CG Generalist – Environment Intern, Disney Animation – Winter 2027, Burbank, CA

Job Position(s): CG Generalist - Environment Intern, Disney Animation - Winter 2027, Burbank, CA

Walt Disney Animation Studios is hiring a CG Generalist – Environment Intern for their Burbank, California studio beginning February 2027. This role sits inside the environment pipeline, where the intern rotates across modeling and look development to support the creation of 3D terrain, vegetation, architecture, and props for feature film production. It suits a current student with foundational CG skills who wants structured, hands-on exposure to a professional animation studio pipeline.

About the Role

The CG Generalist – Environment Intern works within the environments department at Walt Disney Animation Studios, contributing to the same pipeline that supports the studio’s animated feature slate. A typical day involves building and refining 3D assets in Maya, exploring procedural authoring workflows, and working through look development tasks covering both organic and hard-surface elements. The 12-week assignment runs February through April 2027, with interns expected to be fully available for the duration of the program.

Key Responsibilities

• Build 3D models of natural terrain, vegetation, architecture, vehicles, and props using Maya and proprietary foliage tools comparable to SpeedTree.
• Perform CG texturing and surfacing on both organic elements such as foliage, sand, and trees, and hard surfaces including buildings, furniture, and vehicles.
• Apply procedural authoring techniques across modeling and look development tasks within the environment pipeline.
• Engage with individualized mentorship from working artists and technologists embedded in feature film production at the studio.
• Participate in hands-on projects that reflect the actual VFX pipeline and environment workflow used on Disney Animation productions.

What You Bring

• Current enrollment in a college, university, community college, trade school, or equivalent post-high school program, with at least one semester remaining after the internship concludes.
• Working knowledge of CG software relevant to environment modeling and look development, such as Maya.
• Familiarity with procedural foliage tools, with SpeedTree experience or equivalent considered a strong foundation.
• Interest in environment departments specifically, including modeling and look development within an animation studio context.
• Minimum age of 18 at the time the internship begins.

Why This Role

Walt Disney Animation Studios is one of the few animation studios where an intern works directly inside a production-grade environment pipeline alongside the artists building assets for theatrical release. The mentorship structure is individual rather than cohort-based, which means feedback is tied to your actual work rather than a general curriculum. For a student pursuing a career in CG environments or look development, this is direct access to how feature animation is made at the highest level.

Apply now for the CG Generalist – Environment Intern position at Walt Disney Animation Studios and take the first step into a professional animation pipeline.