#if it werent for the fact that I'm certain it would draw the attention of the cartel occupying the town

[daveslutstaine]

Why must building things be so expensive

[thefairygodmonster]

Hey I really enjoy what you do, and I'm willing to ask you something! It's been my dream for awhile to become a character designer/storyboard artist since the beginning of highschool. I draw as much as possible, but I'm usually not satisfied with what I make, and I'm wondering I'm going about this dream right. I guess my question is, how did you achieve your dream?

I can relate. In highschool I drew a lot because I loved drawing! But there were a few things I really needed to learn before achieving my dream and they werent what I thought they'd be.

And hope youre ready for a long post because this stuff is sometimes complicated!

Up until the end of college and even after that I worked under the assumption that if I drew enough and drew well enough I'd eventually land a gig by having a strong portfolio alone. However its important to remember that working in this industry is: 1) A job with certain requirements that need to be met and- 2) collaborative which means its going to be very hard to go about this alone but also- 3) Dont lose yourself in pursuit of a job.

Regarding the first part. I thought being a good draftsman alone would get me in. I wasnt really paying attention to what goes into the field I was trying to get into. I focused mostly on character acting which is what I loved most but sorta ignored the fact that storyboards also require things like characters being in backgrounds, strong composition, and knowledge of picking good shots to tell a story. I had to step outside of my comfort zone and learn those things. I didnt have to be the best at them but I had to know enough to make it look believable. (Meaning, dont beat yourself up too much, nothing has to be perfect) Point being, research the job you want to do, find out how the animation pipeline works and what is expected of you in the position you want. If you dont know whats expected of you, it can be harder to tailor your portfolio to display the skills that recruiters want to see.

Secondly

You're going to be a part of a team so its important to make connections and be a person people will want to work with. I dont mean you have to change yourself entirely to fit in. But it helps to have social skills that show you're cooperative and nice to be around.

You may have heard about how this industry has a lot of nepotism. Thats not wrong, and it may suck to hear. But in a high stress team oriented job, you dont wanna work with people who will treat you like shit, so people are more likely to recommend you or seek you out if they know youre a good person to work with. I wasnt the most social person in highschool or college. I had a small group of friends and stuck to them. Nothing wrong with that but I was a bit...rusty with interacting with people outside that. You have to learn things like how to compromise, do things that others may want to do but you dont. It can be hard, especially if like me, you're neurodivergent, but its still important.

Not everyone is fortunate to be able to meet industry people in person but thankfully the internet has discord servers and other online spaces to try and interact with people. But PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD do not approach people to make a connection solely for a job. People smell that shit a mile away. Instead just, try to be yourself and be kind, make genuine connections with people when possible. Which leads me to my last point.

DONT LOSE YOURSELF

I've given a lot of information that may seem contradictory and hey, this shit isnt easy to navigate and Im still learning. Somewhere in the second step I sorta lost track of what I liked, what I wanted to do, I really became stuck on being someone I thought other people in the industry would like. I changed my art style and what I drew to better suit what I thought would be well liked. I did enjoy trying new things but eventually I was just trying to impress some anonymous blob and felt overwhelmd. I really felt like a failure as a person and an artist.

If people told me my art was so good, why couldnt I get a job?

My portfolio had examples of it from things I'd done in freelance but still no major job. I was about to give up when I was ghosted after a test I was proud of. After a really bad depressive episode I just decided to make a storyboard about fairy. Something simple but fun. I hadnt drawn a lot of my dreamons and shared them in a while so it felt nice to return to the things I liked. After finishing that personal board I put it up and thats when I started to get bites from studios.

I'll share with you what I've heard from many industry artists interviews. You need to have your own voice. It may be tempting to try and emulate someone else. (for ex. I saw a lot of people really try to replicate glen keanes work) and its okay to be inspired but if your work is nothing more than an imitation of someone else then studios would probably rather just get that person. You are an individual! You have your own experiences and likes and maybe they overlap with other things (thats okay) but try to bring your voice to the table. That also helps with the above in helping people get to know you. My shit is weird whacky zany squishy stuff and I'm happy to be getting back into it full swing. Also remember everyone's journey is totally different. Try not to compare your progress with others, it'll drive you nuts. Also remember this is just my personal experience. If you ask this question of others you're likely to get a million different responses, so take my words with a grain of salt!