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As Pip took shape, Leo entered the world of nodes and attributes . Every move he made was tracked in the . He spent hours in the Outliner , organizing the hierarchy so that when Pip’s arm moved, his hand followed.

The year was 2014, and Leo sat in a dim room, the glow of his monitor illuminating a face full of both frustration and wonder. On his screen was the gray, clinical interface of Autodesk Maya 2014 , a software powerhouse known for its steep learning curve but also for powering the worlds of Pixar and Disney.

Leo turned to the timeline. He set his frame rate and moved to frame 1. He positioned Pip’s hand in a wave. He pressed to set a keyframe.