Justin Wright, a 27-year-old storyboard artist at Pixar, has died from a heart attack, according to various online sources. The young storyboard artist’s credits at Pixar include the much-lauded 2D line drawings featured in the credits of Ratatouille. He was also working on a new animated short that will be released with WALL*E in theaters this June.
Before getting the job at Pixar, Wright studied Fine Arts at Pacific Union College 1999-2000. A story on the PUC website talks about how he was taken on a tour of Pixar after he received a heart transplant at the age of 12. His doctor recognized his talent when he saw the drawings he had done during his stay at the hospital, and he used his connections to give the young Wright a tour of Pixar.
Justin believed that his glimpse at mortality as a child helped him pursue his dream of becoming a storyboard artist at Pixar. He quit his job as a production assistant at Pixar to make sure he wasn’t pigeonholed as a P.A. ‘When my friends heard I’d quit a job, any job, at Pixar, they thought I was crazy’I mean, people do work their way up from being a production assistant,’ he told the PUC alumni website. ‘But I knew that I wanted to be seen as a storyboard artist. So I quit. I knew I’d been allowed to stay on this earth, and that I was lucky. I do think that influenced my decision.’ Fortunately, he soon landed an internship that turned into a full-time job at Pixar.
You can read more about Wright, his life and untimely death at Pixar artist Ronnie del Carmen’s blog. (www.ronniedelcarmen.com/blog1/2008/03/justin-wright-1982-2008.html). We sent our heartfelt condolenses to Wright’s family, friends and colleagues. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
