For Pixar’s Elio, artist Jasmine Derry stepped into uncharted creative territory through the studio’s unconventional “College Project” approach — a departure from the traditional animation pipeline. As a Simulation Technical Director, Derry worked on bringing Elio’s cape to life, blending physics and emotion to elevate the character’s performance.
And in our interview, she talks about the unique collaborative approach to their latest film, the importance of visibility for artists of color, and how Pixar’s culture of recognition fuels both artistic innovation and personal growth.
The College Project is Pixar’s unconventional, collaborative production approach that encourages artists to leave their titles and egos at the door. Designed to foster deep cross-departmental collaboration, it breaks away from the studio’s traditional pipeline by having artists work closely across disciplines.
For Derry, it was something that required a lot more cross-department collaboration than she is accustomed to. “I would say that for a lot of past shows, there’s always cross-department collaboration of all of our shows,” she said. “I think that this film was so special because of the timeline, because of the way that the production worked out. Everybody really had to band together, cover multiple aspects, and turn on their problem-solving skills to try to figure out what’s the best way to approach this film and what’s the best way to get this film across the finish line.”
Derry said Pixar was receptive to how the College Project fostered collaboration, but these artists also had to be open and vulnerable to new ideas. “This was my first time working in a simulation department,” she said. “I was open to new ideas because it was a new department. It was a new department, new software, new team, and a new approach to how our day-to-day is. So I would say definitely open-mindedness was really important for us.”
As a Simulation Technical Director (Simulation TD), Derry is responsible for creating realistic, dynamic movement for secondary elements in animated films — things like clothing, hair, fur, flags, or even jiggling alien tentacles. In this case, Derry worked on Elio’s green cape. “One of the things that I did was I was like sculpting the silhouette of the cape as he was lying down,” she said. “The way that the cape would lie as he was lying down on the sand, that was something that I had a hand in.”
Among Derry’s favorite cape shots is when Elio was walking forward with a lot of energy, or he was jumping backwards, or he was flying through the air. The Simulation TD was excited by the handoff when she assumed responsibility for making the cape, clothes, and hair look and feel realistic. “I feel like those were my favorite shots to work on because it was like the energy,” Derry said. “I loved the challenge because the animators obviously are working on the acting of Elio, but they don’t really touch the cape.”
“Let’s use a simulation to make this support the acting, to make this support the emotional beat that we want to hit,” Derry said. “So yeah, that was really a good challenge for me, and that was one of my favorite things to work on.”
And while Derry is a simulation technical director, it doesn’t take away from what she has to contribute to the film. “I will say that one thing that Pixar does right is that we really celebrate each other,” she said. “We definitely have monthly celebrations like who’s the person who really stood out this month, or we have wrap parties at the end, or you see our names in the credits, we all congratulate each other.”
It’s those kinds of celebrations and recognitions that help shape the Pixar culture for the artists who may not be directors or producers. “Not everybody is going to notice how Glordon’s little feelers and space jiggle, but it’s something that we put a lot of time and effort into developing because we want to, because it’s possible,” Derry said. “I think, as technical people, but also as artists, it’s important to us to make it look right. It’s important to us to make it look good, and it might not be something that you see, but my supervisor always said, ‘You might not be able to see it, but you’ll be able to feel it.’”
As a woman of color in a highly technical and creative field within the animation industry, Derry knows the value of visibility. “As a person of color, you can feel the care that’s being put into the representation of people of color in this film, Derry said. “It’s something that you can use to inspire others. There are going to be a lot of people who see themselves in Elio, who see themselves in Olga, and there are a lot of people who see themselves in me whenever I’m say, ‘Hey, I’m an effects artist at Pixar. I’m a simulation artist at Pixar.'”
That idea that someone like Derry could inspire others isn’t something she takes for granted. “It always feels really special to be able to inspire other people, and I always love trying to inspire people in any way that I can,” she said.
Elio opens in theaters on June 20, 2025.