Karen J Lloyd’s Storyboard Blog

Well, I’ve taken the Aniboom Radiohead Contest banner down. I posted about the contest a little while back here. It looked like a pretty OK contest even though I stated later on in this post that I wouldn’t enter it myself.

But since it was primarily a storyboarding contest and this being a storyboarding blog, they approached me. They offered to give me a link in their resources section if I put up a banner on my site. I did and they gave me one. It wasn’t in a very promenent place and I seemed to be in the company of only their paid sponsors. Not many links there at all. Weird, but what the hey. No skin off my nose and I got a few click-throughs.

Fine.

Frankly, I’ve never really gone back to the site since. Just kind of forgot about it and then I’d take the banner down at the end of June when the contest was over.

Yesterday one of the search terms that found my site was ‘aniboom contest scam’.

Ohh-kay. Interesting.

I wondered what was brewing over there but again, forgot about it. Who knew if that person found anything about that subject, right?

Then I get an email today. Most of it wasn’t so much a message to me but a cut and paste from the Adult Swim message boards and some links to the message boards on the Aniboom site.

It didn’t look good.

They’ve picked their ten finalists that get the $1000 to make a minute of animated footage from their storyboards.

But there’s a problem.

Most of those top ten are not storyboards at all. Maybe two or three are. The rest are fully animated or partially animated 2D and 3D clips. It has come up that one or two of the finalists have taken existing footage and just edited it to a Radiohead song. No original story made specifically for that song. On one of them, twelve people were credited. There is proof to some of these claims.

I went and I looked. I couldn’t even sit through most of them.

I don’t get it.

Some people in the message boards even said the wording of the rules and regulations ‘changed’ during the contest. I have no proof of this obviously. The commenters in the forum didn’t really come off as sore losers or whiners to me. Most were very articulate and raised many good points about fairness and what the real spirit of the contest was supposed to be.

Which should have been original storyboards and animatics FIRST. Then the finalists would do one minute of animation. But the rules didn’t forbid an animated entry (and welcomed them), so there lies the loophole. I just figured you’d be crazy to put in all that effort to animate something. A storyboard contest seemed reasonable.

The forum moderator came off as flippant, illiterate and bit of a jerk to me (sorry buddy, but you did). I know he’s getting all the flak for something he probably has nothing to do with, but he’s not taking anyone’s concerns seriously.

That’s a problem.

These people just want some answers. A statement. A denial. Anything. Aniboom is losing face over this. What they set out to do may be blowing up in their face. That’s too bad.

There is a ‘wild card’ entry that’s still open and some folks are killing themselves to make their entries. I think that’s nuts. Why bother? There is so much damn work involved just to make an animatic and these people are now trying to pump out one minute of animation. My hand-drawn final film for school was 45 seconds and took the better part of 5 months. It’s a crapload of work. Even with the tools today.

I say stop doing it. Your time is worth more than a slim chance at getting one spot.

Tons of people made 4-5 minute storyboard animatics. That alone is very time consuming. I currently get 5 weeks to do an eleven minute storyboard. And I bust my ass by the end. These folks worked hard to get that done in the month or so the contest gave them. Now they feel cheated and duped. It’s just a shame.

Even the $1000 is a joke to make one minute of animation. The $10,000 for the winner is too. Sorry, but it is. You know how much work it would be to animate all that? TONS.

But if you’re just re-editing some existing footage, it’s a pretty sweet deal.

*sigh*

This is why you have to watch out for contests.

To me the only type of contest to enter is when you submit work you have already created (and go into it knowing that). They have advertising and graphic design contests like that. You retain rights because you already created it. It’s judged for what it is. But they are probably far and few between for animation. There are lots of festivals though.

I just feel bad for the true fans of the band that put so much time in effort into this thing. Go check it out if you like. I’m not going to give the links…you can find it.

I just feel better by stepping away from the whole thing because it left a bad taste in my mouth. And yes, I’m emailing Aniboom to remove my link on the site.

