Disney Character Designer answers your questions about Concept Art, Character Design for Animation, Digital Painting & Illustration.
In this episode, I speak with Jerzy Drozd (creator of The Front) and Thomas James (creator of Escape From Illustration Island) about a recent discussion that has been taking place here on ChrisOatley.com regarding personal projects and how to actually finish them.
A few of my Disney colleagues attended a painting workshop that was taught by Jedi Master Dan McCaw.
One of them (I’ll call him Joe) was expressing how hard it is to find time to do personal work and grow artistically while managing the demands of life, career and family etc…
Someone suggested that Joe wake up an hour or two earlier each day to make room for painting, sketching and other types of personal artistic growth and expression. Joe had tried in the past to do exactly that but had not found the motivation.
Allegedly, Mr. McCaw said to him: “It’s because your desire has not yet outweighed your frustration.”
[Read more…] about Desire Vs. Frustration
We have the opportunity many times a day, everyday, to be the one who listens to others, curious rather than certain.
– Margaret J. Wheatley
Creativity and humility are inextricably linked.
To curse ourselves for our failures and weaknesses is to sabotage to our own artistic growth, our inspiration, our careers, our performance in art school and our very passion for art.
Our failures and weaknesses become invitations to true creativity when we consider them as open doors through which other people can enter our lives to help, to teach and to challenge.
Artists are often sensitive and take hard truths even harder than normal people but a hard truth is still a truth.
If the voices of the past and to the voices in your life come from people who have earned your trust and truly want the best for you, then listen and receive.
And remember that if you’ve previously shut them out, you may have to invite them to speak again.
Click here to read more from Margaret Wheatley.
In This ArtCast ::
This one has a bit of a slow start (some heavy editing helped quite a bit) but it has a big finish: How I avoid burnout.
I explore every possible creative block that I can think of and provide some practical advice for how to stay focused and fruitful during creative droughts.
Side Note: In this episode, I talk about the “New ChrisOatley.com” which WAS new in late 2010. ChrisOatley.com has been overhauled yet again since this recording but many of Zach’s contributions remain a part of the site.
PLUS: A new song from Storybook Steve.
As you might guess, I find myself giving portfolio and career advice to animation industry hopefuls all the time.
There’s always a list of questions about the objective aspects of the portfolio like page count, layout, type of book, captions and the location of a homemade mediocre logo but none of that really matters… …not if the art is good enough to get the artist hired.
A slick presentation can’t hurt but to me it seems that the amount of creative, financial and emotional energy being spent on the portfolio is grossly disproportionate to what is spent on the craft.
What almost everyone outside of the animation industry doesn’t seem to realize is that ultimately, it’s great work that wins a break and it’s being great to work with that wins a career.
There is no magic recipe for a winning portfolio but hopefuls world-wide can clear their minds, take heart and rest easy if they just commit to the long-term cultivation of what’s inside the body and what’s inside the book.
So, Dear Industry Hopeful, start living like you already have the career (excepting the financial aspects, perhaps) because nobody that truly loves the craft or their career is thinking about page count.