eggleston

Pixar Animation Studios

San Francisco, CA USA

"Start with character and everything else will follow."

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Ralph's work combines: Art, Film, and Being Creative

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Day In The Life

Art Director

I was Art Director on "The Incredibles" and "Up," and Production Designer on "Wall-E."

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Animation, Interactive Technology, Video Graphics and Special Effects

    California College of the Arts

Life & Career Milestones

My path in life has been direct

  • 1.

    Always wanted to do film animation; gravitated towards Disney animation, especially the film Cinderella.

  • 2.

    One of his favorite toys was a hand-crank projector-he'd look at films frame by frame to better understand the process.

  • 3.

    Heard about CalArts' animation major when he was in sixth grade and says "that was it," locked in on that goal.

  • 4.

    Worked for a variety of studios before being hired by Pixar; one of his first Pixar projects was art directing Toy Story.

  • 5.

    Views each different film as its own "graduate course," he puts about four years worth of research and work into one subject.

  • 6.

    Some of his "research" is unconventional-hung out in trash dumps, on cruise ships for Wall-E.

  • 7.

    Says that the reward for all of the weird work he puts into a movie is seeing an audience's reaction, hearing what people think.

  • 8.

    Urges students to find an interest, then find out as much as they can about it; simultaneously try to experience as much of the world as possible.