Carlos Baena is a professional
animator
An animator is an artist who creates images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video games. Animat ...
and now a cofounder of the online school
Animation Mentor
Animation Mentor is an online for-profit animation school in New York City, New York, United States.
History
The school was founded in 2005 by three working animators: Bobby Beck, who was the original CEO and president of the school, Shawn Ke ...
, which was started in March 2005. It was the first post-secondary school that helped students to pursue a career in
animation
Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
. At the school, students work with mentors from major studios in a production-style environment, and graduate with a professional
demo reel.
Baena lives in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California, where he spends his leisure time studying and making short films, composing music, skateboarding, and working on animation.
Background
Baena was born in 1974 in
Las Palmas
Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean.
It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...
,
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, and raised in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, Spain.
In 1993,
he came to the United States to attend the
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...
and the
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University (AAU, or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...
. After graduating in June 1998, he found a job animating commercials at
Will Vinton Studios
William Gale Vinton (November 17, 1947 – October 4, 2018) was an American animator and filmmaker. Vinton was best known for his Claymation work, alongside creating iconic characters such as The California Raisins. He won an Oscar for his wor ...
in
Portland, Oregon
Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. Four months later, he returned to
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
to work on spots and short films at
Click 3X and
WildBrain
WildBrain Ltd. is a Canadian media, animation studio, production company, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest independent library of Children's tel ...
, Inc. Working on commercials and short films helped him secure a position at
San Rafael, CA.-based
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...
(ILM) in March 2001. At (ILM), Baena worked as an animator on ''
Jurassic Park III
''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction adventure film, adventure action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (writer), Jim Taylor. It is the third ...
'', ''
Men in Black II
''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in ass ...
'', and ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones''. Eventually, Baena left ILM for
Pixar
Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...
in 2002 where he worked on the films ''
Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
'', ''
The Incredibles
''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...
'', ''
Cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
'', ''
Ratatouille
Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...
'', ''
WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...
'', and ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...
'' as well as the short film ''
Boundin'''.
Animation mentor
Baena works with fellow cofounders,
Bobby Beck, AnimationMentor.com’s CEO and President, and
Shawn Kelly
Shawn Kelly is an animator of movies and was a co-founder of the company Animation Mentor, an online animation school with student/mentor relationships at its core.
Life and career
Born in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, Calif., and r ...
to define and shape the school’s overall direction. Baena balances his co-founder responsibilities with his full-time animator job at Pixar in Emeryville, California.
Awards
In Cars, Baena animated several scenes with the two Italian cars Guido and Luigi and received a 2007
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...
nomination for Best Character Animation for his work.
;
Premios Fugaz al cortometraje español
*The outstanding ''La Noria'' has won over 75 awards and has been selected in over 150 festivals.
Filmography
Animation Department
* ''
Monsters University
''Monsters University'' is a 2013 American animated Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. A prequel to ''Monsters, Inc.'' (2001), it was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his fea ...
'' (2013) - (character development and animation)
* ''
Toy Story 3
''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...
'' (2010) - (animator)
* ''
WALL-E
''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...
'' (2008) - (animator)
* ''
Ratatouille
Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables that originated in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic ...
'' (2007) - (animator)
* ''
Cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
'' (2006) - (animator)
* ''
The Incredibles
''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American animated superhero film written and directed by Brad Bird. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Spencer ...
'' (2004) - (animator)
* ''
Exploring the Reef
''Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michel Cousteau'' (also simply referred to as ''Exploring the Reef'') is a live-action/animated short documentary film included on the fullscreen version of disc 2 of the ''Finding Nemo'' 2-Disc Collector's Editio ...
'' (2003) - (Video short; animator)
* ''
Boundin''' (2003) - (animator)
* ''
Finding Nemo
''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...
'' (2003) - (animator)
* ''
Hubert's Brain'' (2001) - (animator)
Visual Effects
* ''
Men in Black II
''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film based on the Marvel Comics series of a similar name based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures and Amblin Entertainment in ass ...
'' (2002) - (animator: air chase and post office sequences,
ILM Ilm or ILM may refer to:
Acronyms
* Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product
* '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1
* Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets
* Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion p ...
)
* ''
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' (2002) - (animator: ILM)
* ''
Jurassic Park III
''Jurassic Park III'' is a 2001 American Science fiction film, science fiction adventure film, adventure action film directed by Joe Johnston and written by Peter Buchman, Alexander Payne, and Jim Taylor (writer), Jim Taylor. It is the third ...
'' (2001) - (CG animator)
Short Films
* ''The Roddenberry Archive: The Cage'' (2022) - (director)
* ''
765874 – Unification
"765874 – Unification" is the fourth in 765874 shorts, a series of short concept videos that use digital technology to visualize past actors and previously un-filmed imagery from the ''Star Trek'' franchise. Created by the Roddenberry Archiv ...
'' (2024) - (director)
References
Further reading
Carlos Baena Interviewat CG-Node
Carlos Baena Interviewat 3D Total
Carlos Baena Video Interviewat Blender Nation
External links
Carlos Baena's Website*
Carlos Baenaat New York Times
Animation Mentor Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baena, Carlos
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
University of San Francisco alumni
Spanish emigrants to the United States
American animators
American people of Canarian descent
Academy of Art University alumni
Pixar people
Industrial Light & Magic people