Here’s Adrien’s post to compliment mine on contacts in the industry. He gives the point of view for the live-action film industry. You can find the rest of the articles in this series of “Getting the J-O-B” at the end of the post. – KJL

Contacts in the film industry are indispensable.

Networking is the key. That said, my start in the film business came by being in the right place at the right time. Once I got my foot in the door, having that one film on my resume really opened the rest of the doors for me.

There was still a few years where animation and film overlapped for me, and during those years I pounded the film industry hard to get my name out there. A job only lasts as long as the phone call to you (I can’t even count how many jobs I lost because I was in a movie theatre). I never went to school of any kind, so I never had the jump start on contacts that Karen is talking about.

If you don’t go to school, then you’re on your own. This is where your mettle is truly tested. Your level of success depends 100% on how much you desire the work and how hard you pound that proverbial pavement. >>continue reading>>

This is my forth post in the series “Getting the J-O-B”. I have addressed Training here and Adrien has given his perspective for the live-action industry here. Our Building a Storyboard Portfolio posts are here and here. And Professionalism here and here.

Now it’s on to making and keeping Contacts in the Industry.

Training is the first important key to working in the animation industry for two reasons.

First, as I’ve mentioned before, you need to know animation to work in animation. And second, school is invaluable for making your first contacts in the industry. This is where it starts. It can be a lot tougher for an ‘outsider’ to break in if they don’t know anybody. I will never say “impossible”, but I will say “harder”.

Your instructors and fellow students can help you get that first job. And jobs in the future you don’t even know about yet! That’s why I tell you in the professionalism post to treat school like a job. It’s in school where you develop your work ethic and where others can take notice of it. Don’t underestimate that.

My very first job in the industry came from a recommendation from an instructor. Word was out within the community that a certain studio was staffing up on storyboard artists. These jobs aren’t always advertised in the traditional way. They can start by getting the word out among peers and colleagues.

I had gained the respect of this instructor (and built a friendship) while in school, so he didn’t hesitate to pass my name on to that studio. Of course landing that job was ultimately up to me. I still needed a strong portfolio and do a storyboard test for them (which I’ll talk about in a future post). I did…and I got the job. >>continue reading>>

Here is Adrien’s final catch-up post for the “Getting the J-O-B” series, adding to my article on Professionalism. You can find our posts on Training here and here. And the posts on Portfolios here and here. (And the pictures have nothing to do with professionalism really…it’s just Adrien’s cool stuff.) – KJL

Storyboarding for film is 80% communication and 20% drawing.

Storyboarding for animation is a lonely, isolating, mentally devastating job, where you can easily lose the charming, amiable personality you once had ‘cuz you haven’t eaten or slept properly in days (especially the last ones at the end of a show).
Editor’s note: this is currently my life. – KJL

In film, you can’t do that. In most cases, you’re working from a studio with 1-5 other storyboard artists. You have to get along for the long 12 hour days that you’ll be there. Most importantly you have be charming and personable when you have impromptu meetings with the director.

Let him direct you. In other words, you are a monkey with a pencil and if he/she could do it herself, they would. Do what you’re told. If they direct you to “cross the line” in the action, point it out politely. There are times when it is OK to do it and it might be a style thing they’re doing. Then again…it might not. >>continue reading>>

Here’s Adrien’s second post in the series of ‘Getting the J-O-B’. This time he’s adding to my post on Building a Storyboard Portfolio.

It’s a short one, so enjoy his drawings! – KJL

Karen is correct…never have animation boards in your portfolio when showing to a live action client. I’ve tried and it just gets embarrassing.

So, live action storyboards is all that should be in there. Only your latest work. As they say, you’re only as good as your last job. But…maybe your last job was top secret (usually is).

You may show them, but never leave behind a copy and never leave them unattended. Sounds crazy, but a small mistake like this can ruin your career. >>continue reading>>

This is Adrien Van Viersen’s premiere guest post! He’s going to expand on my first article in the series of “Getting the J-O-B” about Training. (In case you don’t know, P.O.V. means point of view.) -KJL

I completely agree with Karen on the training aspect. You simply can’t go into animation storyboarding without some training in the field, or at school. I learned storyboarding on the job at an animation studio, first as a clean up artist and then as a revisionist. Only after a year of doing these things was I allowed to tackle a show.

And even then, I wasn’t given a whole show. I was given an act. This way, if I screwed up, the show wouldn’t be in in trouble ‘cuz they’d have my act done at the same time the other acts were being done.

If you want to get into storyboarding animation, but you don’t want to go to school ‘cuz yer a really good drawer, you can do it the way I did and get in by designing backgrounds. Not a bad way to start.

