Getting your dream job

Noticed that lately there have been a lot of threads asking about what it takes to work in animation, going to art school, how to draw/animate, etc. There are a lot of common questions on the subject so I'm willing to share the best answers from my experience and from my friend's who have way more experience than me. Nothing special about me, just a SCAD graduate, but I can still offer some advice for younger anons who want to achieve their dream. If there are other anons who have advice to give, feel free to share them here too. This is just my opinion, and I bet there will be disagreements, so feel free to reply and share better advice than I have.

>Should I go to a top tier art school like CalArts, SCAD, SVA to learn art/animation?
Before thinking about art school, first try to learn as much as you can on your own. No reason to burn all of your money when you're not mentally ready yet. Nowadays there are so many books and online drawing/animation tutorials that you can learn the fundamentals and beyond without relying on art school to teach them to you. In addition to self-studying, you should definitely take art classes at your local art center. Art centers are much cheaper and better places to learn art fundamentals compared to 4-year universities that rob your money for teaching the same thing. Don't just stick to drawing either, be sure to expand your fields to other artistic mediums such as watercolor, sculpting, painting, etc. Schools and companies love it when you don't stick to your comfort zone, so best get into that habit now.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=wwGKQS5trQU
youtube.com/watch?v=C3lApsNmdwM
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

>So, isn't it better to just stick to self-studying and not go to art school?
Depends on how far you want your skill level to go. If you just want to reach a level where you can make decent looking independent comics/short films or freelance work, then sure. However, if you want to reach the level where major film companies want to hire you on the spot, you need to learn from the best, and the best are teaching at art schools. In terms of getting a job though, it's not 100% necessary to go to art school, but it's still highly recommended.

>Any other reason I should go to art school besides learning from the best?
Yes. Networking. Major film and TV companies pay extra attention to students that attend these schools, and often have experienced artists such as Glen Keane come and give special guest lectures. However, it's still your responsibility to create those social connections between companies and people in the industry in order to get your first job. There are many SCAD students (such as me and other anons here) who haven't tried hard enough to make those connections and graduated without getting anywhere. Not pushing myself to network is one of my biggest regrets, and it's one of the biggest reasons why you shouldn't go to art school until your mentally ready and socially mature. Yes, we can blame our terrible advisers, but in the end the student is responsible for their education and career goals, not the school. When you attend art school, the door to your future is often right in front of you, so don't waste that opportunity while you're there!

>What if I just can't go to art school because I lack money and other circumstances?
There are many people who haven't gone to art school and still succeeded in getting in the industry. Most of these people have done more than self-studying. They have created short films and entered them at film festivals, made connections with every artist they met, and went out of state/country to go to animation film festivals and networking meetups for a weekend. They admittedly have a lot more mold to break through than art students, but it's possible.

>Is Animation Mentor a good online school?
From what I heard from my classmates, it's surprisingly good with experienced teachers, plus it's cheaper than art school (but still not insanely cheap either). From what I hear the workshops are more recommended than the full degree. However, the biggest downfall is the lack of industry connections. The teachers have company experience, but can't really help you find a job. Animation Mentor should be kinda considered an advanced form of self-studying with the addition of a mentor.

>CalArts seems like a joke. It looks like I can just get a loan, graduate from the school, and get guaranteed a job and pay back all of my debt without any effort. Is this true?
Let me end this rumor once and for all. No it's not as easy as it may seem. Although it's true you get way more opportunities in CalArts because most of the industry is in LA, that doesn't mean the student doesn't put effort in their portfolio and networking skills. The real reason why CalArts students have a slightly easier time getting employed is more to do with the location than the school itself. If you too moved to LA, and have the skills, you'll have a higher chance of getting hired just because the industry is thriving there. There are many CalArts students who graduated, still live in LA, but have yet to find jobs and are going to art centers to improve their portfolio (the art centers in LA are really good too). We tend to look at the simplicity of modern cartoons and blame CalArts for it, but if you actually take the time and look at the portfolios of many CalArts graduates, they actually know their stuff. The simplicity of modern cartoons is the artistic choices of the studios because it's trendy at the moment. The graduates are simply following suit because that's what the studio wants. Point is CalArts does not make an easier path for you, if anything it makes a more straight clean path for you than a shaky path, but that straight path still has obstacles that you must overcome.

