I just graduated with my bfa in animation class of 23. No one in my year has a job in the industry and from people who I’ve talked to who have worked in the industry it typically takes 8 years after graduation to get consistent work… right now I’m working full time and working on independent projects until maybe one day I get seen
Honestly I don't understand why artists would even want to still get a job in animation industries. They treat their workers extremely poorly. We have social media and forums where you can join with fellow animators and do your own projects and get your work viewed by the thousands without a single company taking most of percentage of the share. Let the industries crumble and support indie studios!
AS a lay person (artist NOT working in hollywood) I think studios got their head screwed on wrong.... everyone is on the pull for the Slam Dunk or Home Run everytime they greenlight something. A steady, good paycheck is more valuable than home run...will "you" see any of that Homerun box office sales? Studio have NO faith in their product so they would spend the 30 mill on an A list actor...several. It's for the boxoffice draw!!!!!! Seriously, how many of "you" went to an animation because 1 person was voicing it? Anyone want to drop $16 because Mel Blank is voicing? I got into anime because of the pretty pictures and stayed for the story. I did not go see B&B because Emma Watson was in it...I wasn't interested in the story. I didn't go see the Marvel movies because Robert Downey was in it...I went to see it for action and adventure. Scarlet Johansson is attractive; but, still....not gone to the movie because she's in it. "Why would they pay $100,000 for a celebrity photographer for the new perfume (PRINT) ad?" was a question often asked. I found a great answer....Art Director are given a budget...instead of trying to save $70,000 and hire a very good photographer for a day, they rather higher the A list photog... If the product fail, the Art Director will say "Don't look at me, I done everything needed for success". If the product fail, the Art Director will be blamed for higher a "sub par" photographer. My point.... STOP paying for A list actors...they already got $100,000,000 in their bank.... Need to take that savings and hire the artist. PAY THE ARTIST.
were there ever a secure jobs in animation? mike lazlo broke a million hearts, but i think we miss him... like eisner, but ja, i'm being flippant. i know it's much worse now. it sucks! i 'member the crap they used to make in the 80s when they made 'em by focus group. ai is incapable of being any better, and most likely not even as good. creator driven all the way! and fair treatment for the people involved in every aspect of the production
well, maybe so many people oughtta get together and f v ck the animation establishment and make our own animation industry, and i don't necessarily mean some particular products which may or may not sponsor you, certainly not solely them, or even just online in general, though that'd probably unavoidably be part of it. maybe we could come up with art co-ops or something like that
those posters are stupid: the sayings are empty platitudes, the art is uninspired and the commodification of such useless bullshit is thoroughly nauseating
I studied animation starting 12 years ago. After graduating I struggled to find work for 2 years and the opportunities I did get, I got screwed over in pay and benefits. Eventually I found a 3D modeling job adjacent to tech and since then I made a living in the tech industry, working my way up to manager positions. For the past couple of years I have taught at my old university on the side. My art background still comes in handy, and I’ve still done a lot of freelance work on the side, but I’m glad I’m no longer a struggling artist. The industry has been outsourcing a lot of jobs and now with AI they are trying to train models to do as much of the work as possible. This will further reduce the amount of people that work on projects and make a small competitive industry even smaller. I’ve also learned that in order to really succeed, you can’t just work hard and live what you do, you need to make it your life and really sacrifice relationships and opportunities outside of your art. That was a point I couldn’t see myself happy at, so I don’t really have regrets for no longer pursuing animation as a career. If you are just starting off studying animation, I highly encourage you to ask yourselves these questions. It isn’t impossible, but it isn’t just a career path, it’s an intense competitive lifestyle. Even some of the most amazing artists can find themselves without work for long periods of time. Are you willing to make it the sole focus of your life? Practice it now and see if it makes you happy, and that will give you more of an idea.
today i was thinking the same. Growing up there was many original shows. cartoon network for example had many original shows and now everyone is scared to do something original. why is that. i mean everything in theaters rn is a sequel. nothing is original. why is everything seen as an investment and there is no risk. there was leaks about spider-verse style batman beyond movie everyone loved the idea and again nothing. I am also about to give up on my dreams. since i dont live in france, LA or Toronto there is nothing on 3d animation. i've never in my life saw job postings for it. i mean i still do it in my free time thinking i would just email everysingle studio when i feel good enough but in the meantime i try to be 3d artist and stuff arnt great there either
looking back, knowing that this is all just helen gaslighting and taunting jon makes it so much better. even her calling jon 'archivist' is essentially i direct taunt, showing how she has no humanity left and is now a fully incorporated part of the spiral
ive been working in animation for 9 years. And u made the right choice. Animation industry is dying. Ive worked for 9 years straight and it was great... I did notice shows were getting worse and worse. They started to lose money and now I a lot of animators are out of work. Its super hard as someone who doesn't have any experience to get in right now. As there are veterans are out of work. I would love to grab a bunch of animators to make our own thing but i personally dont know many animator willing to take the chance. It is what it is. I recommend if you want to do animation. take a online course like animation mentor or ianimate.. Continue with ur college in Nursing and make that ur main job right now. Make animation a side thing. Maybe in the future the industry will bounce back and since u were animating on ur spare time u probably gotten better and would have a cool reel and get hired.
