Hey friends, here’s the thing I was talking about. Prepare for some information and advice in a probably not extremely coherently written way.
Art school is expensive, like ridiculously expensive, especially if you haven’t gotten a good chunk of scholarships to help pay it off. And it is an even more painful thing for those who WANT to go to art school but most definitely can’t. I’ve attended two art schools - Ringling College of Art and Design and currently Laguna College of Art and Design - majoring in Game Art at both schools. Both were great learning experiences, and I grew a lot as a person. I’m currently finishing my second semester at LCAD as transferring fucked me over. And I started to realize at this half way point that I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and that all these superfluous classes were honestly meaningless to my goal and just wasting money. And it is with that I announce that I will probably be dropping out to focus on independent study. I may be doing one more semester at LCAD, but most likely not. And I’d like to share the ton of advice I’ve collected from friends who work in the entertainment industry, as well as instructors. Now note that this is mostly directed towards entertainment design majors (animation, game art, etc.) and media majors, but it can most likely hold true for other arts. ;) This is also geared more towards people who want to work in contract or salary jobs, vs just freelancing.
The question many ask is completing art school worth the debt? I brought up this question to some friends who graduated from places like Gnomon, and most told me no, it wasn’t. Because most of what you learn in art school will not only be outdated by the time you get out (in regards to programs and pipelines), but with the internet it’s now easy to get all the resources you need for far cheaper or even free. There’s a post going around by Noah Bradley, a concept artist, that’s basically the same advice I’m going to be giving, however I’ve got some other stuff to addon.
Now, with that being said, what’s even the value of going to art school? Well there’s definitely pros you can get out of it but once you’ve gotten those out of the school, there is no reason to stay unless you really need that piece of paper. Art school is a great way to network, as often instructors are people who (hopefully) have worked in the industry, and if you do have instructors like that BUDDY UP WITH THEM, MAKE THEM LIKE YOU, THEY ARE IMPORTANT. And this is the same for your peers, this sounds awful but I’ve always been told it’s a good idea to hang around with the best artists in class, you don’t necessarily have to be friends with them, but watching them work and ABSORBING THEIR METHODS will help make you a better artist too. As well as hanging out with just good people in general.Â
Aside from networking, the second importance of art school is to help you figure out specifically what you want to do. (Hopefully, if it’s not then get the hell out of there) For example, when I went into school I just wanted to do game art but didn’t know what part of it I wanted to do, now I know I want to be a 3D character artist. Once you have that knowledge of specifically what you want to do that’s when it’s usually a good idea to get out of there and save your money. If you know what you want to do prior to going to art school, well, you don’t need to go, unless you’re incapable of networking or learning outside of a school setting.
As for the degree, you do not need it to be successful in the art industry. I’ve been told countless times that they have NEVER been asked what school they went to, or what degree they got. They just want to make sure you, as a person, are fit for their company, and that you have a good portfolio. The degree is good to have if you’d like to teach art, or do something outside of art that requires it, but that’s about it.
Onto the advice. Independent study isn’t easy, and it definitely takes a certain type of mindset and discipline in order to achieve success - honestly something I didn’t have prior to me going to art school. It’s important to have a plan laid out, especially if you’re going to focus a year or two of your time on this one thing you want to be. I’m honestly awful at organizing information, so I’m just going to bullet point my advice. B)
Figure out what you want to be, this needs to be specific, there are generalist jobs out there, but they are few and in between. So some examples of something more specific would be character artist, 3d modeler (for environments, assets or characters), rigger, animator, visual development, concept artist (characters, environments, assets, etc.). You need to know specifically the job you want to do.
Research studios and jobs you’d be interested in, read over the requirements for these jobs, take note of them and what you need to improve on as well as learn
Look into online classes, workshops, video tutorials that relate to those job requirements. For game art there’s a TON of things out there. If there’s any self-taught animators out there that have some recommendations please feel free to send some my way and I’ll add them to the end of this post.Â
Focus ALL your time on that goal, so for example, once I switch over to my independent study plan, I will ONLY be doing 3D character work and putting all the time I can into focusing in learning zbrush and getting better.
Join online forums related to the industry you’re shooting for (for for game art places like conceptart.org and polycount.com)
Post your work there, you’ll get a lot of shitty critique from people who have nothing better to do but crit people all day, but you’ll also get a lot of valuable advise from people in the industry. Take in all that crit and keep improving.
Make a list of phone numbers for companies you want to work for
Make a list of contact info of networks if you have them
If you don’t have networks, go to conventions, expos, and meetups, make networks, talk to people, show them your work, it is DIRE you do this. If you’re not going to school this is one of the only ways you can make networks aside from online. And in real life meetings are going to be that much more meaningful.
