Join us for a select day each month during the run of Guillermo del Toro: Crafting Pinocchio for a day of all things animation, from demonstrations, to storytelling, to tours and lectures. Get a peek into the artistic, animation and storytelling process, as told by Shadowmachine animators and other Portland-based animators and scholars. All ages are welcome! All ages are welcome! Included with General Admissions, Animation Art Days’ events are first come, first serve.
Animation Art Day Events
Designing Pinocchio with the Shadowmachine Art Department
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Grand Ballroom (Mark Building)
Join Shadowmachine’s Art Department members, Robert DeSue (Art Director), Whitney Schmerber (Art Department Production Manager), Jesse Gregg (Concept Artist and Set Dresser), and Caitlin Pashalek (Head of Practical and Textural Concept Design and Landscapes Department Lead) for a conversation about their workflow and process in designing and building the visual world of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. From concept to material, the artists will expand on the experimentation and creative choices that resulted in visuals that straddle both the natural and supernatural elements of the film.
Gallery Conversations with the Shadowmachine Art Department
2:30-4 p.m., Crafting Pinocchio Exhibition Galleries (Main Building)
Catch up with Shadowmachine Art Department artists Robert DeSue (Art Director), Whitney Schmerber (Art Department Production Manager), Jesse Gregg (Concept Artist and Set Dresser), and Caitlin Pashalek (Head of Practical and Textural Concept Design and Landscapes Department Lead) in the galleries for one-on-one discussions around their work in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio.
Video Game Animation with BRENDA ARTS: An Artist Talk
3:30-4:30 p.m., Miller (Mark Building)
This talk centers the work of Portland-based artist and PAM community partner, Spencer Garland of BRENDA ARTS. In partnership with the Museum, Garland has created a series of educational YouTube videos that spotlight different works in the Museum’s collection. In his talk, Garland will dive into his independent practice and his most recent work in developing his video game, Quantum Phantom Basketball, and his use of character development and animation within the game.
AAD Participant Bios
Robert DeSue has a feature film resumé spanning over 25 years. Recently serving as Art Director on the Golden Globe®, BAFTA® and Academy Award® winning, stop motion feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. Previously, Rob contributed to all five of LAIKA’s stop motion feature films, beginning with Academy Award® nominated Coraline (2009) and wrapping his 12 year tenure there as Art Director on the 2019 Golden Globe Award® winning, Missing Link. Rob’s stop motion career began in 1998 at Will Vinton Studios where he contributed to both Emmy® award winning stop motion television series, The P.J.’s and Gary and Mike. Rob shares a win (with production designers Curt Enderle and Guy Davis) for Excellence in Production Design for an Animated Film from the Art Director’s Guild and has been nominated twice for Visual Effects Society awards in the category of Outstanding Created Environment for an Animated Feature. Rob is currently Production Designer at ShadowMachine (PDX).
Whitney Schmerber is a Production Manager and Stage Manager with over a decade of professional experience in both Stop motion animated Film and Musical Theatre/Opera. Her film credits include Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, produced by ShadowMachine, and for Laika LLC Kubo and the Two Strings and The Boxtrolls. Whitney is currently Art PM on In the Know, a stop motion sitcom being produced at ShadowMachine, created by Zach Wood, Brandon Gardner and Mike Judge for Peacock.
Jesse Gregg was a concept artist and set dresser for Guillermo del Toro’s Academy Award® and Golden Globe Award® winning Pinocchio (2022), the most recent film in Jesse’s nearly 30 years of contributing to animation. Jesse was featured in Animation Magazine while still earning his MFA in experimental animation at CalArts and has since returned to his alma mater as a guest speaker for production design in stop motion animation. Jesse has been an animator, compositor, graphic designer, puppet fabricator, set dresser, concept artist, and art director across several animated shorts, animated series, and eight animated feature films. Outside of work, Jesse spends his free time creating original black and white ink illustrations at his home studio. He also maintains an unruly collection of plants and serves as humble servant to two fluffy cats (also unruly).
Caitlin Pashalek is a passionate visual artist who is committed to pushing creative and practical boundaries through experimentation and innovation. She’s worked in film, photography and television for over 20 years, with the last 12 exclusively on stop motion animated features. As a Set Dresser and Look Development Artist, Caitlin’s work can be seen in four of LAIKA’s five acclaimed stop motion feature films: the Academy Award® nominated ParaNorman (2012), Boxtrolls (2014), Kubo & the Two Strings (2016), and Missing Link (2019). Caitlin recently wrapped production as Head of Practical & Textural Concept Design and Landscapes Department Lead on Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio for Netflix. Caitlin has been nominated for a Visual Effects Society award for Outstanding Created Environment in an Animated Feature. She’s currently a Visual Development Artist at ShadowMachine in Portland, OR.
Spencer Garland is the founder of BRENDA ARTS, an interdisciplinary media studio that collaborates with POC youth as an integral part of our productions. Originating as a BIPOC after as an after-school arts program that turned into a boutique media company, Garland’s work spans film, video games, education, design, and animation. He heavily emphasizes uplifting students who look like him and prides himself on giving them the tools to explore the fullness of personhood rarely offered to marginalized communities. He aims to tell Black stories that have never been told through animation while showing the process of making the project in real-time with my students. Their feedback and questions drive his own personal curiosity.