You can then learn all the other aspects of the field through osmosis and study the boards being produced in the office. Then you volunteer to revise them. Nobody WANTS to do this job, so people will look at you like you’re insane. >>continue reading>>

This is the third post in a series of getting a job storyboarding professionally. I started with Training, then Building a Storyboard Portfolio and now it’s on to Professionalism.

Here is Karen J Lloyd’s official definition of professionalism:

Show up. Do the work. Don’t be an ass.

Patent pending.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But I’ve seen people in animation school and on their first jobs (and beyond) violate one, two or even all three of these principals. It boggles the mind. When you get that first job, great. Now you have to keep the job.

Mind you, this could apply to any industry or job. I mean if you were an employer, wouldn’t this sum up what you’d expect at the very least out of an employee?

Let’s break it down, shall we?

SHOW UP

When I was teaching, students would just saunter in 20, 30, or in the rare cases over 60 minutes late. No excuse. No guilt. Some would think because they ‘worked late’ the night before, it was justified. Well, it’s not. And let’s face it, some of them were probably playing video games all night.

The instructors are there for a reason. To lecture, give assignments and offer feedback on your work. If you’re not there, how can you get any valuable feedback? You should be getting as much as you can. That’s how you really learn.

And don’t think instructors don’t take mental notes. They do. I know I did. >>continue reading>>

Hell Week is over. I’m in recovery and I’ve promised this post, so here it is. Finally.

So far I’ve talked about Training for getting a job storyboarding professionally. Now it’s on to the portfolio.

What do you need for a storyboard portfolio?

Storyboards.

Sorry to sound so obvious, but you’d be surprised how some people expect to get a job storyboarding without any good samples. This is especially true when they’re trying to break into the animation industry. “But I can draw, see?” Um, sorry but that’s not enough.

ON A GENERAL NOTE

Students tend to put a little bit of everything into their first portfolio. Animation, character designs, layout, life drawing, backgrounds, storyboards and maybe a few other things.

On one hand it could be good to show all you can do. But on the other, it can also look like you don’t know what you want. And that can hurt you. The person trying to fill a position might pass you by because they just don’t know how to classify you. So you could be doing yourself more harm than good by including everything. >>continue reading>>

Here’s Adrien’s post to compliment mine on contacts in the industry. He gives the point of view for the live-action film industry. You can find the rest of the articles in this series of “Getting the J-O-B” at the end of the post. – KJL

Contacts in the film industry are indispensable.

Networking is the key. That said, my start in the film business came by being in the right place at the right time. Once I got my foot in the door, having that one film on my resume really opened the rest of the doors for me.

There was still a few years where animation and film overlapped for me, and during those years I pounded the film industry hard to get my name out there. A job only lasts as long as the phone call to you (I can’t even count how many jobs I lost because I was in a movie theatre). I never went to school of any kind, so I never had the jump start on contacts that Karen is talking about.

If you don’t go to school, then you’re on your own. This is where your mettle is truly tested. Your level of success depends 100% on how much you desire the work and how hard you pound that proverbial pavement. >>continue reading>>

This is my forth post in the series “Getting the J-O-B”. I have addressed Training here and Adrien has given his perspective for the live-action industry here. Our Building a Storyboard Portfolio posts are here and here. And Professionalism here and here.

Now it’s on to making and keeping Contacts in the Industry.

Training is the first important key to working in the animation industry for two reasons.

First, as I’ve mentioned before, you need to know animation to work in animation. And second, school is invaluable for making your first contacts in the industry. This is where it starts. It can be a lot tougher for an ‘outsider’ to break in if they don’t know anybody. I will never say “impossible”, but I will say “harder”.

Your instructors and fellow students can help you get that first job. And jobs in the future you don’t even know about yet! That’s why I tell you in the professionalism post to treat school like a job. It’s in school where you develop your work ethic and where others can take notice of it. Don’t underestimate that.

My very first job in the industry came from a recommendation from an instructor. Word was out within the community that a certain studio was staffing up on storyboard artists. These jobs aren’t always advertised in the traditional way. They can start by getting the word out among peers and colleagues.

I had gained the respect of this instructor (and built a friendship) while in school, so he didn’t hesitate to pass my name on to that studio. Of course landing that job was ultimately up to me. I still needed a strong portfolio and do a storyboard test for them (which I’ll talk about in a future post). I did…and I got the job. >>continue reading>>

Here is Adrien’s final catch-up post for the “Getting the J-O-B” series, adding to my article on Professionalism. You can find our posts on Training here and here. And the posts on Portfolios here and here. (And the pictures have nothing to do with professionalism really…it’s just Adrien’s cool stuff.) – KJL

Storyboarding for film is 80% communication and 20% drawing.

