Learning to Design and Act Like Dinos #GoodDinoEvent

You are currently viewing Learning to Design and Act Like Dinos #GoodDinoEvent
THE GOOD DINOSAUR - Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

Untitled drawing

Besides Pixar being amazing, I got to talk to several of the people who worked on The Good Dinosaur (aff). One of the amazing people I got to meet was Harley Jessup. He is a production designer in Pixar’s art department. What always amazes me is the amount of research that goes into these movies. That is why they take 3 (aff)-5 years to complete. The make sure everything is right. If you look in these photos, you can see the storyboards and how many different things they were looking into to make sure everything was right.

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR (aff) – Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR - Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR – Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR - Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR – Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

I can honestly tell you I was in awe. I had no idea that amount of work is really is to create such a great looking movie. The water looks perfect, because they researched and designed it to look that way! If you look at the dinosaur picture, you can see how and why each dinosaur was created the way they were. For example, the males had more boxy, sharp framed heads and faces. Not only do the have the dinosaurs on the storyboards, they also create sculptures!

THE GOOD DINOSAUR - Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
THE GOOD DINOSAUR – Production Designer Harley Jessup presents at the Long Lead Press Days at Pixar Studios. Photo by: Marc Flores. ©2015 Disney•Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

We also learned how they had to stay in scale, but make sure that you could see both Spot and Arlo in shots. What a fine balance that was! T-rex's were 45 ft tall whereas Arlo was only 18ft! Spot was even smaller! I could have sat in this room all day admiring all the hard work!

A press day for The Good Dinosaur, including presentations by Animator Kevin O'Hara and Directing Animator Rob Thompson, as seen on October 1, 2015 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)
A press day for The Good Dinosaur, including presentations by Animator Kevin O'Hara and Directing Animator Rob Thompson, as seen on October 1, 2015 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

Next, we talked to animators Kevin O’Hara and Rob Thompson. This was so cool. We learned how the animators learned how to draw dinosaurs walking. What they did was study the movement of elephants, and they used that to help them develop how the dinosaurs walked! After watching the elephants, they then showed us how they took that information and translated it into Arlo walking. To be honest, I never really thought about how a dinosaur would walk and how to hold up that much weight. For it to be believable, it has to be right. I think they nailed it!

The other amazing thing we learned was that 1 shot in the movie can take 3 (aff) weeks to a month to create! That is why it takes years to make these masterpieces!

I am always amazed on these trips. There is so much time, effort, and heart put into these movies, and it shows.

The Good Dinosaur will be theaters on November 25! It's a must see movie!

Lisa Martin

In April 2006, Lisa began blogging to stay connected with distant relatives and friends. As she delved into blogging, she discovered the potential to assist others by sharing her experiences. Lisa has actively engaged in numerous exclusive media ventures. Notable among these are her participation in events such as the Sony Mommy Bloggers Event, the Pampers Mommy Bloggers Event, the Epson Event in Chicago, the Stouffers Event, a memorable yacht excursion with Lands End, collaborations with 1-800-Baskets, an exclusive tour for bloggers by Mrs. Prindable’s, partnerships with Hallmark, PopCap games, Chicago Cubs Mastercard Priceless Events, and Rug Doctor. In addition, she has collaborated with Nutrisystem on a weight loss initiative, teamed up with Buick and Chevy, and served as a brand ambassador for Sprint. Lisa's collaboration portfolio also extends to Disney, where she has participated in press trips for significant movies such as Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, McFarland USA, The Good Dinosaur, The BFG, and Cars 3. Notably, for projects like Frozen, The BFG, and Cars 3, she was granted the privilege of walking the red carpet and conducting interviews with celebrities. The impact of Lisa's blog has gained recognition, with The New York Times referencing her content. Moreover, she has been featured in interviews by respected publications such as the Southtown Star, The Chicago Sun Times, and inside.

