animation job

Somebody said the difference between madness and genius is that the madman falls off the cliff into the abyss. The genius JUMPS off the cliff into the same abyss, but has a rope tied to him so he can climb back out. They both cover the same unexplored territory, but the madman lets it overwhelm him. I guess it's like not having a Plan B. Another analogy would be to measure the depth of the canyon and the length of your belt before you bungee jump. You should keep up on what is going on in your field.

AWN.com (Animation World Network) is a great source of current information on animation and special effects. Joining ASIFA (the international organization of animation fans which has chapters all over the world) and subscribing to their newsletter is another great source. In this age of the Internet with all the information at your fingertips, there is really no excuse to remain ignorant.As I said about making yourself indispensable, one way people walk over a cliff is to specialize.

If this year they want strawberry and all you have is vanilla, you are stuck. Learn 3D animation. Learn 2D animation. Learn live action. Learn storyboarding. You never know which way the wind will blow. Be flexible enough to work no matter what the climate is. One year when animation dried up, I worked in live action for Roger Corman. Being skilled at storyboards lets you work in live action as well as animation. When there is no work in movies or TV series, there is work in commercials, music videos, or industrials, or the Internet.

There is a blockbuster mentality in Hollywood where movies cost millions and have to make it all in the first weekend or they are considered a failure. But in this you can do what you love and keep yourself in rent and groceries. In the sixties we talked about 'alienation' how we felt all alone in the world, but with the Internet, no matter what you are interested in, just type and you will find web sites on the subject. About to of the sites are fans and only to of the sites are producing the product that the other people are fans of. So if you produce something you have a built in market. You may not be a millionaire, but you will be doing work that you love, which is its' own kind of riches.