Ed Catmull--A Pioneer in Computer Animation
Ed Catmull majored in physics and computer science while a student at the University of Utah. He was always passionate about animation, but didn’t think he had the artistic skills necessary to become a successful animator. He instead focused his attention on computer graphics, and made three discoveries that would be instrumental to the future of computer animation: Z-buffering, texture mapping, and bicubic patches. With these discoveries, Catmull was able to create an animated version of his left hand that eventually landed in the movie Futureworld, which was the first film to use 3d computer animation.
3d Animation Developed Further at Lucasfilm, then Pixar
Catmull went to work for George Lucas at Lucasfilm in 1979, and further developed various 3d animation techniques. After not finding the same amount of enthusiasm that he had about 3d animation at Lucasfilm, Catmull eventually founded Pixar with Alvy Ray Smith in 1986. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers, eventually bought Pixar and helped fund its research in 3d animation.
Pixar Led 3D Animation to Centerstage
With Catmull as president, Pixar quickly became the most innovative animation studio in the country, and created a number of smash animated movie hits, including Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Disney, finally accepting that it needed to revamp its own animation studios with Pixar talent, bought Pixar in 2006, making Mr. Catmull a pretty wealthy man.
The moral of Ed Catmull’s success story is that a man can go far with an original idea. Catmull’s research and vision for computer animation catapulted him to the top of the animation field and to wealth beyond his wildest dreams.
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About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is a singer living in Chicago, IL. Having received his B.A. in Government at Harvard, Kirk previously worked as a management consultant.
