Illumination Mac Guff

Illumination Studios is an animation studio which specializes in kid-friendly feature films. Illumination Studios has two locations: Los Angeles and Paris. The Los Angeles studio does the script, voice acting, and marketing. The Paris office focuses on the creation of the film’s visuals.

When exchanging emails with a previous teacher, I let her know my family was moving to Paris. She then offered to speak to her connection at Illumination Studios Mac Guff about securing me an interview for an internship. I agreed and after a phone call, a Zoom interview, and an in-person interview, I was all set to help out in the Art Department.

Although I can’t say which movie I was involved in because of NDA, I can say that my role was to pitch prop designs, receive edits, and enact them effectively. Essentially, my supervisor would tell me that a villain needs a cane. I would look over the existing character design sheets and color schemes for the character, then research canes. I would draw several draft designs, then make them into Photoshop finals, getting edits for my supervisor all the while. Once she approved, I would pitch the design to the head of the art department for the movie.

I am proud of the fact that the studio is using several of my prop designs in an upcoming film. However, the most important thing I learned was not to get too invested in a design because they often needed to be changed. By the end I learned to pitch loose sketches instead of final products with several at a time so my supervisor had options to choose from. 

I also learned a lot of new Photoshop skills, but most importantly I learned to be confident in my work. What my supervisor and the head of the art department thought about my designs would sometimes differ. What my supervisor thought wouldn't work would be something the head thought would. I learned to navigate these opposing comments.

I was previously set on becoming a children’s book illustrator, but my time at Illumination Studios has made me consider a career in the animation industry. For now, I will just learn what I can and take advantage of every opportunity I get in either field.