Ok, I'd like to start by saying I don't consider myself to be a professional artist, at least not just yet haha. I have been studying animation for about 5 years now and that's why I decided to make my fist post about this. On the first years of study I went over all of the artistic areas that animation involves such as drawing, character design, illustration, 3D modelling, rigging, story boarding, 2D and 3D animation and some etc haha. So, I'd like to give you guys some advises and tips on how to get involved in this amazing industry, take them, leave them, I just want to share my knowledge based on my experiences ok? :). You can check out my website if you like so you can see my portfolio www.maxikeller.com , you will notice that as I said before, I am not a professional artist... yet :p... but I'm working on that :).
So, here we go. First thing when deciding if you want to be an artist or not is really thinking if you love it, I guess this is true for everything else too, but lets just keep it on the art subject haha. Along my years as a student, and even at work, I've encountered lots of people that got into this because they think its easy and that they'll make money for doing almost nothing. Honestly these are lazy people as I see it. See, it takes a whole lot of time to master the skills in order to be able to meet deadlines. Not only that, but the artistic path is one in which you will never stop learning. I can truly say that every new drawing, every animation or illustration I make teaches me something new.
I believe animation is the ultimate art form, specially hand drawn animation. Its process involves every single art form there is out there, resulting in those amazing images we see at the movies at 24 frames a second. Just Amazing.
Ok, Im feeling like I have so much to say about this that I will definitely forget something in the way haha. Anyhow I want to keep this short but still communicate my ideas in the best way possible :)
Lets just jump into some things you can do to start getting into this world.
1. Love it! (and be sure of it)
2. Start drawing. Many people think that drawing is a skill that you are born with... BS! nobody is born knowing stuff. The thing is that, these people that are amazingly cool at drawing, they drew a lot when they were kids. Of course when you are a kid you absorb knowledge almost like a sponge, so that is what makes this people so amazing at what they do. However, this does not mean that if you haven't done any drawing before the age of 15 you can forget about becoming an artist. NO! you can learn this craft ok? of course its going to take more time for you and you are going to go through times where you start doubting if you have chosen the right path and all that. I've been there, I was one of those guys that never drew before until the day I decided be an animator. I was fortunate to have one friend that kept me motivated and taught me a lot of what I know today, He was one of this guys that seemed to have magic skills with his pencils.
So the point is, if you love it, believe in it and keep pushing against the odds. And always stay motivated, stay hungry for more. I do recommend you take a look into Stephen Silver's YouTube videos, he does an amazing job keeping everyone motivated, not only artists. Stephen Silver is an amazing artist from whom I learnt a lot too, great style and great designs.
3. Learn the basics. Try a little of everything. In animation, as I said before, there are lots of areas in where you can specialize. Try to learn a little bit from everyone of them. This should help you find the right one for you, the one that you enjoy the most. I.d suggest to look for online tutorials, youtube is a great source for this. There are of course paid tutorials too if you don't mind spending some money at this point.
If you rather go to college and wait for the tutors to teach you all the stuff that's fine. Be concious that most of the art schools (at least in the US) ask for a portfolio in order to be accepted into their programs. This is one of the reasons why you should start drawing as soon as possible. I might write something about arts chools in the future :)
4. Decide what you are going to focus on. Pick your favorite area and work your ass off to be the best at what you do. Ok, you probably wont be the best because there's always someone better than you haha but you should try to be the best ok? it should feel like you are giving your best.
5. Find someone that can guide you and give you critiques. It is good to get critiques from everyone, but sometimes this can be quite confusing and of course not everyone has an artistic eye. So, try to find someone that at least knows what he is talking about. Good critique can help a great deal on your learning process.
6. Figure Drawing!! yes, figure drawing is something that will help you in everything as an artist. Some people think that this is no longer needed because 2D animation is "dying" (its not its taking a break). They couldn't be more wrong. drawing the human figure from the inside out works on your ability to observe and understand what is in front of you. You will learn things about the human body and locomotion that you would never even think about it if you were not practicing this.
7. Never forget the basics, don't rush it. everything has its time. I've seen tons of people trying so hard to get a character to move and act believably when they have never animated a bouncing ball before!! nor they have a clue about how the body mechanics work. How would you expect to get it right?
8. Show your stuff online. Create a blog or website, share your stuff on social networks. That way you will get critiques and you'll start catching some attention.
9. When you are ready, get your stuff together into a portfolio or demo reel. Try to get a job, there's a great chance you'll have to work your ass from the bottom up but I assure you will learnt a lot in the way.
10. Keep working on personal projects, stay hungry for more! Remember you'll never stop learning.
Ok that's pretty much what I came up with right now. I hope is useful for some of you at least. Probably I'm missing some things hahah I'll post again if something else comes into mind.
And as John Lasseter said: "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life."
Thank you for your time guys! :)
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