I’m going to post an entry I discovered from a former student of mine Ben Meinhardt. He was recently featured on Cartoon Brew and is a very talented guy. Even before I got to him. His entry is a true storyboard animatic with movement. I know this took time to do and it deserves to be seen. Check out his entry here:

http://www.aniboom.com/Player.aspx?v=198402

Then go check out his site. It’s nothing fancy but has links to a series he did for MTV and links to his school films which remain in my top ten to this day. You must watch “Binge and Purge” first. Then “Dancing Animals in Love”…one of my favorite flash films EVER. Try to get the song out of your head after…no can do.

He rocks. Enjoy.

http://www.crazydeathmonkey.com/animation/animation-index.htm

What do you think about all this? Did I make the right decision? Leave your thoughts in the comment section.

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Filed under: My Two Cents | 11 Comments »

Okey dokey. This is the second part of ’showing you your money’.

In the last post I covered the basics of starting to freelance in animation and/or storyboarding. I talked about setting up your invoices and for you Canadians, a bit about the wonder that is the GST. At the end of that I mentioned you can’t spend that GST money.

So here’s a little advice about handling the cold hard cash. Of course, you don’t have to do it this way. This is just how I did things when I started out and it worked pretty well for me. And if you’re young, you’ll thank me in your forties.

Separate your cash!

The GST you collect isn’t yours and about a third of your income isn’t yours.

“What?”

That’s right. You’re going to have to pay the tax man eventually. If you think and act like all the money you collect is yours, then you’ll be in big trouble, baby. There will be nothing worse then getting the news that you owe thousands to the government when you only have a few hundred in your bank account.

You may put off paying your taxes.

You won’t sleep at night.

You’ll get dark circles under your eyes and maybe develop a substance abuse problem.

I can’t let that happen. If you want dark circles and a substance abuse problem, just keep storyboarding.

But pay your taxes! Because it will catch up with you eventually. Read more »

Filed under: Career Advice, The Organized Artist | 6 Comments »

OK, I’m back. And I even had four days off…guilt-free. It’s a gift from above, let me tell you.

So here is the first ‘real’ post about handling finances and taxes as a freelancer after a request from one of my readers. See? I read my email and answer your burning questions! As best I can, at least.

But first, the big disclaimer:

This is meant as a general guide for beginners just starting on a freelance career in animation (or otherwise). I am in no way shape or form an authority on anything to do with your taxes or your finances. I’m pretty good with my own money but I prefer having someone else tell me what to do with it.

This is just how I do things and it’s quite possible I could be doing them better. And some of this may take a Canadian slant, so my apologies to the U.S. readers (and all you other wonderful folks). This post had some links to articles geared towards Americans so that should balance things out. I have zero knowledge about other countries on this matter.

Have I beaten that to death enough? Good. Read more »

Filed under: Career Advice, The Organized Artist | 8 Comments »

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m still pooped. I survived Hell Week, but I’m pooped.

I will do the article about money and taxes but my brain can’t quite handle it yet. I’ll post it up for Monday or so. In the meantime, I’m going to post this article by the very cool Christina Merkley. She’s a personal coach that uses visuals to help her clients (see her blerb at the end of the article). So she thinks like us artist-types.

This might be a little ‘touchy-feely’ for some, but I think we can all use a little pick-me-up in this business of ours and check in with our way of thinking. Maybe you’re down because you can’t find work. Maybe you’re overwhelmed right now. Or just feel a little lost sometimes. Here’s some brain-food-for-thought for your weekend.

Hope you enjoy and I’ll be writing something in the next few days. Thanks for your Hell Week patience. - KJL

ARTICLE: 6 WAYS TO CORRECT A NEGATIVE SPIRAL

We’ve all have them. Sometimes they last a short period. Sometimes they last weeks, months, years, decades - yikes, perhaps even a lifetime. I’m talking about downward spirals. Where negatives things pile one on top of another, until it seems that is the only reality that exists.

In the last few weeks I’ve fielded several calls from colleagues and friends who are in a down place. They’ve hit a bump, a logjam — what seems and feels like a downright calamity. They turn to me for some hope and inspiration, as they know I’ve weathered tough times and have come out the other side. So, having been through this process, I can understand it a bit and hopefully guide others about what to do and what NOT to do. So here is what I am sharing them with.

