He was then awarded a scholarship by Disney to attend California Institute of the Arts, where he met and befriended another future animator, Pixar co-founder and director John Lasseter.
Poté získal stipendium v Disney účasti California Institute of the Arts, kde se setkal a ujal dalšího budoucí animátora, spoluzakladatele Pixaru a ředitele Johna Lassetera.