If you have networks, ask around if they know anyone in these companies you’re interested in working for.
If they do talk to these people about what it’s like working there, what they did to get in, what they think you need to do to get your work to their standard.
Also know that a lot of these companies are full of mediocre artists, something my instructor made a point of is that we only see their star artists publicly, but not the hundreds of okay artists in the back. You do not have to hold your standard to these top artists, you just need to be better than the okay artists. Obviously it’s a good idea to shoot for the top, but do not let the idea that you’ll never be that good so you won’t get a job discourage you, because in reality that is NOT the majority.
Once you’ve got your portfolio started (it doesn’t have to be completely ready, just have a few solid pieces to show), start CALLING up the companies mentioned before. DO. NOT. EMAIL. I know this is extremely difficult for people who have anxiety (myself included) but it’s imperative that you call. In an email it’s so much easier for a recruiter or hiring manager to ignore it or tell you they don’t have time currently. On the phone is a lot harder for people to ignore you, and chances are they’re not going to hang up on you haha.
When you call ask if they have INTERNSHIPS FIRST, do not ask about jobs. If you ask for a job they’re going to tell you to look on their site online and the conversation ends there. Now this is where things might get a little tricky, some companies require you to be in school in order to apply for an internship, but a lot of companies haven’t even thought of offering internships! (especially if you look at smaller studios and don’t shoot for the big ones just yet)
If they don’t have internships or haven’t thought about having internships, explain to them that you’re interested in helping them out in the studio in exchange for experience. Now this is very different then when people come to you asking you to do free art in “exchange for getting viewership” or whatever bs. Working in a studio you are going to learn the ins and out of a professional pipeline, you are here for the education you wouldn’t get while in school. And for the stuff you’d learn in school (like programs) you are going to learn them at a MUCH faster rate while working in a studio. They are far more likely to hear your pitch for an internship that is at no cost to them vs someone looking for a job. An internship is also an important opportunity to see if you’re a fit for their company, and it is not uncommon for companies you’ve interned at to hire you later on.Â
Sometimes if you’re rejected by the first person who answers, call again and see if you get a different person. Sometimes person A is having a bad day and doesn’t want to hear your jargon, but person B may be willing. And that second call might be enough to get them to hear you out and look at your work.Â
Sometimes a portfolio book is more effective than a website. It’s easy for a hiring manager to ignore something online (similar to the email thing mentioned earlier), but a physical portfolio book is RIGHT THERE AND HARDER TO IGNORE OR TOSS. So consider making one.
Be proactive, stay on track, be disciplined, do your research and don’t waste time. Consider places you may of ignored before (example, while I majored in games, I’m looking into the toy industry too!)
Good luck, and everything will be okay. Work hard and believe in your capabilities as a successful artist. Beat that stereotype and don’t let money be the reason you can’t make it.
I hope this all helps, and is somewhat useful. This is mostly me just retelling advice that I was given. ;PÂ
Below are some stuff to watch/look into (these are mostly geared towards game art, but if any other people want to recommend some other resources I’ll add them here! These are not all free, but a lot more affordable than a four year college)
Resources
Gnomon Videos (Mostly entertainment design and game art focused.)
Feng Zhu Videos (Huge range of videos, mostly GA/concept related)
Noah Bradley’s Art Camp (12 week courses focused on either covering all the important fundamentals of concepting or environment concept design)
CGMAÂ (CG Masters Academy, lots of industry professionals teaching online classes - either 2D digital art or 3D. Lots of courses!)
CDAÂ (Concept Design Academy, offers several tracks focusing on character design, environment design and storyboarding)
Conceptart.org (Great place to get inspiration, keep track of upcoming art events, get critique through the forums and participate in contests. GA focused  but still has lots of variety.)
Polycount (A great resource for getting feedback and advice on 2D and 3D work. GA focused.)
Robotpencil (Mentorship programs taught by Anthony Jones and others! GA/Concept focused.)
LUCIDPIXULÂ (Mentorship program, but also very valuable youtube videos. GA/Concept focused.)
ArtStation (Another great place for inspiration, and also view job postings. GA focused.)Â
Ctrl+Paint (Digital painting tutorials, majority of the content is free.)
Hey, folks! Iron Circus Comics is currently accepting unsolicited submissions from comics creators far and wide for the very first time! Click the image, or this direct link, for details on where and how to submit. ICC is looking for graphic novels, erotic graphic novels, and trade paperback collections! Take a look at our rules and see if your stuff makes the cut!
