Notes from Maxine Schacker
February 8, 2008
This is a new venture for me. I would like to invite you all to add your thoughts and comments. My plan is to simply share with you each week what’s on my mind. Right now I’m thinking about animation schools, computer animation schools, and the close relationship between the skills required for these professions and illustration for sequential arts, which is a fancy way of referring to comics and graphic novels. We now, of course, also have a Diploma program in Illustration for Sequential Arts. Both programs are about story telling, conveying action and emotion through drawing, understanding cinematic language… they really do have a lot in common. Both fields require the ability to work as a team player: although comic and graphic novel artists may be working alone at home, they are generally still part of a team and are communicating with the writer and other artists on the project via the internet, or telephone.
I have heard of so many fine and talented artists who have not had successful careers because they lacked professionalism! An Animation or Computer Animation Diploma or Degree, an Illustration Diploma or Degree, are meaningless in getting and keeping jobs. What’s necessary is a solid skill base, backed up by a portfolio (and, for animation, a demo reel) and a solid grasp of professionalism. As a Career College, we incorporate this training into our Animation, Illustration and Concept Art Diploma Programs. I really think that’s why our graduates are doing so well.
Please share your thoughts and experiences with me!
jason cruz said,
February 10, 2008 @ 12:22 am
Hi there -
I think that it requires 1) skill 2) passion 3) drive 4) attitude 5) personality 6) thought 7) and instincts to manage and start a successful career or do anything for that matter.
in this instance because it’s animation here are my thoughts.
1) skill - drawing takes at least 5-7 years of serious study, and many hours a day of practice. It requires mastering basics, plus advance study. One must invest allot of time and must sacrifice not to mention put the millage it takes to become a skilled illustrator.
2) passion - it’s simple, if you don’t love what you do, no matter how great your skill, your never gonna be happy because your not doing what you love. life is short, and if you don’t spend your time doing what you love, then your life is a waste.
3) drive - i think drive and passion are related. Passion in my eyes is falling in love with what you do, but you need drive to get you through many obstacles, struggles, and pressures. You need drive and persistence to move forward.
4) attitude - who wants to work with someone with a self destructive attitude? when it comes to working, it’s a team effort. Having a bad attitude is contagious and could affect co-workers to a point where no one wants to do work. Good attitudes come along way. When no one wants to work, it slows progress down, and that costs money, which is no good for any business.
5) personality - we spend more hours at work then we do at home. no one ones to work with a displeasing personality. I would rather hire someone with less experience and skill, but with a good personality than some skilled egotistic loser.
6) thought - it’s important to have a sense of individualism. if you don’t think for yourself, others will think for you. theres nothing worse than seeing a student coming out with the same skills, all thinking alike just because they subordinated their thoughts to someone else. Theres far too many people in this world who just can’t think or make effective judgments because their like text books. The world is changing rapidly, and to make effective changes in this world, it’s gonna require thinkers.
7) instincts - some people have it, some people don’t. sometimes your mind is saying something, and it’s practical or logical, but your gut is telling you something entirely different. something just isn’t right. having instincts is something really special for doing well.
I think people don’t do well because they lack one or more of these seven traits. It takes much practice, time, will and sacrifice to be a good candidate for success.
These are my thoughts.
Jason S. Cruz
Daniel Racelis said,
February 14, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
I couldn’t agree more on professionalism, Maxine. Before I came to this school, I was working 12-16 hours a day, sometimes 7 days a week at a Printing Company. I wasn’t forced to work those hours, but I decided to take intiative. I wanted to show how dedicated I am with the work that I put in, whether I liked it or not. I didn’t like it, but I knew sucking it up and putting the effort in and giving client satisfaction would go a long way. And not only did it help me get noticed, it helped me notice myself. With professionalism comes greater motivation and self-esteem.
And trust me, my workplace did not look past unprofessionalism. While I was there, I could not even count how many have come and gone. Why? They were simply unprofessional. Coming in late, bad attitude, laziness, refusal to get even the simple tasks done, and I mean SIMPLE.
I remember at one point, I was simply fed up with one of my co-workers because he kept coming in late, or came in and slacked off at times, I told him straight to his face, “You’re bringing this team down. I’m picking up your slack, yet you don’t see that. Yout better shape up, or shape out.”
It’s not that hard to be professional. Just even being able to put in the effort in your work is able to set you up to be the person who everyone can look up to. I wasn’t the boss there, but I sure did get noticed with my professionalism.
When I was leaving, they didn’t even want to let me go. They offered me a part-time position, but even then, the trip would be too long from home to school to work. I would probably be burned out more than I was at work. That’s how much they potential they saw. And I didn’t even have a post-secondary education at the time!