Such amazing insight. On repeat.

Hi all! I recently was asked to give some advice to a new fresh Graphic Designer. I'm really honored and quite frankly scared that I should be asked such a question! So to maybe help other fellow creatives start getting to think about what it means to be a Creative, not necessarily a Graphic Designer, or an Animator like myself - I've put my ideas here for all. 

What you do all think? I'd love feedback too! Thanks!

Thoughts on living a Creative Life

First think I should say is to not think of it as just ‘Graphic Designer’ that title that’s too small. Yes it’s a job title but that’s not what you are. You are first and foremost a storyteller: A Visual Storyteller. You job is to create into reality the best and most clarified version of the vision of your client. That being said your client could be people, a company, a person or even yourself. You will learn to juggle opinions, social trends and deadlines. Even doubt and second guess yourself.

Sometimes your best idea is NOT what the client wants. Your job is to make their vision a reality despite what you know might be good design, good colour and good taste. This is something you will come to learn - Taste, tact and appropriateness. I know I’ve learned this through being exposed and experience. You should have a base understanding of the basics but then you gain an intuition by just living. I think more than anything I’ve just learned to also accept there are no rules. Sometimes things just happen and work because they do. They are called Happy accidents.

You are a facilitator to getting a client’s idea into reality. It’s also your job to make that experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible. NEVER do anything for free. Your work, your expertise and YOU are worth something. Even though most artists who start out want ‘experience’ don’t reduce what we do to nothing.

Have a life, learn from everywhere and everything. Don’t deny yourself a learning experience because that will be the best fuel for ideas. It’s ok to make mistakes. Mistakes seem to be what society tells us to never do… wrong. Mistakes have to be learning experiences and if you think this way, mistakes are just another term for work in progress – but make sure you hit your deadlines.
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The root of anything meaningful to people is you need to have a something rooted in something connectively emotional. Make people feel something. There is nothing more real than real. People connect with things innately because there is a human element in it. No reaction means you haven’t done your job right. Positive or negative it’s still a place to move from.
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I compiled a top list. By no means are these everything but it’s a start.

Top tips:

1. Have a life. #1 most important thing. You can’t create something ‘living’ if you’re not yourself.
2. You are forever learning – Never think you’ve reached ever a high point of creativity or knowledge. Technology changes, ways of thinking always are in flux. Know solid fundamentals then learn to clarify, be complex, break rules and create new ones.
3. Be proactive – Learn, grow and get good feedback from people you trust. Network. Yes it is a fact you will need to sometimes grind it out for work. Your ability to talk to people, reach for the next gig, communicate and take opportunity in your own hands will let you survive, be flexible and have longevity.  Tailor every CV and Reel for who you’re applying for. Know what they do and give them a good idea of your abilities.
4. Be professional – You are your own calling card. Your attitude is half why people want to work with you. The other have is obviously your talent. Fight for your ideas, challenge the current thinking but know when you’re going away from the brief. Show up to appointments on time. Deliver with a smile. Be sensitive when your colleagues need space to think and to breathe. You have to be a team player.
5. Be part Dreamer, part Pro– Artists are always lacking in the business side of things because they get so emotionally attached to their work. Remember you are fulfilling someone else’s visions. But don’t forget to continue to grow creatively – Skills like knives need to always be sharpened.
6. Ask for feedback – As your work will be viewed eventually by everyone – why not ask feedback from anyone? People might not have the vocabulary for why aesthetically your work works or not but I’m very sure they’ll be able to tell you how they feel about it. Your job is to be able interpret the feedback and refine. I cannot stress enough what a difference it makes to have good mentors as well. They’re knowledge will get you faster to a better result, but also don’t take a shortcut if it means you won’t learn anything from it. That’s called cheating. There’s nothing wrong with doing something more efficient, cleaner, faster. But know WHY it got you there.
7. Draw inspiration from everything - Then learn to filter down the essentials of what you need.
8. Don’t worry about self-doubt – Every single day you will feel this and it’s a good thing. It means this matter to you and you want to do a good job. So what do you do to remedy this? #1, #5 and #6. Don’t be so intimidated by the blank white canvas. Go backwards and see what other people have done in the past.
9. There’s nothing new and original. Everything has been done already. It’s a remix, a reboot a repackaging. What nobody has ever seen is YOUR take on it.
10. There is no such thing as a stupid question, just short tempers.
11. Have joy, humility and fun with everything you do. If you’re not then please see #1. Repeat.

Animation Mentor graduates Steve Orsini (4 Challenges When Starting at a New Studio) and Louaye Moulayess (5 Things I Learned Animating at Blue Sky) set the stage for a fantastic Blue Sky series of blogs. And today, Animation Mentor alumnus Theresa Adolph shares additional animation tips to fill your weekend with lots of animation inspiration. A big thank you to Steve, Louaye, Theresa, and the Blue Sky crew.