>I'm interested in art/animation, but I'm still not sure if it's for me. How should I explore it without risking myself?
As I said before, learn how to draw and animate on your own and see how you feel. If you feel passionate enough to draw/animate everyday, then it's a good career for you. It's important to separate the difference between passion and happiness though. Passion does not mean you're happy to do what you do every single day. There will be days when you feel like crap, but you still draw anyway because it's a habit. That's what true passion is, you can't stop yourself from doing what you do everyday no matter how bad you feel. The consistency passion brings is super important in the industry, because companies need that level of consistency to create demanding projects.

>Is /ic/ a good board to go to for learning and critique? What about DevianatArt or Tumblr?
Honestly no. I know that's not a popular answer here, but internet communities of any sort aren't a healthy replacement for real life learning and networking. I know it's possible to network through just internet communities and meeting at fan conventions, but it's just not as efficient. I'm speaking from experience. At first I saw nothing wrong with such communities, but I realized that it had kept me in this anti-social bubble, and it hindered my networking skills in a way. Internet communities are fine to share the usual fun side projects and fanart, but not serious career work. Not to mention the internet is seriously addictive and distracts you from your responsibilities. Try to avoid internet communities, especially if you're just starting to learn how to draw. It's much better and socially healthier to just go to an art center and speak with real artists and teachers face to face. The sooner you can build your social and networking habits with other artists, the better and more fulfilling your future in art will be.

>I tried achieving my dream, but the teachers I had were arrogant pricks, I can't find a job, I'm in debt, and overall I feel some people are just lucky and I'm wasting my time. Is animation really for me? Why should I even try?
Because you only truly fail if you give up and stop trying. Now that doesn't mean I'm going to act like the typical optimist who believes anyone can achieve their dreams if they just try hard enough, that's not realistic. But that also doesn't mean I'm going to act like the typical cynic who also immaturely thinks there is no opportunity at all. All I can share is my advice on passion again. If you feel the urge to work on this career goal everyday no matter how bad you feel, like a habit, then this is the career for you. People who want to get into animation for financial success are doing it for the wrong reasons. All careers in art don't pay as well as other careers do. Even the entry level Disney animator only gets paid a couple bucks more than the minimum wage. If you're going into the field of animation, or any art career really, they say you're already a delusional optimist because it's an incredibly risky career. But we all know we do art/animation because we're passionate about it, and that drive makes us work consistently, and that consistency helps us create creative works and good income even if the pay isn't incredibly amazing.

>What's the top advice you can give me?
Practicing, researching, networking, and getting out of your comfort zone every day is the top advice I can give. Turning your passion into consistency is key.

Friend of mine wants to break into the professional world in animation/comics.

My friend currently works on low budget indie comics, and doesn't have the funds at all to afford an education and it would be difficult to even afford the funds to travel to a film festival without some outside support. Any suggestions?

He should keep practicing drawing/animation. There's a shitload of tutorials for free online. In creative fields, it's way more about what you produce than anything else, so if he wants to do animations, he needs to start doing animations right now.

So basically convince her to be an online animator like Zeurel, HDD, Jazzamoto, RedMinus, JanAnimations?

Visuals, or storytelling?

How do I make an epic cartoon so I can bang all the millenial girls?

>a post on Sup Forums that's actually helpful and informative

woah.

in all seriousness though, thanks for sharing this with us. It gives me more of a clear idea of what I should be doing to get into the industry.

>millenial girls
Storytelling. Millenial girls don't give a shit about impressive visuals.

Thank you.

Are web animations a good way of trying to attract attention?

this thread is too good to die

>19-20 year old this month
>been draw gagging, drawing fan art, making regular/sonic OCs since I was 10
>was always fascinated in story boarding and character creation
>not sure what to add for my portfolio or what schools to go to after I get my associates.
Help

>19-20 year old this month
>been draw gagging, drawing fan art, making regular/sonic OCs since I was 10
>about to go back to school and get my associates before even thinking about art school
>want to do storyboarding, character design and maybe make my own project
>don't know what to add to my portfolio in the mean time or how to network myself
Help
>was always fascinated in story boarding and character creation
>not sure what to add for my portfolio or what schools to go to after I get my associates.
Help

Fucking phone posting

Got my own webcomic chugging along, would love to get into animation and this thread is really proving to be helpful, thanks for sharing mates.

