Chaeyeon Lee, a 2015 graduate of the Animation – 3D program, began her animation career within the gaming industry in South Korea. Although a big fan of games, her interest started to expand when she saw the Disney movie, Tangled, in theatres. “It hit me really hard because it was simply a beautiful animation. It seemed totally different from what I was doing in gaming, and I wanted to be part of creating a masterpiece similar to Tangled,” she shares.
After much thought, she decided to come to Toronto to learn feature character animation. “I looked up other options for colleges, but I decided on Centennial because the program had essential classes that I needed, unlike other colleges that have extra unnecessary classes that last for longer years,” she explains.
Looking back at the program, Chaeyeon picked up several key lessons, including how to collaborate with others. Asking classmates about the lectures and sharing knowledge was fundamental for Chaeyeon to successfully complete each assignment, and it helped demonstrate how to work with others and complete work within a deadline, all of which she uses in her career now.
“The Animation – 3D program allows students the opportunity to experience all of the steps in the industry from scratch.”
Chaeyeon says the program offers students a taste of everything related to digital animation, particularly in the first semester. This helps students proceed with a greater sense of confidence as they can focus more attention on what they enjoy in subsequent semesters.
Upon graduating, Chaeyeon joined Arc Productions – a former Toronto animation studio. “I experienced a big film production for the first time there and met such great animators and supervisors. It was an eye-opening experience to learn from the actual film production not only animation skills but also things like managing shots, how to address the Director’s notes, how to survive crunch time, etc.,” she shares.
Unfortunately, the animation studio faced an abrupt shutdown. After its closure, Chaeyeon says she lucked out again and joined Ubisoft – an interactive entertainment powerhouse with offices and studios around the world. Although a great fit, thanks to her experience within the gaming industry in South Korea, Chaeyeon quickly realized her true passion still remained in the animation field.
After working at Tangent Animation, a studio that creates feature animated films, she moved to Vancouver once her contract was complete and joined the Academy Award-winning visual effects/animation studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks. “Sony has all the fantastic projects that attract talents from all over the world. Working with animators who worked on well-known portfolios that I studied frame by frame on Vimeo, famous online school instructors and animators from Disney, DreamWorks, and Blue Sky are just normal days at Sony.”
She continues, “It was very intimidating and stressful as an animator with not a huge background, but I learned so much to survive in the dynamic, fast-paced environment. The more I learned from the projects, the bigger the responsibilities. Overtime was one of them. It’s inevitable in the industry but working too many hours consecutively over years made me burnt out. So, during the pandemic, I took a long break to be away from work, and the rest gave me the realization that I should be a marathoner, not a sprinter. I felt like I levelled up as an artist during the downtime.”
Working at Pixar
When Chaeyeon heard Pixar - the computer animation studio well known for its famous animated films - was looking for people to work on their new project, she jumped at the opportunity. “It has been an amazing adventure for me, and I can’t wait to see what’s next to come!”
Working as a 3D Animator, Chaeyeon says her day-to-day involves many meetings, which she says is where she learns from other artists. “One distinguishable factor about Pixar’s culture is that anyone can pitch their ideas about shots. This means I can get notes not only from the Director but also fellow animators or from other departments. The process is similar to when I was in the program [at Centennial}. The classmates gave and received feedback and interpreted them to address the assignments. The time at Centennial was a small version of a professional production.”
Special Projects Over the Years
Chaeyeon has worked on a number of amazing projects over the years, thanks to her growing experience. “From Troll Hunters at Arc productions to Light Year at Pixar, I’ve loved all the projects I was a part of – I could talk about them non-stop,” she shares.
Two projects that Chaeyeon worked on that stand out to her include popular movies that you have likely enjoyed yourself! “First, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was one of my dream come true projects because it won an Oscar over the Incredibles 2. I always wanted to work on a project that won an Oscar and thought that would only happen in Disney or Pixar. Sony became an Academy award-winning studio for the project, and it felt surreal to be part of it.”
She continues, “Secondly, Over the Moon. This project was directed by Glen Keane the legendary animator. I never thought I’d meet him in my life but working for him in person?! OMG. I remember I was trembling when I first got draw-over notes from him. I can never forget the goosebumps every time I was in review. His scribbles were so much better than my try-so-hard-for-hours work. The legend was a legend.”
Advice About the Industry
One of the most enjoyable parts of the animation industry for Chaeyeon is how dynamic it is. She says, “It never gets boring. There are always new projects, and awesome opportunities are almost everywhere in the world. It’s inspiring to meet great artists, fulfilling to see my name on the ending credits, and most of all, it’s fun!”
As for advice, she shares, “The industry has been good with streaming services, and it’s getting better every year. A CG artist is definitely one of the coolest jobs in the world. But with great fun comes great responsibility. Just keep in mind that notorious crunch time culture and job insecurities are kind of the nature of the industry nowadays. But I believe it will get better, slowly. You just need to be patient and pace your speed to not be burnt out.”
Chaeyeon encourages anyone interested in getting into this industry to reach out to her, as she says she received helpful advice from animators working in the industry by contacting them via LinkedIn when she was a student. “I’m happy to pass it down!”
Congratulations, Chaeyeon, on your outstanding accomplishments! Be sure to check out Pixar’s newest film, Lightyear, this summer – you’ll find a familiar name in the credits!
Written by: Alexandra Few