So you know what they say about advice, take it or leave it. It is an opinnion and def not the only way to live your life. A person needs to make those decisions for themself!
However last spring I was contacted by a friend of a friend whose daughter was in tears over being told to give up her dreams of being an artist. Not practical. Won’t make you money. She was even told by her high school admins that it was a “stupid idea” and totally unsupported. there were plenty of college visits for 200 or so the future football pro all stars or all the next Teslas and Musks- but nothing for the artists. I mean there is only ONe of each of those guys. I heard once there is a better chance of being a billion dollar lottery winner the first time you play the lottery than an all star pro. NOT to say that footballers should give up their dreams either and get ‘practical’ or start drawing- hell no. Don’t give up on your dreams.
The world needs dreamers. fight for them when you are young and have the energy then take up some fucking Will Hoff breathing shit and revamp yourself anew to keep fighting that fucking fight when you are old. Fight against being bitter adn giving up every fucking day.
What has carried us through these bleak ass pandemic. Movies, Streaming shows to escape the despair a moment. Comics that life our spirits, cartoons that point out the obvious and subtly or not so much hold a mirror up on the world. Dismissed as mere entertainment the artists and dreamers - the arts have soothed us, healed us, and brought us through to the other side. Some were escapism, some of the arts we have all of enjoyed or participated or just watched during the time of COIVD19 has taught us something.
So anyway, this friend of a high school friend asked for advice on what to do next from a real artist. Y’all I laughed at first because who wants my dirty language counseling a child- and the imposter syndrome is REAL. The I thought about my journey so far, and while by no means am I famous I am and have been a working creative- an artist- everyday of my life (who wants fames with its trappings of assholes digging through your garbage and stalking your personal life anyway)
So here is what I wrote. I dunno I hope it helped. I tried to keep it clean. Or PG13ish. The only thing I do faster than type is make a butt load of typos and vaguely name drop, so strap in!
“Hi Jules! Here is some info- it will take ya down rabbit paths but that’s ok! Hope it helps!
First off I have to say- I loved my college experience! I started at MSU 2yrs (MI) then transferred to Savannah College of Art & Design to finish my BFA, then Masters in Sand Fran at the Art Institute. I learned not ever Art Institute is the same btw- San Fran and Chicago are really the only two that are up to par.
At SCAD I have to ‘relearn’ most of what I was taught at MSU. If you go the traditional college route really consider the schools importance on the fine arts…not all are the same. Many smaller, private, or independent schools have a larger more professional focus on Arts! There ARE many grants and scholarships for private colleges- more than you would imagine.
I LOVED my time art art college. Great social and learning experience.
That being said 90% of what I learned for the work I do today I learned after school.
She doesn’t necessarily have to go to college. It’s not a popular option with our generation but frankly there are MANY animators and illustrations that have not gone in the industry today. In part because most colleges and universities focus on the art student as a whole (admirable) but do not delve deeply into any one subject. Also they strongly prefer the classic fine arts (if its isn’t oil on canvas its “low Brow” and less important to THEM)
Another part of why not every studio cares about your school is because so many online schools that get right to the heart of the matter are successful. Pixar and big studios care less about your student loan/diploma than ever before in the past. I have two friends ( Chris Sanders and Eric Powell) who never went. You have to know exactly what you are going for - if you do not the right college can help.
Most studios care about your work (what you make) and work ethic. At Disney you have to be able to sit in a cubicle 12 hours a day redrawing sketches-or travel to exotic amazing countries …and spend 12 hours in a cubicle there - its not all glam artist life :)
My personal studio favorite is Laika- their studios are amazing! Thats stop animation sure- but they have many background and environmental concept artists who bring the full story to life, not just the puppets.
So how do you know which studios want what on your resume? Check out Artstation- go look at the job listings and SEE what the employers are asking for in way of experience and portfolio, skills, etc.
https://www.artstation.com/?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jobs_digest_mailer
Some say ‘strong portfolio exhibiting…’ meaning they care less about college. some say experience in…meaning the prefer solid work experience (its the ago old how do I get experience if I don’t have a job, how do I get a job if I don’t have experience- intern wherever you can) Some say “min 4 years undergrad work in ….” they want a college degree.
So then snoop their actual employees right now- who went where? How did the lead animator get experience? What skills or school did a new artist on the team have?
I didn’t see any openings at https://www.pixar.com/careers but here is an example from Laika:
1. visit https://www.laika.com/careers
2. Look at a job opening in a field you are interested in. What skills degrees etc does that require?
3. Check out this article Laika wrote with links!
WHERE WOULD I GET THE TRAINING NECESSARY TO WORK AS AN ARTIST AT LAIKA? There are many schools with programs in art and/or technology that can provide a student with a strong educational foundation. LAIKA employees come from a variety of different schools and programs, including but not limited to:
US SCHOOLS
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
GOBELINS (FRANCE)
SHERIDAN COLLEGE (CANADA)
THE ANIMATION WORKSHOP (DENMARK)
My sister is a professor here in the sculpture dept:
Some options for building a right portfolio now, while on quarantine she could do the following, I know or have taken these folks course and feel strongly you learn more from them than I learned in 4yrs of BFA and 3yes of Masters classes!!!