>top tier art school like SCAD
>SCAD doesn't even require a portfolio to get in

SVA fag here, can confirm this is (kinda true). I was going to apply to SVA and SCAD for animation but ultimately just applied to SVA because they actually required my portfolio to be shown and that came off as more professional to me. Also, SVA is constantly giving out great internship opportunities to NYC studios like Titmouse and every New York based ad agency you can think of.

The only downside is that a lot of people who go to SVA for animation are all trying to become the next Rebecca Sugar. After a while it's hard to tell a lot of people's styles apart and most of those people either drop out or transfer to our cartooning department (which is literally just a bunch of furfags). The only people at SVA who I've seen become/begin to become successful are people who have already worked for years to cultivate an original style while applying classic animation techniques.

TLDR: if your gonna even consider going to an art school for animation beforehand, make sure to work on cultivating a unique original style and practice animating with pencil and paper before you even touch a cintiq

Not the same guy but thanks for this, I fell like my style could use some work.

OP back to answer some questions here. Again, if you there's anyone with better input, feel free to share.

Don't exactly know your friends circumstances so YMMV, but I believe your friend just has to be a bit more patient. He just needs to find a stable paying job, save up money, and while he waits he can take the time to improve his art skills and portfolio. There's probably still a lot he can learn on his own. If he's good at drawing, perhaps he can look into online freelance art as a job too. Also, I think a trip to a film festival or convention for a weekend is still much cheaper than a full college degree, and there is a lot of value if he does happen to make a short film and enter it (he should enter short films at small local film festivals first before he tries the major ones). I honestly don't have much advice for non-college people outside of that though.

Depends. If you're trying to be an artist/animator first and foremost, focus on visuals. If you're more focused on creating stories whether through writing or comics/storyboards, storytelling should be your focus. Ideally you should learn both though, and you will learn both if you go to art school.

For the internet world, yes. But real life people, not so much unless you bring it to their attention. If your web animations are typical Tumblr fan animations, studios won't be so interested, especially the major film studios. I do know that CN have hired SU fan artists though, but those fan artists probably had to fly to California and network like most real life people do instead of sitting around waiting.

Just be patient. Got to art centers, learn how to draw stuff from real life, learn how to create art for real, etc. Drawing fan art since you were a kid is a good sign actually, since you seem to have passion for character creation. All you need to do is just take art more seriously. Then after that start thinking of applying to the big schools.

I got my dream job. I'm an accountant. I wish I'd dreamed bigger.

SCAD is no CalArts, that's for sure, but it's still a really legit school with people who have worked for Disney, Dreamworks, and Blue Sky. With the occasional guest lectures from the Disney legends such as Glen Keane. I'm surprised that such a good doesn't need a portfolio to enter. I had a lot of fun in the animation department at SCAD and learned a lot. No regrets besides not pushing myself to network more.

I went to SVA. Biggest mistake of my life. And I was the fuck up, I won't lie or sugar coat it. I shined for about 18months and almost "saw the light" but I fucking lose it at some point. At the end one dude I was cool with, saw me and went "what happened to you man?" with a concerned look on his face. I had no business being in art school, and have crushing debt to show for it. But I just want to say it was a fucking 4 year rundown cruise ship with babysitters. Don't know what it's like there these days, but I get their art catalogs. I doubt anything productive is coming out of those schools. I think only 3 kids came out successful in my class. I'm less than 2 years away from committing suicide to get out of debt. My passion for creating art has vanished. I don't even want to play the game anymore or entertain the idea of posting on social media. Even looking at these threads triggers my inner loser guilt.

I'll just parrot something I heard, cause that's all I seem to be doing lately. If you get a grant that pays most of it, or have someone to cover you for 4-6 years, go for art school. But if you're good enough to get a grant, you're probably good enough to work pro. Self-discipline is very important, if you can't sit down 6-8 hours and work on multiple things in a day, you're probably not gonna excel in school. And that is also the lesson for being an independent commercial artist. If you're not good enough don't even bother with artschool. Just post on social media and ask for heavy critiques. Sign up for some of these online drawing schools and get critiqued by the instructors. 1000x cheaper than accredited art schools.

Forgive my depressing tone. I could go off, but I do like art and artists, I'm just a scorned loser.

It's the complete opposite, idiot.

OP is retarded for not mentioning the biggest thing: if you're not an American citizen, don't even bother.

