The Craft of Look Development with Sari Rodrig
Sari Rodrig is an Environment Look Development Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Her career has taken her from an internship at Pixar to key roles at top studios like Blizzard Entertainment and Method Studios, all of which have shaped her into the artist she is today.
Sari has worked on projects like Moana 2, Wish, and Strange World, bringing each world to life with her unique eye for texture and detail.
During your time at the School of Visual Arts, you were trained in a specific pipeline for animation. How did the pipeline you experienced there compare to the one you were introduced to at Pixar?
Pixar was my first major internship, and my second internship overall. I would say as an intern it was a pretty steep learning curve. I really only started learning about 3D and computer arts in general at school, so I had very little experience with software. I am thankful that my schooling prepared me for an internship like Pixar. And while we were using production assets and the pipeline for the internship, we weren’t on any show in particular. Our overall tasks were to learn different areas of Pixar’s pipeline and create small projects based off of that curriculum. It was very beneficial to see how a major studio operates.
We’ve seen artists from various backgrounds transition into look development roles. Are there other roles within the animation industry that can lead to look development? How can students at animation schools prepare themselves to pursue a career in look development while they’re still studying?
I would say that modeling and lighting are the two most common areas of the industry that I see artists transition to look from. With more studios using Houdini, I can see FX dipping into look as well. At school, it is very useful to learn the basics of texturing instead of jumping straight into a texturing package, like Substance Painter, for example. Gaining a clear understanding of diffuse, bum/displacement, specularity, and roughness channels are crucial to succeeding in look regardless of what studio you step into.
Could you explain the role of a Look Development Artist and how it differs from texture work in terms of responsibilities and creative challenges?
A look development artist is responsible for applying surfacing/material qualities on a 3D model. Texture painting alone often refers to the development of texture maps that are used to plug into a shader. Look development encompasses making texture maps and applying them to shader(s). Sometimes look can be responsible for things like groom and procedural instancing (such as xgen). Overall, look development is a multistep process.
You’ve worked on major projects like Moana 2, Wish, and Strange World. What were the most significant challenges you faced while developing the environment look for these films?
Overall, I would say the main challenges are balancing hitting art direction with keeping workflow simple and time constraints. Often towards the end of any project, there is a “crunch” where it’s important to work cleanly and efficiently. I learned in my career that keeping work as simple as possible and working broad to fine is crucial to succeeding in finishing assets. I sometimes notice that artists like to try to ‘reinvent the wheel’, which can be counterproductive. Keep things straightforward and clean.
“Wish” has a very stylized approach to its environments, which sets it apart from other projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios. How did you approach the look development for such a unique and visually distinct film?
I was lucky to be on the team for Wish very early on. While we were developing and experimenting with style, we collaborated with other departments, specifically lighting to develop an effective way to stylize our textures and renders. I won’t be able to go into detail here, but we utilized post to our advantage and several tools were developed for the unique look. I believe there is a siggraph paper out there about the details of how we accomplished this.
What role does collaboration play in the look development process, and how do you ensure that the artistic vision is consistent across all stages of production?
Collaboration is vital in the look process. We have a team of artists that are constantly in communication with each other and other departments to finish a show. I think communicating to your team members (even when you feel it’s too much) is important to making sure each department is receiving information. At Disney, there is very much a huge collaborative effort from the directors to supervisors to coordinators to artists.
Could you tell us about a moment in your career when you felt particularly proud of a project you worked on? What was it about that project that stood out?
I am proud of many projects I worked on, but one that stood out was the Diablo 4 announcement cinematic. I really enjoy making materials that are very old and lived in (the dirtier, the better!). For that piece, the setting had to be quite scary and dark so it was really fun to create those textures. I had always been a fan of Blizzard Cinematics, so it was a dream come true to be able to work on one.
“Your experience at Method Studios was mainly in VFX, and now you work on fully animated films at Disney. How did your work in VFX prepare you for look development in animation, and what were the key differences in how you approached the visuals?”
To me, VFX and animation are very similar from the look development perspective. Most of the time we are aiming to have realistic rendering response from materials. In that case, the foundations of texturing/materials, no matter what style it’s in, remains the same.
With the rise of AI in creative industries, what are your thoughts on its role in animation and look development? How do you think traditional artists can prepare themselves for a future where AI plays a larger role in the creative process?
I think AI will definitely play a role in the industry whether we want it to or not. I’m impartial at the moment, but I’ve experimented with AI a very slight amount. I think we can utilize it to our advantage, like automating mundane tasks that we do on a daily basis to save us more time for creative work.
In a career that spans various studios and projects, what has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an artist, and how did you overcome it?
As an artist, I’ve faced many challenges in my career. As artists, it’s hard to feel rejected from a job or told our work needed improvements. To overcome that, I started taking those critiques less personally and focused more on the task at hand. There is no problem with asking questions and consulting your supervisor. Always being open to learning is a huge benefit. I also noticed that a positive attitude goes a long way. All of us worked very hard to be in this industry. It’s easy to take that for granted.
Keep things straightforward and clean. It’s easy to want to reinvent the wheel, but in the end, simplicity and a positive attitude go a long way. We all worked hard to be in this industry—never take that for granted.
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in look development or texturing/Surfacing? What are some common mistakes to avoid in this field?
The most common mistake I see in folks looking to start their career in look development, is a lack of understanding of basics. I cannot stress how important it is to understand material inputs and texture maps. I see a lot of students overlook the texturing process to get to lighting, and it can definitely show when work is presented. Fundamentals and learning about different shaders/nodes is extremely useful. Another thing I see is lack of reference when trying to create something. Always have a plethora of references on hand. Get into the habit of referring back to an image or set of images as you’re working!
Addressing a prevalent concern in the creative industry, where advancements in A.I. are perceived as a potential threat to job security, what guidance or advice would you provide to artists who may harbor fears about the impact of A.I. on their professions?
I believe many artists are advocating for regulations to protect copyrights, as none wish for personal work to be utilized to train AI and potentially disrupt the job market.
Speaking from my understanding of the visualization industry, the way AI currently creates video is significantly different from our established pipeline, making it hard to modify. While working on shots, the notes can often be highly specific, such as changing the camera angle by 5 degrees. I don’t feel AI is an easy tool to use for those final nuanced adjustments, but sometimes art is all about refining that last 5 percent.
But I do see AI as an opportunity to benefit artists as well, enabling faster learning and the creation of customized tools using AI.
I believe, as artists, we need to set boundaries and ensure we receive what we deserve. However, we must also be aware that AI is not going away; we need to know it and use it as our own creative weapon.
Thank you Sari Rodrig for sharing your experience with our readers.
You can get more info or Get in touch with Sari Rodrig on the following links:
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4484080/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/sarirodrig/