— The Animation Mentor Crew


1. Do your research
It’s easy to get carried away with excitement and dive right into your shot. Before you know it, you’re in over your head. Instead of things running smoothly, you run into problems that could have been avoided. This is your reminder: DO YOUR RESEARCH. At Blue Sky Studios, animators will work on a variety of characters on any given show. Before starting a shot with a new character, we must learn everything there is to know about that character. What is their personality? How do they hold their body? Are they shy? Confident? There is intense research done on each and every character way before production ever begins. There is a list of things that we always keep in the back of our mind as we are animating.

Character sheets are created at many studios for most of the main characters that describe everything there is to know about that character, including poses that make them appealing and poses that should be avoided. They are basically guides to help us keep our characters on model. It is important to read and understand these sheets before starting your shot and to always refer to them as you animate. Some animators even print them and hang them at their desks so they are constantly reminded to stay true to the characters.

If you are animating a bird, for example, it is a good idea to do some research on birds. Look up videos on the internet and discover how they interact with other birds. Learn how their wings and feathers change from shape to shape when they fly. Don’t just rely on what you think looks correct. Actually look at reference or shoot your own reference and apply it to your work. It will make your animation more convincing and believable. Discovering who these characters are requires research. It is very important that we take the time to do that research because we inevitably are responsible for bringing these characters to life.

2. Explore ideas
Animators work with demanding deadlines, so this is a step that is easily pushed aside. Even if you take a moment to scribble down a few sketches or toss some ideas around with coworkers or friends, it can be so helpful in solidifying an idea. As you talk it through, it might also spark other ideas you might have never thought of or help give you confidence that you’re on the right track. Something I’ve learned is that some of the best ideas are not our ideas at all. Rather, they are made up of a collaborative effort of a lot of creative people working together. The next time you are stumped, toss some ideas around with someone. You might be surprised with what you can come up with! Once you have an idea, look it up on the internet or shoot your own reference. By acting it out and seeing the footage it will give you an understanding of body mechanics.

3. Find ways to push your work
Focus on strong posing and clear ideas. Often, I find myself being comfortable with a pose or with the timing of how a character moves from one pose to another. I like to push myself to try new things. For example, maybe I saw a shot from a fellow animator that I thought turned out really well and I want to achieve that same sort of snappiness. I will try to apply that to my work. Most of the time, I will start and it will look completely horrible, but then I tell myself to stick with it. A lot of the times it works out for the better … but sometimes it doesn’t. No matter what, I’ve learned something along the way. No need to worry when that happens because you can just go back to an older version. Don’t be afraid to try new things and push yourself out of your animation comfort zone.

Ask yourself, how extreme can I push these poses? You will never know unless you try. Push your rig to its max but also be mindful to stay on model. If you have an extreme pose, maybe a stretch, then be sure to get in and out of it quickly. Don’t linger too long. You want to FEEL extreme posing and not necessarily SEE it.

You can also add texture by breaking up the timing of when things hit. For example, you could lead with the head in a big turn and then have the body follow. This adds a level of interest.

4. Break it down frame by frame
Look at animation that inspires you. Ask yourself, why do I find this so appealing? Break it down frame by frame and learn about timing and about posing. And then take what you’ve learned and apply it to your own work. This is how you’re going to grow and make your work amazing. And one day, someone is going to come along and do the same to your work. Stay inspired and your work will inspire others.

5. Take breaks
This is an important one and one I am admittedly bad about. Animators are notorious procrastinators and at the same time, we are also notorious perfectionists. It’s important to keep your eye fresh. So do yourself a favor, step away from your computer every now and then. It’s easy to say “I’m almost done, I just want to try one more thing” or “something’s wrong with this” and you keep fighting through it until you feel you’ve figured it out. Before you know it, hours have passed and you have actually gotten nowhere.

Do yourself a favor, take a break, and do something to clear your thoughts. You will come back fresh. When you sit back down, maybe you’ll see things differently and you’ll be able to quickly fix that problem you had before. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard myself and others say: “I’ve been looking at this for so long I can’t even tell how it looks anymore.” So take breaks! Your work will be better and you will be more efficient.

6. Show your work often
Show your work to others. Show it to your peers, show it to your supervisors, and get feedback. By showing your work early, it will help with your time management. If you can get buy off on your rough blocking for example, then you will have more time to devote to polishing later. You don’t want to work on your shot for a long time and have it almost completed just to find out that they wanted to go with a different idea.

7. Polish and work through the finer details 
Leave enough time to work through the finer details — making sure you have worked through overlap and the ease-in and outs, adding subtle keep alive to moving holds, and tracking all your arc. Even little things like making sure your facial poses are slightly asymmetrical can add interest and appeal. Whatever fine detail you can layer on to your animation is going to make it that much stronger. Such things can seem so small that you may think they are going to go unnoticed, but these are the details that are really going to make your work ROCK!

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