Canadian animation industry is booming right now, many studios can't find enough skilled artists to match their desired rate of production

>Canadian animation industry

I don't even have a witty comment to make.
Just no.

Thanks for the thread OP!

I had some questions, is it worth it to take continuing ed courses in animation? I figure it's a much cheaper way to get some course work in without having to go through loans or portfolio review.

And can you describe the process of creating a short film, maybe yours if you are comfortable?

Really sucks man. I have a couple classmates who gave up SCAD for similar reasons and are in the same place as you. Just know that you're not alone. Just take a break, stick close to your friends and family instead of anons on Sup Forums, and enjoy art for what it is rather than making it a statement of your self worth. You're just someone who took the wrong turn, but life isn't over for you man. I know this advice probably won't help you at all, but you still got my respect and care. Hang in there, I know it's tough.

Why pencil and paper though? I get trying to develop your own style and practicing drawing on paper. But what do you gain from trying to animate on paper?

Probably because it's cheap, it gives you time to learn and figure if this is what you really want to do, and if that all checks out then you can spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive piece of electronic equipment.

Great thread OP. If anyone has any questions on working in the comics side of things, I'd be glad to answer some. I'm only on my second published series but I know enough to cover most bases I think

Thank you dude. That's mighty nice of you user. Your advice is valuable to me, I do get stuck on negative stuff anons say so if it means anything I take your words with gratitude. And yeah I need my friends and family.

Out of curiosity, what country do you live in? You can still make a name for yourself in your country to beef up your resume before going aboard. You don't have to work in studios or go to art school to learn how to make great stories in comic book form.

>Comics

I'm currently doing the Kevin Cross hundred days thing, I feel like my workflow is not optimal. Is it something that comes with time or are their best practices to assembling a page/book?

Take what you can get. Most of the animation being done in Canada is service work for international clients. Not everybody is making Flash-shit for Teletoon.

Sure. Patreon makes it easier than ever to do that and actually make some money off of it.

Never heard of it, could you explain it? What is your average page turnaround (presuming you're penciling and inking)?

Having deadlines (especially tight ones) are the fast-tracked way to developing a good workflow IMO, even if you have to impose them on yourself

then why are SU and GF popular

Mind if I ask you a question?
I'm in college recently and I really wanted to dive in on drawing/animation and self-teaching.
Problem is time organization. I pretty much have only 6-7 hours/day that I'm "free" (as in, returning from college and prior to my working hours).
Is there any suggestion to balance between studying with self-teaching art in terms of time?

What art books do you suggest?

If you've got 6-7 hours that's a LOT of time to practice. If you can devote 30 minutes to an hour every day for GOOD practice, you'll progress a lot.

The short film I made for the graduation project I don't feel comfortable sharing unfortunately. It has my name and my colleagues names on it and I don't have their permission to share it. It was about a bird is all I can say. I didn't like how it turned out though. Camera cuts and timing were pretty off for example. But anyway, making a short film is essentially putting everything you've learned in school. You can make one yourself at home if you know all the steps from storyboarding to animatic and modeling/drawing. There's a video from Bloop Animation that talks about it pretty straightforwardly.

As for college courses, the cheapest way is to get your general eds done in community college and transfer, then focus the rest of the two years on animation.

youtube.com/watch?v=wwGKQS5trQU

The video is the guy in question who started it, the short of it is work on your creator owned story for a sustained period.

I am gunning for a fully penciled/inked/colored book, 32 pages of art. I'm Just over two weeks in and have made some significant progress, but by no means am close to done.

100 days didn't seem like a lot until I started, I feel like I'm floundering and could be doing a lot better.

SCAD is a fucking scam user, no one gets anywhere by handing a shitload of money for a B average and no demo reel to speak of.

I'm not all that keen on a degree, i'd just like the course work and meeting like minded individuals. Is the four years needed if I take the brick and mortar route?

OP here, I think I misread your question. When you said continuing education, did you mean taking animation classes in Community College? If so, the animation they teach you in a general school is about the same level of education you can learn for free or cheap through online tutorials.

This thread....is so weirdly good for this board.....I am scared guys....

Well yeah. That's true for any art school. The degree isn't the point, it's the people that teach you and the demo reel has always been the student's responsibility, not the school's.

Love the thread you put in here OP.

This is always my favorite type of thread on Sup Forums because I think the Cartoon Industry is just interesting. It's interesting how many of the things you repeat like networking is completely true about the dream jobs of Mechanical Engineering.

