Domee Shi leads a master class with animation students during her visit at UT Dallas. Shi was the recipient of the 2023 Richard Brettell Award in the Arts.
Academy Award-winning director and artist Domee Shi brought inspiration, encouragement and excitement to The University of Texas at Dallas campus, where she accepted the 2023 Richard Brettell Award in the Arts.
Shi won a 2018 Oscar for the animated short film “Bao” and was nominated for another one this year for Disney and Pixar’s “Turning Red,” which she co-wrote and directed.
The Brettell Award was established in 2016 with a gift from Margaret McDermott. The award recognizes the work of individuals in visual arts, music, literature, performance or architecture/design. It was inspired by and named for the late Dr. Richard Brettell, the founding director of UT Dallas’ Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History. The award includes a $150,000 prize and provides an opportunity for the campus community to meet and talk with the winning artist.
Over a three-day period, Shi met with UT Dallas students, led a master class, talked with UTD supporters and shared her thoughts with the community during her visit at the end of October.
“I just love the students here,” she said. “It’s such a diverse campus.
“I love being with students and talking about the creative process and all the stuff that I wish I did when I was in college.”
During the master class, Shi went into “nerdy detail” about the animation process, including storyboarding, layout and lighting.
Arts, technology, and emerging communication sophomore Maya Arellano attended the class and said Shi provided valuable behind-the-scenes information, as well as a lot of inspiration.
“It’s cool to see yourself in a person and then see them doing what you want to do,” Arellano said. “It was comforting in a way, because it makes that dream all the more attainable.”
During the public talk, Shi described how she came up with the ideas for her films, how she drew from her own family experiences and how she tries to find universal emotions in such experiences. She also engaged in an “art battle” with Monika Salter, an associate professor of instruction, and Nelson Lim, an associate professor of practice, both of whom teach classes in the animation and games program in the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology. The task was to draw Pixar characters in random situations.
“The whole point was to see Domee’s artwork,” Lim said. “It was very fun to see the characters that she drew and how well she drew them.”
Shi encouraged the students to tap into their own stories and backgrounds when creating content.
“The only way you can set yourself apart is to just lean into what you like and what makes you special. That will help your work stand out.”
Domee Shi, recipient of the 2023 Richard Brettell Award in the Arts
“When you send your portfolio out for internships or jobs, there will be hundreds or thousands of students who want that same position,” she said. “The only way you can set yourself apart is to just lean into what you like and what makes you special. That will help your work stand out.”
Shi has been with Pixar Animation Studios since 2011, when she became an intern with the storyboard team, and has moved up in the ranks at The Walt Disney Co.-owned animation studio ever since. Shi currently is a vice president of creative at Pixar and a director.
After graduating from Sheridan College in her native Canada, Shi worked briefly as a cartooning instructor with an emphasis on character design and comic book creation. The first feature film she worked on while at Pixar was “Inside Out,” which was released in 2015. Shi began working on “Toy Story 4” that same year and subsequently drew storyboards for “Incredibles 2,” which was released in 2018.
Dr. Nils Roemer, dean of the Bass School and the Arts, Humanities, and Technology Distinguished University Chair, said Shi was the perfect choice for this year’s Brettell Award.
“Domee was so engaging and encouraging for our students, giving them a vision for what can be accomplished with hard work and creativity,” said Roemer, who also directs the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies and is the Stan and Barbara Rabin Distinguished Professor in Holocaust Studies. “To have someone of her stature and experience come to our campus was such an honor.”