Gallery: How One Pixar Animator Manufactures His Own Toys
0112-trickster-fox-final-jeff-pidgeon-pixar-wired-design
*The question now is what Pidgeon will do for his third effort.*
0211-happy-beaver-trickster-design-specs-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design
*In order to get a satisfactory product from the factory, all the details must be listed clearly.*
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*The CAD data is turned into 3-D parts and are used as masters in the molding process.*
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*The increased complexity of the fox meant multiple molds needed to be created based on the CAD data.*
0508-happy-beaver-trickster-fox-3d-model-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design
*The project started similarly with sketches, but quickly evolved into 3-D models.*
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*Pidgeon followed up his first toy with the "Tr!ckster Fox" -- a mascot for an annual art and culture convention.*
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*From start to finish a project like this takes about a year.*
0805-happy-beaver-sculpture-color-matching-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design
*Communicating with factories can be a challenge, so it is imperative to specify everything using a standard like the pantone color matching system.*
0904-happy-beaver-sculpture-3d-print-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design
*One of the key benefits of 3-D printing is rapid prototyping. Pidgeon was able to evaluate models at different scales.*
1003-happy-beaver-cad-model-jeff-pidgeon-wired-design
*Going from 2-D to 3-D can be challenging. Pidgeon started with clay, but eventually modeled the character in 3-D.*
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*The toy started out as a sketch in Jeff Pidgeon's notebook.*
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*The "Happy Beaver" is a vinyl toy designed by Jeff Pidgeon – a story artist at Pixar who worked on the* Toy Story *series*.
