Almost every aspiring animator dreams of working in an animation powerhouse such as Disney and Pixar one day, to work for the same company and with the people who have been producing the beloved animated films that they grew up watching. That aspiration has come true for Kim Leow, a Malaysian who is now living her dream as an animator at Pixar Animation Studios.
She has over ten years of experience as an animator, having contributed to animated films such as The Lego Movie 2, Hotel Transylvania 4, Spirit Untamed, Wish Dragon and The Addams Family. Her most recent work had been for Disney and Pixar’s latest feature, Elemental, a story where fire, water, land and air elements live together. She had a hand in how the characters in the movie appear so lifelike, by layering a lot of performance and motion on them. She is currently working on Elio, an animated film about humans and aliens set to release next year.
Kim Leow is a Malaysian animator working at Pixar Animation Studios.
Hailing from Cheras, Leow first received her education in digital animation with The One Academy, before emigrating to Canada in 2006 to pursue a higher education and hone her animation skills before entering the industry. She began her career by working on commercials before making the foray to work on feature films in 2012.
In Vancouver, she got to work with big studios such as Sony Pictures Imageworks and Animal Logic. Over the years, she has built an impressive portfolio. She had also single-handedly animated and completed all the CG elements for the award-winning short film, Fox and the Whale.
Leow described herself as “lucky” to be chosen to be part of the team behind the Elemental film. She was approached by a friend who asked if she was interested in doing remote work for Pixar. Despite thinking she would not make it, she decided to give it a try anyway. She threw in all that she had, and it worked out. Her experience with a variety of shows during her career helped to land offer at Pixar.
“This show is really challenging, it’s visually so beautiful. It’s a Pixar movie, so the craft is at the highest level. I do relate to the movie quite a bit, I myself am an immigrant. It’s a really touching story,” said Leow of working on her first Pixar film.
Kim Leow is a Malaysian animator working at Pixar Animation Studios.
When asked which character she resonates most with, she answered, “Definitely Ember! She’s fiery and strong. When she puts her mind into doing something, she tries her best to achieve it and never gives up, which is what I like about her.” Her favourite shot in the movie is the ending scene, where Wade, even while being vaporized, expressed his love for Ember in a hug, which Leow said, really just captures the hearts of everyone.
In an exclusive interview with Walt Disney Studios Malaysia, Leow illustrated what being a Malaysian means to her by imagining a Malaysian version of Element City. She drew four animations of what she imagined Malaysian characters in the Elemental film would be like. Earth is portrayed as durian tree-like, as inspired by her father who loves durian. Water is imagined as a soybean pudding seller, Fire would the nostalgic Roti Man zooming around the neighbourhood with a heavily loaded motorcycle of snacks, while Wind would be a mamak worker pulling teh tarik and flipping roti canai in the air.
“It was so heartwarming to see my hard work put out into the world and being appreciated. I’m proud of it and I had so much fun on it,” she expressed, remembering the touching moment she experienced when she finally watched it on the big screen and witnessing the audience clapping their hands at the end of the movie.
“If you’re interested enough in what you’re doing, don’t give up and just keep doing what you believe in. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped trying. Trust your own instincts,” she said in advice for aspiring Malaysian animators.
She has worked on Disney and Pixar’s latest animated feature film, Elemental.
The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its “Masters Train Masters” coaching philosophy, which has been practised for over 30 years, by providing diploma and degree courses in Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts, Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making, Computer Science & Game Design. For more information, visit www.toa.edu.my or call 03-7875 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].
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