Texas A&M University’s Department of Visualization is known for its outstanding yield of graduates who go on to work for major entertainment companies like Pixar, Disney Animation Studios, and Epic Games. Many students in the department are seeking positions at these studios and others that create animations, visual effects, video games, VR experiences, and themed entertainment.
“We have a studio-based curriculum so students’ [core] of their coursework is situations where they are presented with a design problem and they have to create their own solutions to it,” says Tim McLaughlin, head of the Department of Visualization in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M.
The studio-based curriculum is intended to allow students to learn how to verbalize their design intentions and techniques and be able to take criticism thereafter. The department also has a twice-yearly meeting with an external advisory board,Visualization Industry Partners, where representatives from companies like Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, and Reel FX visit and get to look at students’ work.
“I would say probably the No. 1 thing the visualization department has going for it is its connections in the industry,” says James Baber, pipeline developer for Epic Games. “That’s how I got my internship, from an A&M graduate [who] was on a team and reached out to the college and that’s how I found out about it.”
McLaughlin concurs that representatives from Pixar, DreamWorks Animation, Electric Arts, Reel FX, and others visit, along with many former students who visit as well.
“What made me want to work for Pixar was a talk in 2016 where an alumni had a talk on The Good Dinosaur,” says Cheyenne Chapel, sets dressing technical director at Pixar Animation Studios. “After that talk, it changed my whole trajectory of what I was planning to do.”
Because of the undergraduate department’s general structure, Chapel could easily pursue her new career course. After graduating, Chapel began at Pixar and worked on a film, Soul, that comes out Nov. 20.
“It’s gonna hit me weird when I see it for the first time,” says Chapel. “It’s gonna be a great feeling.”
Kelsey Grier, character technical director at Disney Animation Studios, began in the visualization department at Texas A&M, but didn’t know what career path she wanted to pursue. In 2019, she received her master’s degree and went to work on the highest-grossing animated film of all time, Frozen II. Grier did internships throughout college, but emphasizes the importance of connections in the industry.
“A&M provided me with a lot of connections and networking opportunities that other schools don’t offer, which is extremely important in our industry to have those connections because it’s a really collaborative industry,” says Grier. Because of the collaborative nature of the industry and the large number of Aggies working at Pixar for years, many people speculate there have been odes to Aggieland in Pixar films. However, there’s no confirmation any of the conspiracies are real.
“Inspiration comes from a lot of places, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all tied to one specific location,” says Chapel.
About 35 Aggies currently work for Pixar Animation and the Texas A&M Department of Visualization places students there yearly. Chapel always loved Pixar films as a child, but it wasn’t until she was at Texas A&M that she realized her desire to work for the studio. Her degree plan allowed her to tailor the classes she took based on her goal career path and by the time she graduated, Chapel had a demo reel of her work to show potential employers.
“I feel like the department gave me a bunch of freedom to do or be whatever I wanted to be,” says Chapel. “I morphed myself into what I wanted to be, which was an artist at Pixar.”
With Aggies across animation, the Texas A&M Department of Visualization has created a positive reputation in the industry which propelled Baber, Chapel, and Grier to their current positions at major entertainment companies.
“The thing that I think is the coolest thing about working for Pixar is the chance to inspire people,” says Chapel. “Piece of advice: always pursue your dreams and never let anyone’s else opinions let that dream falter."