This Post Has 31 Comments

  1. Mykidsguide

    With the amount of time they spend to make a movie, it’s no wonder all their movies turn out really good. My whole family is looking forward to seeing this.

  2. Annemarie LeBlanc

    It is just amazing how talented these people are! I still love watching movies like this. It awakens the slumbering child in me. It is not only a full length cartoon, but it also teaches kids valuable lessons in life.

  3. Robin (Masshole Mommy)

    This behind the scenes stuff is so cool. I am so excited to see this movie with my kids.

  4. Mistee Dawn

    Oh wow, this sounds like such a fun event. I cannot wait to see this movie with my daughter!

  5. Jennifer

    I love the amount of time Pixar puts into making sure their films are great and exactly how we expect them to look and feel. It’s awesome hearing it straight from the animators and designers themselves.

  6. That is so cool! I find computer animation to be so fascinating. So much goes into creating this characters.

  7. Diana Villa

    Such a cool and fun event, I would love to be there and the movie sounds incredible! 😀

  8. Chubskulit Rose

    What a great previlige to meet some of these people. Lucky you for attending this event.

  9. Liz Mays

    What an awesome event. You can tell the animators and artists put a lot of hard work and love into this project.

  10. Emma Spellman

    This movie looks so cute. I can’t wait to take my boys. They love Dinosaurs.

  11. alexandria waning

    I love how they put so much into their movies to make them correct. I read all the Nemo facts once and it’s so amazing. This really does look like a good movie. My daughter is super excited to see it.

  12. Rebecca Swenor

    This had to be so much fun to see how and what they did to make the movie. I can’t wait to see this one with my niece’s little ones. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  13. I’m actually looking forward to seeing this movie. It’s good that you got to meet them and learn kind of got a behind the scenes view of how everything was done.

  14. Great post, I saw the preview for this movie over the weekend while viewing Charlie Brown. It was so cute that My Girl asked if we could go see it. I love a new idea and the kids and I will tune in for this one.

  15. Lynndee

    That is so cool! My son has always been fascinated with dinosaurs since he was a little boy. He would love this movie for sure.

  16. JenJacqs

    Pixar is really amazing and all the people behind the company who made the movies. It’s not easy to make one since every details needs to be quality checked even to the small things. If I’m there, I’m going to be in awe.

  17. ricci

    Pixar films are amazing!! I can only imagine the amount of time ad effort it takes to make one movie. I bet their designers are amazing to talk to!!

  18. Jataya

    This looks like it is going to be a really cute movie. I’ll be sure to take my family to see it.

  19. Kelly Hutchinson

    My son loves dinosaurs, so this will be a fun movie to see. This looks like a cool experience for you!

  20. Digna

    Sweet! I can’t wait to see this film! It looks like so much fun!

  21. HilLesha

    That is awesome! I know that my son would love something like this. He’s practically obsessed with dinosaurs! 🙂

  22. Rosey

    That’s fun that they create sculptures too. This sounds like a fun event.

  23. ashleigh

    That is so neat to see behind the scenes like that. We used to watch the animation process in Art class and it was so fun.

  24. CourtneyLynne

    OMG what a fun event this must of been to attend! I love hearing how movies are made. Can’t wait to see this when it comes out 🙂

  25. Bonnie @wemake7

    Sounds like a great movie. I knew a lot went into making movies but didn’t realize the amount of work.

  26. Shaney Vijendranath

    Just watched the video and wow, this sounds like a lovely movie with a good story. Disney and Pixar always get it right. 😉 Cant wait for it to come to South Africa.

  27. Jeanine

    I am actually really looking forward to this movie! My kiddos will love it I’m sure. I’ve heard some great things! This looks like an amazing experience!

  28. Marielle Altenor

    I’m always in awe when I learn how a movie is made. This movie looks like it will be a huge hit with my son. Even I’m looking forward to it!

  29. Racquel

    This is really incredible. I find this kind of thing so fascinating. It looks like a really great movie. Cannot wait to watch it with our kiddos.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.