Is it too late for me to go to art/animation school?

I turn 25 today (seriously). When is it too late? I'm glad you brought up emotional/mental maturity because I most certainly was not mature enough for something like art school prior to age 23 or so. But I'm worried it's too late now.

Please be honest.

So, the point of going to a big art school is for the very experienced teachers that exclusively teach there and the connections. If you don't care about that, then feel to self-study, you can still make amazing work. Just be sure to network and meet people.

happy birthday user

nice get user

Why would international clients set up shop in what is possibly the most expensive country in the world for hiring foreign labour (after all expenditures accounted for)?

Thanks mate.

A bit on paying for school for those considering going;

Do your first two years at a community college. It's way cheaper, and if you qualify for a Pell Grant, may cover the entire cost. That said, don't expect every credit you earn to pass on to a four year(especially better ones). The advantage of this is that you'll rapidly know whether schooling is the right choice for you or not without sinking too much money into it.

Most art schools offer significant amounts of money in the form of scholarships; I've been offered in the $15,000-22,000 range. Even so, I'm probably going to end up having somewhere around $18,000~ in student loans, but compared to what you might think looking at tuition initially(which is usually somewhere around $30,000 a year), it's not all that much. It's actually less than my mother paid for her car. Some state universities are cheaper, but they also tend to offer general art degrees instead of specialized.

Say you already have the knowhow.

How would be the best way to make a demo reel? Make animation cuts exclusive to that reel? Make a short film or two and then condense some of the best parts of your animation into that reel without much else? Should you bother putting in a bunch if hand drawn animation, or would it be wiser to put in mostly flash puppet stuff, since that's the stuff most studios do these days? Is it wise to just have multiple reels for different studios types you'd apply to? Is it essential you have a portfolio of non animated work if you have a good reel, or can you skip it?

What? People from America hire Canadian studios to animate for them because art productions in Canada get sick nasty tax credits. It's cheap for clients and the artists get paid decently.

I was recently placed on the waiting list for SVA for the Animation program for Fall.

Realistically, what are my chances of getting off the waiting list and getting to go off to college this fall?

>drawing cartoons as a career and not just as a hobby

o I am laffin

Don't worry about it. I was in an animation program with people ranging from recent HS grads to folks in the 30s.

SVA fag from earlier here

I'd say you have a 50/50 chance, but the better your art is, the more likely you are to get bumped up the list (at least that's what I've gathered with people in the department who were originally wait listed but then accepted). If you don't get in then keep working on your skills and reapply next year (if your truly set on SVA)

I've been very depressed the last few years so I haven't worked on my art as much as I maybe should have.

I'd say it was low-average. Here's a bird I included.

Did you put only traditional art in your portfolio? Any figure drawings? Some examples of your cartoon style?

I'll try tackle this point by point, hopefully it helps a bit.

>How would be the best way to make a demo reel? Make a short film or two and then condense some of the best parts of your animation into that reel?

Only put the best of your best in your demo reel. It's better to have a reel that's under a minute with only stellar stuff than a longer reel padded out with some meh stuff in the middle. If you're going to make a short film, you may as well just include the film with your portfolio because studios are interested in seeing how well you animate from shot to shot. For the reel, sure, you can condense and just put in the best of the best, but I would keep it in order. Don't put in one shot from one film, a shot from a different film, a walk cycle, then another shot from the first film. In regards to organizing your reel, put your best, most showstopping piece of work right at the beginning. If the hiring manager doesn't like what they see in the first ten seconds, they're just going to move on to the next person. Something that I was told the other week by a hiring manager, which surprised me, is that they prefer no music running through your reel, just the soundtrack from the included shots.

If you're producing work specifically with your demo reel in mind, you should focus on character acting and performance, especially lip sync. Most shows are just two people talking, so if you can do that well you're in a good spot. If your animation generally looks well made, studios will assume that you can do walk cycles and basic shit, so there's no need to include them in your reel.

I don't know how to draw in a cartoon style..I only know tradition stuff for the most part..

But I did include some figure drawings, yes.

>Should you bother putting in a bunch if hand drawn animation, or would it be wiser to put in mostly flash puppet stuff, since that's the stuff most studios do these days? Is it wise to just have multiple reels for different studios types you'd apply to?

