Gallery: How One Pixar Animator Manufactures His Own Toys

  • 12tricksterfoxfinaljeffpidgeonpixarwireddesign
    01

    12-trickster-fox-final-jeff-pidgeon-pixar-wired-design

    *The question now is what Pidgeon will do for his third effort.*
  • 11happybeavertricksterdesignspecsjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    02

    11-happy-beaver-trickster-design-specs-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *In order to get a satisfactory product from the factory, all the details must be listed clearly.*
  • 10happybeaverpreproductionsculpturewaxedupformoldingjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    03

    10-happy-beaver-pre-production-sculpture-waxed-up-for-molding-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *The CAD data is turned into 3-D parts and are used as masters in the molding process.*
  • 09happybeavertricksterfoxmodelbreakdownjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    04

    09-happy-beaver-trickster-fox-model-breakdown-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *The increased complexity of the fox meant multiple molds needed to be created based on the CAD data.*
  • 08happybeavertricksterfox3dmodeljeffpidgeonwireddesign
    05

    08-happy-beaver-trickster-fox-3d-model-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *The project started similarly with sketches, but quickly evolved into 3-D models.*
  • 07tricksterfoxjeffpidgeonpixarwireddesign
    06

    07-trickster-fox-jeff-pidgeon-pixar-wired-design

    *Pidgeon followed up his first toy with the "Tr!ckster Fox" -- a mascot for an annual art and culture convention.*
  • 06happybeaverjeffpidgeonaltcolorwaywireddesign
    07

    06-happy-beaver-jeff-pidgeon-alt-color-way-wired-design

    *From start to finish a project like this takes about a year.*
  • 05happybeaversculpturecolormatchingjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    08

    05-happy-beaver-sculpture-color-matching-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *Communicating with factories can be a challenge, so it is imperative to specify everything using a standard like the pantone color matching system.*
  • 04happybeaversculpture3dprintjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    09

    04-happy-beaver-sculpture-3d-print-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *One of the key benefits of 3-D printing is rapid prototyping. Pidgeon was able to evaluate models at different scales.*
  • 03happybeavercadmodeljeffpidgeonwireddesign
    10

    03-happy-beaver-cad-model-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *Going from 2-D to 3-D can be challenging. Pidgeon started with clay, but eventually modeled the character in 3-D.*
  • 02happybeaverjeffpidgeonwireddesigntoymaking
    11

    02-happy-beaver-jeff-pidgeon-wired-designtoy-making

    *The toy started out as a sketch in Jeff Pidgeon's notebook.*
  • 01happybeaverjeffpidgeonwireddesign
    12

    01-happy-beaver-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design

    *The "Happy Beaver" is a vinyl toy designed by Jeff Pidgeon – a story artist at Pixar who worked on the* Toy Story *series*.
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