Eliza Ivanova, originally from Sofia, Bulgaria is an animator and illustrator based in San Francisco and currently working with Pixar Animation Studios. Her feature film credits include The Good Dinosaur (2015), Inside Out (2015), Monsters University (2013), Brave (2012) and Cars 2 (2011), as well as short films Toy Story of Terror and The Dam Keeper.

Her website consists primarily of personal sketches, which, although few finished, are delightfully drawn with a lively variety of line weights and energetic textural additions.

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Get in touch with Eliza

• Website: elizaivanova.com
• Instagram: eleeza
• Kickstarter: Eliza Ivanova
• Vimeo: eleeza

Key Takeaways

“Don’t quit, don’t give up your talent”

• Her goal was always to become an artists and she just went for it
• Her advice to young artists is to be consistent and if you decide to do something, then do it; sometimes you feel you are going nowhere, but you have to realize you already done so much
• She wishes that she would experiment more early on in her career – try this, try that, instead of being an art snob – now she is a ‘sponge’ again, embracing techniques
• What to put into an animation reel? Put your strongest stuff first and last; Middle – stuff that shows you know about fundamentals; show your skills in storytelling, entertainment, and personal interests

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Resources mentioned

• The art teacher that taught Eliza – Garo Muradyan in Sofia, Bulgaria
• California Institute of the Arts
• Art Book(s):
  • Books on Egon Schiele – major figurative painter of 20th century
  • Books on Gustav Klimt – prominent member of Secession movement
  • Books on Ilya Repin – Russian realist painter
  • Book by the Russian Art Academy – Academic Drawings and Sketches
  • Robert L. Herbert – Impressionism – Art, Leisure and Parisian Society
  • Picasso: The Early Years
• Movie: Midgame by Studio 4C in Japan
• Software
  • TVPaint – versatile software for 2D animation
  • Toon Boom – animation and storyboarding software
• The blending stick – Any brand! I also make my own which is very easy (there are plenty of tutorials online)

Special thanks to Eliza for joining me today. See you next time!

All artworks by Eliza Ivanova, used with permission