1. Recognize What You Are Doing

If you’ve got a negative spiral occurring, the first thing you need to do is recognize that you’ve got one and take responsibility. Chances are this has been building up for a while. Negative spirals don’t just come out of the blue. They are a slow build up of energy that eventually picks up speed – attracting negative situations and events like a magnet. Like attracts like. Somewhere back in the chain of events you got something you didn’t like and you really focused on it – and unfortunately, you began an attraction parade from there. Its very easy to do, and unfortunately again, our society kind of supports this way of thinking and being.

Read more »

Filed under: Career Advice, My Two Cents, The Organized Artist | No Comments »

OK, this is a quick one. No picture, sorry.

I’m still in ‘Hell’ (that week seems to get longer and longer) so I won’t be writing a real post until later this week. But just so you know, I’m going to write about handling your finances and doing your taxes if you are a freelance artist. This was after getting an email from one of my wonderful readers asking for such advice.

And I’m here to give it. Cause I’m that kind of guy…er, gal.

Seeing it’s tax time and all (note to self: must do taxes), I figured it was a great way to answer her questions and get up a meaty post. I sure don’t know everything about the subject, but I’ll tell you how I handle all that ‘money’ stuff.

And I’m not in jail yet, so I must be doing something right. Wesley Snipes could have used this advice.

In the meantime, the folks at FreelanceSwitch seem to be writing about this very thing these days. So take a look at these posts first and I’ll give you my two cents later. Keep in mind, they don’t write about animation specifically, but there’s great freelancing & money advice there. Check these out.

How to Save: A Short Guide for Freelancers

Transitions: Saving for the Freelance Future

(UPDATE: Some of the advice is geared towards Americans. Fear not, fellow Canadians…I’ll give some of our savings options too.)

If you have any questions about money and stuff, leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.

See you later this week…if I survive.

Subscribe to the Storyboard Blog by RSS or by email to see if Karen survives Hell Week.

Filed under: Career Advice, The Organized Artist | 4 Comments »

Here’s Adrien’s take on whole ‘working for free’ thing. I’m in Hell Week, (so thanks for the post Adrien) and I’ll be back next week after I come up for air. - KJL

(click image to enlarge)

After reading through Karen’s posts on the “Should you work for free?” topic, I feel compelled to give my two cents worth. I agree with what Karen says about this. Don’t get me wrong.

This is just another point of view.

I’ve worked for free many times. The reasons vary. I’ll run through a few of the scenarios.

Comics.

I love them. But they’re harder to break into than movies, let me tell you. It was my first love. If there’s a club that you’re not allowed to belong to, this would be it. And when I was 8, I was dead set on being a comic book artist, much to my parents chagrin.

I did many, many sample pages ‘on spec’ in order to receive a pile of rejection letters with Spiderman or Superman on the letterhead. But it’s what you have to do in order to break in. I got frustrated by it very quickly and published my own books myself.

When I started at one animation studio in Vancouver, I began as a designer.

My comic book work in the early 90’s (the ones I published myself) got me the job. One thing I like drawing (and most comic artists don’t) is backgrounds, and I like to make them as researched and accurate as possible. So it was the backgrounds in the panels that got me the job.

Read more »

Filed under: Career Advice, Storyboards 101 | 4 Comments »

Well the real question is, “Should you work for free (or very little money) at any time during your career?”

And the short answer is, “NO, OF COURSE NOT! ARE YOU INSANE?”

But I digress.

Would I storyboard for free?

Nope.

Have I done storyboards for free in the past?

Nope.

Have I done storyboards for a lowered rate?

Yes.

And I never really enter art contests. Except in college when we had one for our graduation show logo (and I won ).

This post follows the last two about how you value your talents and how I value mine. I had some really great comments too (go read ‘em), so some of that information may be repeated here. At the end of the last post when I asked should you work for free, I wrote “It depends. On many things.”

What are those things?

• How talented are you?
• Have you had training?
• How experienced are you?
• Who is asking you to do the work?
• What’s in it for you?

We can kind of combine the first three together. Read more »

Filed under: Career Advice, My Two Cents, Storyboards 101 | 10 Comments »