Baena, an animator at Pixar Animation Studios, has worked on Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Toy Story 3. Baena received a 2007 Annie Award nomination for Best Character Animation for Cars.  In Toy Story 3, Baena animated the suave and debonair Spanish Buzz Lightyear.

"This is a really good opportunity to meet up with great artists and students from all over," says Baena. "I'm excited to share my experiences as an animator/artist as well as learn what inspires this generation of animators."

Baena will be joined by three mentors who will be available at the Animation Mentor booth (number 144) during the exhibition Tuesday, August 9 through Thursday, August 11.  Caroline Esmurdoc, vice president of marketing, and Becca Romeo, career services manager, will also be on hand to meet with SIGGRAPH attendees.

Animation Mentor will be giving away a limited number of custom-designed QR code t-shirts to attendees who visit its booth. When scanned, the QR code will lead to Animation Mentor's public Web site.