Meridian Gray Culpepper, Story Intern, Pixar Animation Studios
Meridian is a self-taught story artist from Carmel, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University in 2019 via the Individualized Major Program, where she crafted her own BA degree in Direction in Animation. In the summer of 2021, Meridian worked as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios and, in her spare time, freelances as a visual development artist and children's book illustrator.
What is your favourite social media platform, and why?
Instagram, as an artist it's my best tool for engagement and networking.
Tell us about you and your current role or area of interest.
As a story artist in feature animation, it's my job to work alongside the director to help materialize their vision for the screen. You have to be flexible, always have ideas, and have thick skin to be ready to revise at a moments notice.
What do you like about your career or area of focus?
Storytelling is a universal language. Maybe I haven't walked in your shoes before, but we can both watch the same film and feel the same feeling, and I think that's incredibly powerful.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Don't wait to get "the job" to do what you love. Work as if you have the job already! Don't let your status stop you from doing what you would be doing anyway.
What inspires you, motivates you, or helps you to move forward?
I'm motivated by the people in my life who believe in me. There are many times where I don't feel talented enough or good enough to do what I do - but it's the people that I love and their encouragement that helps me push past imposter syndrome and create something magical.
What are you proud of in your life so far?
I'm proud that despite all the obstacles I've faced, I've remained authentic and exactly who I am. I've never compromised to get where I am, and I never will.
What is your preferred way to meet new people/network?
It's different networking in the midst of a pandemic. Currently, I enjoy reaching out via Instagram or LinkedIn to make new connections. I have found that most creatives in my field love to sit down with young talent and talk about their journey.
What skills or qualities do you feel have helped you?
Humility, being able to ask good questions, and not comparing yourself to others success.
What do you wish you had known when you started out?
It's not enough to be a good artist to be a great story artist! It's about your ideas, your point of view and how uniquely you can convey those ideas so that others understand them. Being self-taught, I haven't had a lot of exposure to critique or being a part of a mentoring atmosphere, so that was a huge learning curve for me to realize that my ideas don't always translate on the screen.
Who do you most admire in business, academic or creative circles and why?
Picking one person seems futile. I admire every artist who has stuck it out in this profession and has remained happy, joyful, and even though the stressful times puts their family first.
Outside of your professional/work area, what hobbies or interests do you have or what other areas of your life are of real importance to you?
Anything that takes my mind to a creative place interests me! Cooking and baking, playing video games, sewing, interior design - anything that gets my mind off drawing and allows me to be creative with different parts of my brain.
Has the pandemic had a positive or a negative effect on you and/or your business, and how have you been managing it?
Positive! Employees at Pixar are closer than ever and have gracefully managed to stay on task and produce beautiful films from home, such as LUCA that's being released on Disney.
Do you have a mentor, or have you ever mentored anyone?
I've been fortunate to have a number of mentors from the past that I still stay in contact with. I wouldn't be here today without them.
What advice would you have for someone looking to get into the same area of work or interests?
Don't give up! Always apply for that job you think you don't have a chance to get. If I hadn't applied to a story artist position at Pixar, I wouldn't have been discovered and asked to apply for their internship!
What do you feel is the most common reason for people failing or giving up?
We compare where we are with others who are at a similar age who are in different stages of their career and get discouraged. There are so many young people who have started in the animation industry years before me, but that doesn't undercut my value to the industry.
Is there a phrase, quote or a saying that you really like?
I'm a huge Hoarders watcher, it's a guilty pleasure, and a quote that one of the psychiatrists say is, "you have to feel it to heal it". Feeling disappointed, embarrassed, unworthy are all valid feelings and instead of dismissing them, accept the feeling or else you'll never be able to feel the good feelings.
What companies, brands, or institutions do you like or do you think are getting it right?
Pixar (obviously) and Netflix are two animation companies that are really finding their niche and taking a lot of risks.
How do you define success, and what lessons have you learned so far that you could share with our audience/readership?
Success is getting back up when you think you've failed. The feeling of if you're good enough, not knowing what you're doing, these feelings will never go away. It's choosing to try again that's the real success.