Pixar tour & some "Incredibles" art

First, if you want to see "The Incredibles" with as little pre-exposure as possible, you probably shouldn't look a these pics. But they don't give anything away, really. There's 3 concept art paintings of the island base that I think are relevant to TC-er's art tastes - and just plain cool.

Last Friday, a group of TC folks had the opportunity to tour the Pixar facility in Emeryville, California. This was made possible by the very kind donation of Mark Walsh, tiki aficianado and supervising animator at Pixar, and the ever-generous Humuhumu, who purchased the tour at our spring fund-raiser party for the AIDS Lifecycle. Their generosity knows no bounds and we are all grateful to Mark and Humu, who invited us along on her fantastic tour.

Mark was an excellent guide and host, and we got to see a lot of ultra cool stuff that we couldn't photograph. Everyone there is super excited about Brad Bird's "The Incredibles" and most said it is their favorite Pixar movie to date. TCers will love is the design of the Incredibles' 60's/mid century modern home, done in a graphic, over-saturated style that looks fantastic. I wish I had a pic to show of the concept art for the interior, but no pics were allowed other than the large prints in the lobby you see here.

I really wish I could show you the animators' work area. Artists have their office interiors and facades made up as castles, western towns (with wood siding, porch and awning), and quite a few tropical themes. There were musical mechanical animals from a Chuck E. Cheese-like restaurant and blow-dryer salon chairs in the lounge areas, along with a functional saloon style bar complete with shaved velvet wallpaper and booth seating. And this is only a fraction of what's there - it's quite overwhelming. Sadly, Mark's tiki bar had been dismantled to make room for more employees, but will soon be reborn when he completes his free-standing tiki-hut office.

In the lobby: Mrs. Martiki (Rebecca), Martiki, Mrs. Pineapple, Hanford (he's real!), Cynfulcynner, Humuhumu and Humu's mom. The guy in red tights might be Tiki-bot or Mr Incredible, it's hard to tell us apart.

Our guide, Mark, explains the fine art of animating a shark while pointing to a non-animated shark.

A pumpkin from the contest earlier that day.

Hanford spins The Incredibles game in the lobby "play area".

Humuhumu cuddles up to a friend.

Concept art blown up huge from very small paintings and displayed in the lobby.

Friday afternoon means food and beers in the lobby, and maybe a game of badmitten(!)

Wow! Thanks very much for sharing!

I have some friends in the "biz," and the "buzz" on this movie is that it's beyond fantastic, not enough thumbs in the world to give it the thumbs-up it deserves.

(p.s. -- the advance buzz on "The Polar Express" is that it's a dog. Great animation but with characters so lifeless it's picked up the nickname "City of the Dead.")

Wow! That looks like it was too much fun!I've seen some of the behind the scenes stuff on dvds my daughter owns,but I bet seeing it in person was an absolute blast!Thanks for sharing.

I've already heard from half a dozen different friends who have seen it, and you can't believe how effusive these normally cynical animator-types are. One said it was not only the best animated film ever, but the best film ever, period! Being in the industry, we're usually good at tearing each other's work apart, so the buzz on the film is exceptional to say the least.

I'm already set to see it on Wednesday with the Visual Effects Society, and again on Friday at an ASIFA screening with a discussion with Brad Bird to follow. Can't wait!

Thanks for posting those pictures, Tiki-bot! Jeebus, I'm pale. I thought I lived in Los Angeles now???

The Pixar tour was really fun--the artwork we were able to see was stunning and fascinating, and seeing where the artists work was a blast. I can't say enough about how gorgeous the concept art and other Incredibles artwork was.

A massive mahalo to Mark Walsh for taking the time to give us such a wonderful tour. Aside from being a neato tour guide, Mark showed us a little bit of how he does his work, it was very interesting stuff--he's extremely talented. I really hope I get to see Mark's finished tiki hut someday! (Mark was dressed as an employee from the neighboring Rudy's Can't Fail Cafe for Halloween--I don't know how he normally dresses, but apparently he doesn't typically look like a roadie. Us girls were pretty well in agreement, though, that his Halloween costume was actually pretty damned hot.)

Another massive mahalo needs to go to the Pineapples, who are really responsible for making it happen--they're the ones that organized the tour for their AIDS LifeCycle auction last spring. Thank you!