- Chris Oatley:
Art and animation basic classes as well as more in depth lessons, opportunities to work with a successful mentor actually working in the field (YES!) or take specific fields of study classes.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-visual-storytelling-podcast/id282618693
-David Belliveau:
https://paintable.cc/one-week-portrait/
free class, seems too basic…its AWESOME> great skills. You will see an amazing improvement. My advice? Week one is free, do it, the repeat the exact same process and do another, and another. You will jump in skill level quickly. For painting programs like Photoshop ($$$ unless you sign up for student subscription CC), Corel Painter ($$) Procreate ($) or freeware like Krita, clip studio etc.
After 20 years of Photoshop- I am blown away by and I love procreate- for iPad pro or any iPad.
David also has an academy, tons of resources, and will email you himself to help!
***
Ideas of what to put in a portfolio:
-Physical (pencil or charcoal on paper) life drawing: Images you have worked on 2-10 hours
The first year of college you do a lot of life drawing, gestures, anatomy- you have to understand anatomy to make animated characters work EVEN if you stylize or distort them later.
For this aim for as realistic as possible! Everyone says “but that’s not my style” No teacher or employer wants to hear that. Animators and animation company artists basically spend everyday working on someone else’s style. and when you get to the top an are the one pitching the story that gets picked- everyone else will draw to YOUR style then :)
This doesn’t mean you should ignore your style- you CAN”T not draw in your style. It just happens. The you shines thru :)
All that being said- employers and art schools looking at a portfolio want to see that you CAN draw realistically even if you don’t intend to do that forever. It’s an important foundation.
Can’t find models? Search life drawing on Pinterest! Yes most will be naked- this happens in art school for about 3 yrs too. You need to see muscles and joints and stuff (shrug) You will want some Head to toe, different poses, and head and shoulders only.
Check out these books- REDRAW some life drawings in them. Like writing an essay, as long as you ref or tell people who the original artist is it is ok to ‘copy’ (not trace) an artwork. It shows you can make it look like the original which is super important to studios.
“Drawing People” Barbara Bradley
“ Atlas of human anatomy” (not grey anatomy)
-Make character turn arounds: Images you have worked on 10+ hours
These can also be ‘redraws’ of existing characters….but its also a chance to make your own characters in your style to show you can do that too! A turnaround (there are diff names for it) shows every view of a character.
Portfolio reviewers LOVE these.
- Fully finished paintings or portraits:Images you have worked on 10 hours
Portfolios: I suggest 5-10 of your absolute BEST work- work you spent at least 10 hours each on. Stuff you are really proud of that you can confidently discuss - why you used specific colors, why the subject matter, strengths in the work (I used good line techniques here…) weaknesses ( ONLY MENTION ONE OR TWO FOR ALL OF THE PORTFOLIO- if you sit in a portfolio meeting for college or an employer and talk about how much you suck they are going to believe you. Be confident! This goes back to choosing work you are really proud of)
Where to go to have your portfolio review?
So right now, yeah that’s limited. But NOT IMPOSSIBLE!
Conventions or expos A year ago I would have said visit CTN animation EXPO Atlanta , or Comic Con San Diego (hard to get tix)- Many local conventions! Research it.
animation conventions and expos give you an opportunity to line up in Looooong lines to meet with and introduce your self to art directors, studio exc, artists who will do a portfolio critique! this is great once you are in school or actively building a portfolio to take to interviews. good feedback.
I know a friend who was ‘discovered’ at one of these
Virtual college reviews Ask a college for a portfolio reviews via soon, 8x8, Google hangout etc. College recruiters are anxious to get you interested.
Call up a school or email them to ask for one.
I know that https://www.saic.edu/ travels around to states to offer portfolio reviews, but in these times I would email and call them, to ask for a virtual one. They will be impressed with the initiative.
Be vary of ones who says “this is all awesome! You should sign up now!”
A real portfolio reviews is a compliment sandwich a. This work looks good I think some are of improvement in this piece would be…You may want to branch out and explore these artists…a stronger foundation in this subject would improve you art…I would be intersected in seeing this redone to focus on the structure improvement…etc”
You don’t want a college that just wants your money and will tell you your great and be a yes man as long as you are paying. You don’t want pats on the back- you want to become an amazing artist!
Any dream worth creating is going to be hard, and you will look back and say wow! Look how far I have come!
You want to draw and be better and better and never stop getting better. Critique should happen. some people will not like your art, or will cut it down, or will be indifferent. Thats actually far better than hearing :that’s great!” because it makes you better!!
Here is info about Ai on how to create an animation portfolio too:
https://www.artinstitutes.edu/about/blog/preparing-portfolio-for-media-arts-and-animation