ChrisOatley.com

Disney Character Designer answers your questions about Concept Art, Character Design for Animation, Digital Painting & Illustration.

The Visual Storytelling Podcast:

Disney Visual Development Artist/ Illustrator Chris Oatley helps Artists and Writers find healthy, fulfilling careers in Animation, Games, Comics, Film and Illustration.

11 Social Media Habits That Hurt Your Art Career (And How To Break Them) :: ArtCast #115

By

An anthropomorphic orange wears a blank name tag. Unsure, he hands a pen to two anthropomorphic lemons in suit and tie. Art by Chris Oatley.These days, whenever I ask my industry colleagues where they’re finding work, the answer is almost always one of two things:

Industry connections or Social Media.

…but, despite the proliferation of Social Media success stories within the Entertainment Industries, many of us are still afraid of Social Media.

…and if we’re not afraid, we’re often too familiar for our own good.

…but Social Media is just like drawing and painting.

It has a set of learnable skills and a professional approach.

I learned how to power my business with Social Media strategies that progress both the business and my personal art career. I also helped a number of my students and my Animation industry colleagues develop their own Social Media strategies.

We’re all Artists here.

If I can figure it out, you can too.

…and today’s lesson – 11 (BAD) Social Media Habits That Hurt Your Art Career (And How To Break Them) – is a great place to start!

Click through to watch the lesson and download the free resources…

[Read more…] about 11 Social Media Habits That Hurt Your Art Career (And How To Break Them) :: ArtCast #115

4 Keys To A Long and Healthy Illustration Career :: ArtCast #114

By

Cartoony illustration of an eccentric butterfly with floral print wings, wearing a pink speedo and sunglasses, relaxing while drinking a pina colada. Two regular butterflies admire from across the swimming pool. Artist: Chris Oatley

How long did it take you to learn the “Happy Birthday” song?

…and how long would it take you to learn to sing a pitch-perfect, note-for-note, Broadway power ballad?

Years, right?

Because style takes time.

…and how many wrong notes would you produce in private before you gained the confidence to perform live?

Millions.

Process and performance are different things.

Let’s pretend you have some real potential. Would you start chain smoking and take a day job in a coal mine to pay the bills?

Of course not.

You gotta take care of your moneymaker.

And when you’re a big hit on Broadway with crossover success in movies and pop music…

…did you make it without a mentor?

Probably not.

A good mentor is essential.

We can easily see the absurdity in the image of an aspiring Broadway star who expects instant results, performs without practice, neglects their throat and lungs and thinks they’ll somehow succeed without expert perspectives.

But it’s a lot harder to see – in ourselves – the illustrator who expects instant results, publishes without practice, neglects their body and brain and thinks they’ll somehow succeed without expert perspectives.

Today, Lauren Panepinto (Creative Director for the Sci-Fi/ Fantasy publisher Orbit Books) and Marc Scheff (Games-Illustrator-turned-Fine-Artist) join me to share 4 Keys To A Long And Healthy Illustration Career…

[Read more…] about 4 Keys To A Long and Healthy Illustration Career :: ArtCast #114

The Lost HERstory Of Disney Animation :: ArtCast #113

By

When author Mindy Johnson set out to write a book about of the history (or as Mindy says, the “HERstory”) of Walt Disney‘s definitively female “Ink & Paint” Department, she began her research in the most obvious place: The Disney Archives.

I’ve been to the Disney Archives several times. It’s the epicenter of animation history – an enormous, state-of-the-art research library and storage facility filled, wall-to-wall with art from the past century of Disney animated productions.

Mindy visited, requested everything they had on Ink & Paint, and they brought her a folder holding five pieces of paper.

That’s all they had.

Composing the comprehensive history of any Disney division would be difficult even with the help of the Disney Archives.

Mindy had to start from scratch.

Today, she’ll share stories from the creation of her epic work Ink & Paint: The Women Of Walt Disney’s Animation and introduce us to inspiring artists from Animation HERstory…

[Read more…] about The Lost HERstory Of Disney Animation :: ArtCast #113

Theme Parks Concept Artist Chris Bradley On Building A Dream Career :: ArtCast #112

By

How would you prepare for a career in a mysterious industry like Theme Park Design where information about job requirements and current projects are almost impossible to find?

…and what would you do if you were stuck in a desert (literal and creative) with little more than a stack of comics, a Disney Imagineering book and a school trip to Disneyland to guide you?

Concept Artist Chris Bradley is here to share how he went from working construction to designing Theme Park attractions for Disney Imagineering, 20th Century Fox and Hasbro!

You’ll also get to hear how Chris thinks when he visits a Theme Park and learn about his favorite attractions.

…and at the end of the interview, he shares some challenging advice for aspiring Theme Park Concept Artists…

[Read more…] about Theme Parks Concept Artist Chris Bradley On Building A Dream Career :: ArtCast #112