Founded in 2007, Iron Circus Comics is Chicago’s largest comics publisher and remains a one-woman show, run by C. Spike Trotman (with occasional help from Lucinda the pit mix). Responsible for renowned collections Smut Peddler 2012 and 2014, New World, and The Sleep of Reason, ICC and Spike have been featured on Forbes.com, The Guardian, AV Club, Paste Magazine, and NPR. And Spike’s looking to expand ICC’s lineup with more strange and amazing comics!
Even if you’re not a comic creator, please help one find out about this opportunity! Reblog, relink, and tell pals about this post!
Thanks, everyone! Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got!
Your prices are not entitled to be affordable to everyone, your prices are what people need to cough up to afford you. Somewhere along the way the prices for mass-produced posters became conflated for original fully-rendered art by request, and they’re not the same thing. One reflects the cost of printing pre-existing art on paper, the other reflects the cost of skill and labor.
Don’t compete with print prices when you’re a single person cranking out art. You’re a human being, not a printer. Don’t price yourself like you’re a machine and don’t let people treat you like you’re a ctrl+p shortcut.
“Yes, I am proposing that a major comic book institution change the race of one of its popular characters as it transitions to a new form of media. In this case, I want Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American actor to play the lead in the upcoming Iron Fist show it is developing for Netflix.
It seems logical enough to me, though as always, there are fans who are urging Marvel to resist changing his race. Now, I know the topic of cross-racial casting has come up time and time again here at The Nerds of Color. And while there are a contingent of fans who don’t think such things matter — or worse, are vehemently opposed to such casting choices — I can’t help thinking that Iron Fist gives Marvel a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe.
Not to mention that this is a case where changing the race of the character has the potential to actually add layers of depth to the story of said character. First, let’s get a couple of misconceptions out of the way. My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story. It is, in fact, the opposite…”Â
There’s also a petition for Marvel Studios to cast an Asian American as Iron Fist at 18 Million Rising.
“My call for an Asian American Iron Fist is not meant to displace Danny Rand from the story,” wrote Keith Chow, a contributor to the site. “It is, in fact, the opposite. In my mind, casting a young Asian American in the lead role does nothing to change his classic origin: He can still be the son of a wealthy businessman. He can still accompany his family on an expedition to seek out K’un L’un. He can still train under Lei Kung, the Thunderer. He can still seek revenge against the man who killed his father. Danny being Asian American precludes none of these things. What does change, however, in making Danny non-white is that it removes the white savior syndrome of the original story.”
“…If Danny is Asian American, the scenes of him embracing the ways of K’un-L’un can be viewed through the lens of cultural reconnection.”
This is the most ridiculous attack ad I’ve ever seen from the Conservatives.
The Conservatives are responsible for this deficit, as they fire saled everything and fudged the numbers and gave overly optimistic growth numbers. The reality is that their budget never was balanced.
And now they’re trying to blame the Liberals for it. Parliament isn’t even in session yet, so it would be impossible for the Liberals to spend/mismanage this money.
why do people look like their art styles so much like they don’t look exactly like it but you can look at a person then at their art then back at the person and be like “yes, this is definitely the person who drew this”
Hey so this was really interesting to me, so I went and asked some of my friends to share a recent drawing and a photo.
And then there’s me
Kinda scribbly and ill defined. So yeah, I think the theory holds water.
Hey internet. I’ve got some tough news I have to deliver. Are you sitting down? Do you have a minute? Here, have this picture of a dachshund dressed as a crayon to relax:
Everyone good? Okay here goes.
There’s no easy way to say it so I’m just going to say it: Gravity Falls is coming to an end. There are two more episodes left: “Weirdmageddon II: Escape from Reality” and “Weirdmageddon III” which will be our hour long series finale. After that, Gravity Falls as we know it will be over.
I know how tough this will be for many fans, and I feel you guys. But before you start sending me .GIF’s of pitchforks and torches let me explain.
The first thing to know is that the show isn’t being cancelled- it’s being finished. This is 100% my choice, and its something I decided on a very long time ago. I always designed Gravity Falls to be a finite series about one epic summer- a series with a beginning, middle, and end. There are so many shows that go on endlessly until they lose their original spark, or mysteries that are cancelled before they ever get a chance to payoff.
But I wanted Gravity Falls to have a mystery that had a real answer, an adventure that had a real climax, and an ending that had a real conclusion for the characters I care so much about. This is very unusual in television and a pretty big experiment, and Disney for their part has been enormously supportive. I know that hits are rare in this business, and its hard to let one of them go, so I’m so grateful that this company has had the vision to let me start (and end) the show the way I always wanted to.