Cater your reel to the job you're applying for, yeah. If you're not sure what kind of stuff you'll be working on, a mix of it all is fine, but I wouldn't bother including asset driven animation if the production you're applying for is all hand drawn work. Having some solid hand drawn stuff is always good, because it transfers over to rigged animation fairly well either way. But yes, many studios are working in Toonboom or Flash, so you'll most likely be getting a job working with puppets.

>Is it essential you have a portfolio of non animated work if you have a good reel, or can you skip it?

Studios really like to see what drives you as an artist, what kinds of things you like to make. They’re looking for people similar to them, people who love to draw and create, and your portfolio is a good way to show that to them. Studios also enjoy having people that are multi-faceted and can move from place to place after a production finishes up so they don’t have to go looking for new people all the time. If you show them and let them know that you can do layout as well as animation, then they’ll just keep you on board for a different show instead of getting rid of your when there’s no more animation work to be done. If you’re only interested in animation and would rather just look for another studio, that’s totally fine too, but it’s nice to have a reliable place to go once a contract ends.

I'd say you have a shot then. As for the "too depressed to work thing", your gonna have to find a way to tackle that if you get in. I nearly dropped out of SVA freshman year because I spent majority of the time getting high and avoiding my problems when I should've been working. I was able to catch up thanks to a bunch of supportive friends/classmates but I can definitely see where I still fall behind in some terms of animation because I was too depressed to attend class or even work in my sketchbook.

I understand that our department is often referred to as "CalArts rejects" but the animation teachers here are still assholes (and I mean that in the best way possible). One of the freshmen classes was given two weeks to start and complete a minute long animation done entirely on paper.

As for if you don't get accepted right away, don't let it discourage you. Let it motivate you to keep on working. Try to begin and cultivate some sort of cartoony style (even if it looks generic to you at first), Study all sorts of film (both animated and live action), and always carry a sketchbook with you. I guarantee your overall art will improve and if you decide to reapply to SVA they will note how much the quality of your work has increased and you probably won't get wait listed again.

I hope this post didn't discourage you, I'm just trying to give you advice for both scenarios since I think you have a 50/50 chance of getting in.

>The only downside is that a lot of people who go to SVA for animation are all trying to become the next Rebecca Sugar.

Oh, SCAD animation right now is filled with Steven Universe fans who apparently not only draw Steven Universe OCs but it actually looks like that is the limit of their skill. They literally can ONLY draw Steven Universe stuff.

I'm not sure what their career goals are if they are not going to land that storyboarding job on Steven Universe. They cannot really draw anything else, or even care to try.

One thing I like to point out when it comes to professional studio work: No one cares for your OCs or original ideas. You are going to be hired to work on someone else's vision. It could be some soulless, glorified 20 minutes kids commercial with shameless product placement in a style that you personally find aborrent. It could be educational things aimed at 2-4 year olds. And you are expected to always give it your very best.

>he was an animator
>in a nearly bankrupt studio
>he did it for free
>this is what he did on a Saturday

Animators have always been crazy stupid, but I love them so much.

I misspoke, I want access to the teachers and students rather than the degree itself.

I get what you're saying though, while I struggle at self teaching, it's forced me to really take charge of my education and I am better for it, but I'd like some really industry experience.

this is true for any job that isn't self-employment

How do I know when I'm drawing from the shoulder ?

When I try to, I grow tight at the top of the shoulder, is this the correct way ?

If your wrist and elbow are moving, you're not drawing from the shoulder.

A couple years ago I went to CalArts for animation my freshman year. If any anons got some questions about the school I can try and answer (like what the SVA and SCAD anons are doing here, you guys are cool and this is a cool thread).

Define Moving, as in on their own ?

Wouldn't I just be moving them anyway if I was drawing from the shoulder ?

I find it really hard to explain, hell, I didn't even get it until I saw it.
youtube.com/watch?v=C3lApsNmdwM
Watch Feng draw. He explains it and shows it well.

Sweet. Did you graduate, or was it just the freshman year you completed? What did you do after CalArts?

Thanks user

I didn't graduate, just completed freshman year. I just stayed for the one year because I didn't feel like I was making the most out of it at the time due to some personal stuff; but I did like the school a lot. Otherwise I've mostly been doing freelance design or illustration stuff after, nothing special.

