The Flaw That Built A $3.3 Billion Empire
“The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.”
After a visit to Lucasfilm’s Graphics Group, the ever-visionary Steve Jobs saw the potential in computer-animated movies.
So much so that in 1986, he bought it for $10 million and renamed it Pixar Animation Studios.
Like any new technology, there were plenty of teething troubles.
The main challenge Pixar faced was the limited power of computers to render the smooth, sophisticated movement of certain shapes.
Human facial expressions, hair and hands were too hard to animate.
Rather than get disheartened, the team leaned into the problem by making the toys the main characters.
Their rigid, plastic appearance played perfectly to the strengths of the medium.
And the rest is history.
To date, the Toy Story franchise has grossed over $3.3 billion worldwide.
It’s a masterclass in turning a weakness into a creative advantage.
And it’s also a backstory similar to that of one of Nintendo’s most iconic video game characters: Mario.
When Shigeru Miyamoto originally designed him, he had to work within a tiny 16x16 pixel grid with a highly restricted colour palette.
Unable to render realistic human details, Miyamoto-san had to devise creative workarounds to make the character’s movements readable to players.
Hence, Mario had a thick moustache that defined his face and hid his mouth, bypassing the need for facial expressions.
His cap was to eliminate the memory-heavy task of animating hair when he jumped.
And Miyamoto-san put him in overalls over a contrasting shirt so that his arms stood out against his torso as he ran.
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