Arik Ehle

Arik Ehle

Artist, Animator, Storyteller

Lead Animator / 23 yrs

Emeryville, CA, United States

Hire Me

Directing Animator

Win or Lose (2024)

Marketing

Lightyear (2022)

Marketing

Turning Red (2022)

Marketing

Luca (2021)

Marketing

Soul (2020)

Marketing

Onward (2020)

Marketing

Toy Story 4 (2019)

Marketing

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Marketing

Coco (2017)

Animator

Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales (2008)

Lead Animation Artist

Lead Animation Artist

Animator

The Good Dinosaur (2015)

Animator

Inside Out (2005)

Animator

Monsters University (2013)

Animator

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Crowd Animation Supervisor

Cars 2 (2011)

Crowd Animation Lead

Up (2009)

Crowd Animation Lead

WALL·E (2008)

Crowd Animation Lead

Ratatouille (2007)

Additional Animation

Cars (2006)

Fix Animator

The Incredibles (2004)

Finding Nemo (2003)

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

Arik Ehle has had a successful career with Pixar Animation Studios for over 20 years. Outside of his day job as a Lead Animation Artist for Pixar, Arik is an avid sculptor and painter, working on larger one of a kind pieces as well as Limited Edition runs for his personal brand Wild WestSide. He lives in Sonoma with his wife and two children.
Work History

  • Directing Animator

    Pixar

    January 2023 - Present
    Emeryville, California, United States

    Create, manage, and review character animation for Creative Services and the Pixar Legacy Group; serving as a creative liaison between feature film productions and Consumer Products, Interactive, Marketing, Publicity, and Publishing.

    Work on Domestic and International marketing campaigns (outdoor, in-theater, digital, etc), as well as create all of the 3D character pose assets.

    Provide Creative Direction (review story, assets, animation, and effects) for numerous interactive and streaming titles, including video games, apps, AR/VR, interactive storybooks, short films, etc.

    Films:
    'Inside Out 2'
    'Elio'
    'Elemental'

    Series: 'Win Or Lose'

  • Lead Animation Artist

    September 2015 - Present

  • Animator

    Pixar

    February 2015 - Present

    'The Good Dinosaur'

  • Founder/Artist

    Wild WestSide

    December 2009 - Present

    Wild WestSide is an art and apparel brand that originated from a series of faux taxidermy sculptures with an edgy, urban twist. The pieces blend realism and caricature with a flavor of the Wild West and West Coast lifestyle. Each character exemplifies the juxtaposition of primal struggles in the natural world with that of the human condition.

  • Animator

    Pixar

    May 2009 - August 2015

    'The Good Dinosaur'​
    'Inside Out'​
    'Monsters University'​
    'Toy Story 3'

  • Crowd Animation Supervisor

    Pixar

    March 2010 - July 2015
    Emeryville, California, United States

    Lead and mentored a team of Crowd Animators and Technical Directors. Responsible for spotting, bidding, & casting Crowd shot inventory, reviewing in-progress work, and approving/blessing final shot & fix work. Provided feedback on the development of Crowds pipelines, custom tool development, character rigging, and shot workflow.

    'The Good Dinosaur'
    'Cars 2'

  • Animator

    Pixar

    June 2009 - July 2015
    Emeryville, California, United States

    'The Good Dinosaur'​
    'Inside Out'​
    'Monsters University'​
    'Toy Story 3'

  • Crowd Animation Lead

    Pixar

    2012 - May 2014

    'The Good Dinosaur'

  • Crowd Animation Supervisor

    Pixar

    2010 - 2011

    'Cars 2'

  • Animator

    Pixar

    2009 - 2010

    'Toy Story 3'

  • Crowd Animation Lead

    Pixar

    January 2006 - May 2009
    Emeryville, California, United States

    Lead a team of Crowd Animators and Technical Directors. Responsible for spotting, bidding, & casting Crowd shot inventory, reviewing in-progress work, and approving/blessing final shot & fix work. Provided feedback on the development of Crowds pipelines, custom tool development, character rigging, and shot workflow.

    Films:
    'Up'
    'Wall-E'
    'Ratatouille'

  • Crowd Animation Lead

    Pixar

    2005 - 2009

    'Ratatouille'
    'Wall-E'
    'Up'

  • Fix Animator / Additional Animation

    Pixar

    March 2003 - December 2005
    Emeryville, California, United States

    'Cars'
    'The Incredibles'

  • Additional Animation

    Pixar

    2004 - 2005

    'Cars'

  • Fix Animator

    Pixar

    2002 - 2004

    'The Incredibles'

  • Production Coordinator

    Pixar

    December 2001 - February 2003
    Emeryville, California, United States

    'Finding Nemo' - Tank Unit

  • Production Coordinator

    Pixar

    2001 - 2002

    'Finding Nemo'

  • Production Assistant

    Pixar

    October 2000 - November 2001
    Emeryville, California, United States

    'Monsters Inc' - Production Office

  • Production Assistant

    Pixar

    2000 - 2001

    'Monsters Inc'

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Education

  • BA in Film Studies

    UC Santa Barbara

    1998 - 2000

  • University of California, Santa Barbara

    1998 - 2000