/ic/ BTFO

#1 Large Surface.
Most important thing to get into the flow of shoulder drawing, get a giant drawing surface. 18x24inch newsprint or bigger. 30x40 or a 5foot naruto scroll newsprint, which I used a long time ago. An instructor I once knew said the bigger the better. But 18x24 is good :P Buy a clipboard or steal a flat board somewhere.

#2 Fat medium.
Charcoal/conte/giant brush/Graphite sticks. It prevents broken lines and feathering habits. It forces your stroke to commit even if it's wrong. Gives you positive visual results, boosting your confidence while training you to draw with confident lines.

#3 Standing > Sitting
You're automatically in a relaxed pose, if you are bending your wrist or elbow, then you're probably straining your back to get into that position. Best way to do it is to draw standing at an easel. The standing position puts you and your back in a relaxed state for drawing. If you're not able to stand or get an easel. The wooden horse, if you're in a life drawing studio. Or Get two chairs(my personal favorite.) You sit in on one chair and place the second chair in front of you. rest that clipboard you bought or stole on the other chair's backrest. Now you have a relaxed drawing position to use your arms.

Now if you don't have or can't do any of those things or when you go back to drawing in a tiny sketchbook or digital tablet. Just consider, "locking your wrist" or keeping in mind the 90 degree perpendicular angle while drawing on the surface, will also prevent wrist bending/line feathering. Bending your elbow wont be as detrimental as bending your wrist, be in control of your wrist. I wouldn't say I'm a good artist, but I can definitely draw some fantastic lines curves, and freehand ellipses, with confidence.

Anyway it's an exercise to relax.

The world needs accountants, Cyril. Be proud!

Happy birthday user

Jim Lee took his first real art class at 22
Of course everything is more competitive nowadays

Ah, well I already have a computer and a drawing pad so I'll continue and keep using that.

It's really hard to find experienced teachers who are willing to teach for free. I think the cheapest way is Animation Mentor since it's online, but again it's super important to network so you can make something out of your education, and Animation Mentor won't help you with that since you're stuck at home.

But as I said, just focus on self-studying for now. All that self-studying will pay off. In fact there's a great site called 11secondclub where you compete with other at-home animators ever month, and first place gets a free critique from an Animation Mentor teacher.

Thanks user, much apreciated. I had one other question, more for a friend and other anons in their shoes than for me:

If you know how to do frame by frame traditional animation, but have no idea how to do puppet tweening animation, is that something that's on you to learn, or would a job that accepts a fully traditional animation reel also train someone on toonboom for that sorta stuff?

For animation, Animator's Survival Kit.

Learning anatomy is super important too, so Classic Human Anatomy in Motion is a great book to have. Nothing can truly replace figure drawing classes though, so make sure you take those at your art center.

No, it hasn't discouraged me. I appreciate the response.

Can you tell me a bit about what the average student is like at SVA? Are there difference between programs?

I'm a little worried that it's all gonna be weebs or something and I'm not gonna gonna find any friends. I seem to be the only person who wants to go into animation but also doesn't like anime that I've seen.

Have you thought about going back? Is it possible to go back? Also, how easy was it for you to apply to the school?

Ive always wanted to go to CalArts but i never saw myself as good enough.

All the accepted portfolios I see are people doing shit in like 10 different styles like Jesus Christ I only know how to draw traditionally with pencil or charcoal.

Is it really that hard to get in or are these people going overboard with their portfolios?

Jesus shit though, where will you get 18,000$ when you're out?
That's a new mustang, bruh.

It's a loan, I don't expect to pay it all back at once. Since I'm a weeb, I'm going to see if I can use my degree to get a teaching job over in Japan while I work on my masters.

Let's see some of your art, fellow weeb.

Sure I've thought about it, but I'm pretty happy right now and I think it's possible, I've heard about people that have before, but it's not super important to me right now and I haven't looked too much into it. Applying was hard (I happen to get in my first try though), but I hear its a lot harder now since the last few years, a ton more people applying but accepted number staying about the same. It might have changed, but they focus a lot on life drawing for applications, but not like construction life drawing.

It's gotten harder to get in (see above). Almost everyone had like some kind of past art experience (college, summer session, CSSSA, arts high school, low level studio stuff, etc). I took some art classes at community college myself. you don't really have to know how to draw with everything, but they usually liked to see people experiment with different media in their sketchbooks. I had a few teachers tell me they liked seeing pen drawings too, mostly to show confidence in your work since you couldn't erase.