Storyboarding for animation is a lonely, isolating, mentally devastating job, where you can easily lose the charming, amiable personality you once had ‘cuz you haven’t eaten or slept properly in days (especially the last ones at the end of a show).
Editor’s note: this is currently my life. – KJL

In film, you can’t do that. In most cases, you’re working from a studio with 1-5 other storyboard artists. You have to get along for the long 12 hour days that you’ll be there. Most importantly you have be charming and personable when you have impromptu meetings with the director.

Let him direct you. In other words, you are a monkey with a pencil and if he/she could do it herself, they would. Do what you’re told. If they direct you to “cross the line” in the action, point it out politely. There are times when it is OK to do it and it might be a style thing they’re doing. Then again…it might not. >>continue reading>>

Here’s Adrien’s second post in the series of ‘Getting the J-O-B’. This time he’s adding to my post on Building a Storyboard Portfolio.

It’s a short one, so enjoy his drawings! – KJL

Karen is correct…never have animation boards in your portfolio when showing to a live action client. I’ve tried and it just gets embarrassing.

So, live action storyboards is all that should be in there. Only your latest work. As they say, you’re only as good as your last job. But…maybe your last job was top secret (usually is).

You may show them, but never leave behind a copy and never leave them unattended. Sounds crazy, but a small mistake like this can ruin your career. >>continue reading>>

This is Adrien Van Viersen’s premiere guest post! He’s going to expand on my first article in the series of “Getting the J-O-B” about Training. (In case you don’t know, P.O.V. means point of view.) -KJL

I completely agree with Karen on the training aspect. You simply can’t go into animation storyboarding without some training in the field, or at school. I learned storyboarding on the job at an animation studio, first as a clean up artist and then as a revisionist. Only after a year of doing these things was I allowed to tackle a show.

And even then, I wasn’t given a whole show. I was given an act. This way, if I screwed up, the show wouldn’t be in in trouble ‘cuz they’d have my act done at the same time the other acts were being done.

If you want to get into storyboarding animation, but you don’t want to go to school ‘cuz yer a really good drawer, you can do it the way I did and get in by designing backgrounds. Not a bad way to start.

You can then learn all the other aspects of the field through osmosis and study the boards being produced in the office. Then you volunteer to revise them. Nobody WANTS to do this job, so people will look at you like you’re insane. >>continue reading>>

This is the third post in a series of getting a job storyboarding professionally. I started with Training, then Building a Storyboard Portfolio and now it’s on to Professionalism.

Here is Karen J Lloyd’s official definition of professionalism:

Show up. Do the work. Don’t be an ass.

Patent pending.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But I’ve seen people in animation school and on their first jobs (and beyond) violate one, two or even all three of these principals. It boggles the mind. When you get that first job, great. Now you have to keep the job.

Mind you, this could apply to any industry or job. I mean if you were an employer, wouldn’t this sum up what you’d expect at the very least out of an employee?

Let’s break it down, shall we?

SHOW UP

When I was teaching, students would just saunter in 20, 30, or in the rare cases over 60 minutes late. No excuse. No guilt. Some would think because they ‘worked late’ the night before, it was justified. Well, it’s not. And let’s face it, some of them were probably playing video games all night.

The instructors are there for a reason. To lecture, give assignments and offer feedback on your work. If you’re not there, how can you get any valuable feedback? You should be getting as much as you can. That’s how you really learn.

And don’t think instructors don’t take mental notes. They do. I know I did. >>continue reading>>

Hell Week is over. I’m in recovery and I’ve promised this post, so here it is. Finally.

So far I’ve talked about Training for getting a job storyboarding professionally. Now it’s on to the portfolio.

What do you need for a storyboard portfolio?

Storyboards.

Sorry to sound so obvious, but you’d be surprised how some people expect to get a job storyboarding without any good samples. This is especially true when they’re trying to break into the animation industry. “But I can draw, see?” Um, sorry but that’s not enough.

ON A GENERAL NOTE

Students tend to put a little bit of everything into their first portfolio. Animation, character designs, layout, life drawing, backgrounds, storyboards and maybe a few other things.

On one hand it could be good to show all you can do. But on the other, it can also look like you don’t know what you want. And that can hurt you. The person trying to fill a position might pass you by because they just don’t know how to classify you. So you could be doing yourself more harm than good by including everything. >>continue reading>>