Why did we wait so long to announce that this was the last season? The truth is, it wasn’t up to me. Before we started Season 2, my writers and I decided that this season would be the last. I wanted to announce this to the world at large then, but I was restricted from doing so, mainly because I think a lot of people were hoping I’d change my mind.
But Gravity Falls was never meant to be a series that goes on and on forever. It’s meant to be an exploration of the experience of summer, and in a larger sense a story about childhood itself. The fact that childhood ends is exactly what makes it so precious- and why you should cherish it while it lasts. Â
No words can describe how grateful I am for the millions of fans who have cherished Gravity Falls for the time that it’s been on air. Running a TV show, especially one where you write, direct, supervise, and co-star, can be an incredibly grueling experience. But every hand-written letter, tweet, tattoo, piece of art, costume and creation from the fans made this enormous undertaking worthwhile. To the Gravity Falls fandom- I love you guys. You’re weird and clever and smart and curious and have been a constant inspiration to me and the crew. You’ve picked us up when we felt down and pushed and inspired us to do the best work we possibly could. I hope you enjoy watching our finale as much as we enjoyed dreaming it up.
And if you don’t, keep it to yourself, pal! Yeesh!
Anyway, I know this will still be hard for a lot of fans to digest, so here’s a few FAQ’s for you guys.
FAQ:
Is this a prank? You’re a real prankster, you are!
Nah man, this is real. The first stage of grief is “denial”- that’s why there are people out there who think that Andy Kauffman and Tupac are hiding in the woods waiting to drop 2016′s sickest album. But this is the truth. Besides, just bumming out millions of people for no reason would be a pretty lame prank. My pranks are a lot better than that, give me some credit!
This sucks! I want to be mad at someone! Is there someone I can be mad at?
Being mad is easier than being sad, I get it! But there really are no villains here. My team and I set out to do something and we did it, and the network supported our crazy vision. If you wanna be mad at someone, blame…I don’t know… the goat. With his shifty eyes. This is all his fault.Â
Are they going to make a third season without you? Will it be called “Gravity Falls Babies: The New Class: Generations?”
While that is an amazing idea, and you would make an amazing executive, there are no plans to create another full season.
What’s next for you? Are you going to ride the rails with your belongings in a sack, playing the harmonica, going wherever the wind takes you like some kind of tragic folk hero, perhaps named “Johnny Flannel-Britches?”
These questions are getting weirdly specific, guys. The truth is- I don’t know! I’ve spent the last 4 years living & breathing Gravity Falls. I’ve pulled more all-nighters than anyone I’ve ever known who didn’t work at NASA and basically holed myself up in my office to the exclusion of any sort of actual life. I already have some very exciting opportunities lining up on the horizon after I take a good vacation. We’ll see!
How can we continue to stalk follow your exploits?
You can continue to find me on twitter @_AlexHirsch. I’ll be tweeting all sorts of GF goodies leading up to the finale!
Will the last episode be exactly like my head canon? Â If not, can I firebomb your house?
The jokes on you, because I don’t have a house! I live in a “shire.” But seriously- my team works insanely hard to make the best series we can.  Of course there’s no way to satisfy every single fan’s personal theories. But our show reflects a genuine sincere effort by some really talented folks to make the coolest thing we can (with the time and budget available.) Will every single conceivable question ever thought of about Gravity Falls be answered in the end? Of course not. But that just leaves some material for any potential Gravity Falls projects in the future…(including the canon Journal #3 that goes on sale in 2016)
Are you SURE you’ll never make more Gravity Falls?
I know that there will be many fans who will be sad to see the Pines family go, but just because I’ve finished the story I wanted to tell doesn’t necessarily mean we will never see Dipper, Mabel, & Stan again. It means that this chapter is closed, and that I, at least for now, am personally done telling their story.
I want to thank Disney, my amazing cast and crew, and most of all our fans for taking this unforgettable road trip with me through the redwoods into a place called Gravity Falls. I look forward to seeing what adventure we go on next. Your pal,
Alex Hirsch
PS: pqxv tbfoa
PPS: Want to thank the cast and crew for the awesome job they’ve done? Feel free to use the #GravityFinale
Hi, I'm Tim Lai! I'm a cartoonist living in Ontario, Canada. I like drawing cute and colourful things. This blog is a hub where you can find all of my Tumblr, DeviantArt, Flickr, Blogspot, and other posts in one place.
About My Work
I write and draw Lemon Inc., a comic about a seven-year-old who wants to be a business tycoon when he grows up. Until then, he runs a lemonade stand. You can read it at www.lemon-inc.com.
I have done some professional web and graphic design work, including designing the website for the webcomic, Just Joel. I'm also a member of the webcomic collective, Ink Bomb Comics.
November 29, 2015 23:01
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