Now I'm super excited to see the Incredibles... I've scored some swell seats for the midnight opening at El Capitan this Thursday.

The LOOK of a man, who knows his game.

On 2004-10-31 19:49, Humuhumu wrote:
Us girls were pretty well in agreement, though, that his Halloween costume was actually pretty damned hot.

I don't remember being asked about this, but I gotta agree! :D

Thnks again, Humu. And thanks for the pix, Rich. Can't wait to see this gem. (with the added bonus of a certain trailer attached for a certain Third Episode of a certain film series which had better be good this time god dammit). Mark was a great host, and it was fascinating to see the development/movement of characters like Dory from Nemo on his workstation. Looks like an amazing place to work.

And yes, I thought Mark was hot, too.

[ Edited by: martiki on 2004-11-01 12:06 ]

I'm already married to a hottie 3D guy. It was a fun tour, nobody got a picture of Cindy's amazing halloween costume, she was a mai tai! it's great!

I've got a couple pics of Cyndy in her fabulous costume... these were taken at Trader Vic's, with the real glass held up for comparison:

I don't have any pictures from the Pixar tour, I left my camera in the car, as my trigger finger may have been to itchy if I'd tried to bring it with me.

I do, however, have this picture of a gentleman riding a chicken. It is either a very small man, or a very large chicken. This is from the roof of the restaurant at the end of the same spit of land that Trader Vic's is on.

This chap and his chicken have nothing to do with Pixar, Cindy and her Mai Tai costume, Hanford and his gaming skills, or the hotness of Mark Walsh, but I felt it needed to be shared nonetheless.

Outstanding costume, CC!

wow, am I ever jealous! Looks like it was a fantastic tour. Thanks for posting the pics and info everyone!

Pixar and Trader Vic's ALL IN THE SAME DAY!

Wow, I should wear the black beanie more often!

Thanks to the lovely Humuhumu for supporting the Pineapples' good cause. I had a blast meeting so many cool people and rediscovering my day job. My only regret is missing out on that amazing costume!

-Mark

http://www.navone.org/PhotoGalleries/CantFail/image/img_2084.jpg

very cool place. Im green with envy. thanks for sharing the photos with us.

On 2004-11-02 14:14, Tikiwahine wrote:
Pixar and Trader Vic's ALL IN THE SAME DAY!

Ah, it was even better than that--after Pixar, we were invited to see the mysterious Novato Grotto! I can't say much, as I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but I can say: STUNNING. It's a must-see, if you ever have the opportunity.

Good to see you here, Mark! Hope you'll stick around a bit... TC can be a great resource for the building of your tiki hut. The beanie was good, but I think it was more the fake tats, or rather, the willingness to have one's body extensively Sharpied in the name of Halloween that was hot. :wink:

Here's a page of (back-tracked from Mark's link) that has some pics of the stuff at Pixar I talked about.

http://www.navone.org/PhotoGalleries/Pixar/

Got to see the Incredibles last night at the El Capitan (no Episode III trailer there, but probably because the theater is owned by Disney). It more than lives up to the hype. It is a fun, fun movie, and it's going to make an insane amount of well-deserved money. As mentioned, it's got lots for us to love, between some tropical scenes & the midcentury suburbia sets. Also, director and writer Brad Bird (the man behind Iron Giant) surprisingly turns in a scene-stealing and hilarious performance. Its real strength, though, is the wonderful handling of the relationships between the characters. The acting--both the voice acting and the work of the animators like Mark--is really outstanding. I immediately wanted to see it again.

The short before it, Boudin', is also fantastic, very charming, and gorgeous. Pixar continues to stun with its ability to do no wrong.

Here's the pics from the "art of" book of the lost tiki bar scene. Damn, it woulda been so cool.

Tiki-bot

[ Edited by: Tiki-bot on 2004-11-07 13:03 ]

[ Edited by: Tiki-bot on 2004-11-07 13:04 ]

Those gotta be by Lou Romano - he's one damn fine artist....

On 2004-11-07 22:42, Tangaroa wrote:
Those gotta be by Lou Romano - he's one damn fine artist....

yup.

The Lil' Boos hangin with........ at Emeryville TV's.

The next day. Hangin' with the Monsters.

Got to love race CARS........Nemo Rocks!!
(ie; chromeland!!)

Cool! Isn't Pixar a fun visit? I loved that big cuddly Sully.