Peter Maynez

Art Director, Kung Fu Panda 4 (DreamWorks)

Birthplace: Burbank, CA

Education: Private apprenticeship, studied layout, traditional 2D

I knew I wanted to have a career in animation when: Around the time of Hercules and Mulan.

First job in animation: I was a layout artist on Disney’s Treasure Planet.

What I love about my current project: The Kung Fu Panda movies are beautiful; they are some of my favorites. I was working on other projects for DreamWorks while the Panda movies were made, so the opportunity to be art director on Kung Fu Panda 4 and design new environments for Po’s next adventure was incredible. Collaborating with all the teams of artists to tell our story visually, finding problems and solving them creatively, everyone bringing their best to the table and ultimately seeing it all come together is magic.

Big challenges: Set dressing Juniper City was a fun challenge. It’s a massive set built on a hill with uneven ground planes, tons of stairs, storefronts to look lived in, food carts in the streets and boats moving in the harbor. As all the details kept being added, file sizes got so big, it was near impossible to navigate in it. Final layout did great with all of this, prepping everything for animation and crowds. It’s cool to see each department’s work come to life in lighting. I feel that the most difficult shots to build, ended up as some of the most beautiful ones.

Fave animated movie or TV show growing up: Robotech: The Macross Saga, Batman: The Animated

Series, The Wind Rises

Role models: Hayao Miyazaki, Marc Davis and my colleagues

Best advice: Keep working on the fundamental skills — the need for them is always there, and they never go out of style. Explore [and] learn as much as you can about all the things you love; inspiration is everywhere. Be organized. Keep an open mind!