Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027

Job Position(s): Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation - Winter 2027

Walt Disney Animation Studios is hiring an Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027, based at their Burbank, California studios. This hybrid internship sits across two core animation departments, Visual Development and Story, with interns producing work that directly feeds into the studio’s feature film production pipeline. It suits artists who are equally comfortable designing characters and environments as they are boarding sequences for emotional and comedic beats.

About the Role

The Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027 works embedded within the Visual Development and Story departments on projects at Walt Disney Animation Studios, the studio behind some of the most widely seen animated features in the industry. The Visual Development portion has interns creating illustrations that define mood, color, costume, and cinematography for characters and environments, while the Story portion focuses on translating script and concept into visual continuity sequences. A typical day moves between generating design explorations in the morning and pitching or refining storyboard panels in the afternoon, depending on where the production cycle needs support.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop character, costume, and environment designs that establish the visual language and tone of an animated feature production.
• Create color and mood illustrations that guide lighting and cinematographic direction across scenes.
• Board story sequences that communicate scene structure, character emotion, humor, and physical action in clear visual continuity.
• Work with Story supervisors and directors to refine cinematic staging and pacing within boarded sequences.
• Participate in department reviews and incorporate feedback from experienced artists into revised visual development or story work.
• Engage directly with industry mentors across the animation studio to understand how art and story disciplines connect within the broader production workflow.

What You Bring

• Current enrollment in a post-secondary program or graduation within six months of the February 2027 start date, and at least 18 years of age.
• A portfolio demonstrating strength in both character design or visual development and storyboarding or sequential storytelling.
• Familiarity with industry-standard drawing and design tools used in animation studio environments.
• Understanding of cinematic composition, acting, and staging as they apply to animated feature film production.
• Full availability for the complete 12-week assignment running approximately February through May 2027.

Why This Role

Walt Disney Animation Studios has produced feature film titles that define the commercial and artistic benchmarks of the animation industry, and this internship places you directly inside that production environment rather than adjacent to it. The Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027 program is structured to build two complementary skillsets simultaneously, which is uncommon at this level of access. For artists looking to understand how visual development and story work in tandem on a feature animation production, this is a substantive starting point.

Apply now for the Art & Story Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027 position at Walt Disney Animation Studios and submit your portfolio for consideration through the button on this page.