UL Lafayette grad works on Star Wars project for Disney

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Thomas Guillory, a 91³Ō¹Ļ graduate, can’t talk about the specific project he’s working on for his new job at Disney Interactive, but he can say it’s Star Wars-related.

He’s a full-time 3-D generalist for the company. He was hired before finishing a six-month Disney Interactive internship as a 3-D artist who worked on modeling and texturing.

Disney Interactive creates mobile, social and console games, including ā€œWhere’s My Water?ā€; ā€œDisney Infinity,ā€ a multiplatform video game; and Club Penguin, a virtual world for kids. Disney Interactive also produces original programming, as well as websites that are gateways to other Disney entertainment, such as Disney.com.

Guillory, ’13,  a Bordelonville, La., native, holds a bachelor of fine arts degree, with a concentration in computer animation. After graduating from UL Lafayette, he completed post-graduate studies at the Digital Animation and Visual Effects School at Universal Studios in Orlando. There, he honed his skills in 3-D animation, with a focus on video game art.

He then made 3-D models for the military, applied for junior artist positions and sought the Disney Interactive internship in California. In May, he was one of two artists chosen for that internship.

ā€œThis industry is very fast moving and there’s tons of talented and dedicated people out there gunning for jobs. The Visual Arts Department at UL Lafayette provided me with a very solid art foundation and it lead me to the DAVE School, where I was able to continue to learn and keep growing,ā€ Guillory said. ā€œI try my hardest to keep creating awesome things any chance I get and urge any students interested in working in the game or movie industry to do the same.ā€

He has some advice for budding artists: ā€œIt’s not enough to just complete assignments at school and hope that’s enough to propel your career. Work often, work hard and always look for feedback and criticism.ā€

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