You can do both, nursing and art independently. Nursing is a tough demanding job and you will be tired at the end of the day but at least you will have resources for your leisure. It will be tough to pursue both but it is not impossible. I studied animation at a small community college called Sheridan, starting 44 years ago. Back then, I paid hundreds of dollars for tuition to have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of film equipment. Today, students pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to have access to what they can do on their laptops. In theory, it's very possible to learn and create animation on one's own with immediate feedback. I've had my ups & downs but I can say I've had the return on my 1980s' $2000 + investment for my 3 years. I hate to say it, but you are making a wise decision. One has to think about return on investment. Animation schools are riding on the reputation of the nineties' renaissance. Their tuitions need a drastic drop to reflect the true demand for animators, in my opinion.
Worked in animation for 20+ years and theres always a bleak time before its going to become great again. This industry indeed always raised and fell in waves…. Important is to keep going following your passion without comparing yourself too much with the competition. Getting a job is a lot about being at the right place at the right time and lots of luck really. The good things happen when least expected.
I was about to give some advice, but with AI making insane leaps in quality, and companies laying people off in droves, I realized that I don't know shit, and have zero good advice to give. Good freaking luck everybody.
I really been wanting to get into animation since middle school, ever since I was inspired by Flipnote Studio. Though I learned how rocky the industry was, early. Amd stuck to something more stable. Honestly, with animation, just go independent. No worry of corporate meddling. We now have more idie studios than ever.
you should take it easy on brian or the notion of "corporate greed". cartoons aren't free to make. this is not a charity. they are ponying up the money for every one produced. why would they do that? TO MAKE MONEY. making money is RIGHTFULLY a primary concern for them. as much as you would dearly not wish to lose the money you invested in something. and the fact of the matter is, really new IP tends NOT to do well. audiences vote with their wallets and their vote has an established track record. if hollywood is drowning in sequels and remakes, it's because the audience have told them to do that with their ticket buying decisions. in general, it's probably a good idea to go with nursing. pursuing your dreams sounds good until you're cut in the first round for american idol... that's reality.
I remember hearing about how bad the animation industry was doing back in 2013. Many animators were unable to afford to live in an apartment, so they lived out of their cars in the company parking lot. Most struggling to pay off their student loans, becoming effective slaves to the banks. 2D at that time had already been killed off. And the industry was even then full of soulless bureaucracy, advertisements, political correctness, j's, and an assortment of other terrible things that were driving people out of animation.
Great points Chrissy. I've been working in this bussiness for 35 years and find your observations are spot on. This industry is way too top heavy to sustain itself. I'll pass on the advice my old man gave me. "Follow your dream, but get a trade so you can have an support system for that dream." You'd be better off buying the program (Harmony, Maya, Etc.) you like and, youtubing the crap out of tutorials and make your own content. Keep posting and practicing.
you got all wrong, take Disney as example, did he app[ied for an animation studio? no? he started his animation studio in a time that not even TVs was popular ...think about it. you don't need an animation studio to be in the business of animation. you create your stuff and sell. and to sell stuff today is way more easier then in the past.
Sad but TRUE! You can get a non-animation job and use your free time to make your own projects. Working at an animation studio takes up a lot of time and energy and if you can work on your own films, you can do it. BUT, this industry goes up and down in wave. Always have a Plan B. Good advice in your video!
This reminds me of the exact issues I had going to school for computer animation during the great recession. After college I just knew that I would have to retrain myself, move to California and do even more than my 4 years of school just to get a basic job in animation. So instead I worked Customer Service and went back to school for Graphic Design. That industry has its own issues, but there are just more opportunities where I live for a career in graphic design than in animation. I do feel sad about it sometimes, but Im glad I made the change. I just wanted to have ART as my career and I also wanted to eat and have health insurance :D So I did what was best for me. Whatever path you eventually take will work out for you though. I always say "A dream deferred" because I havent given up at all. I do what I can in my spare time. And I still enjoy art. I just have a more mature perspective on it and try to encourage others on their path.
You don't need to go to animation school to be an animator. I didn't go to art school. I'm still learning the 12 principles of animation and I'm practicing the fundamentals of art. I'm taking art classes online and it's very helpful. I'm also going back to school for IT because right now times are tough and you need to find any job. I'd still say never give up on your dreams but you have to be realistic.
Stephen Hillenberg and Derek Drymon - the creator of Spongebob Squarepants and the original creative director refused to support the WGA when it tried to bring animation under its wing - Spongebob was a classic union buster just like Walk Disney - his legacy is what is happening today
hey im going through this exact thing and it was disheartening at first, but id much rather have financial stability, when i get my job in accounting ill be able to have the means to pay for my passion and work on my skills in my freetime. its not ideal but its way better than being 200k in debt
im a first year in Sheridan's Bachelor of Animation, soon to be second year. Im in a school with like, an acceptance rate nearing single digits. And third years are struggling to get internships, something needed to be done during the summer of 3rd year and most arent getting any at all so the school pretty much resorted to hosting school run internship programs. Our teachers are warning us to get whatever we can in the job world because of how scarce things are.
Oooh ooh, don't forget to mention the outsourcing issue :D. If you're American, you're kind of an expensive worker compared to others outside the country. Then there's the tax subsidy thing that countries offer to hollywood. It gets tough when your talent + hard work can't beat cost of using you versus someone else, who can potentially do the same thing.
very well made video Chrissy! I think it would be worthwhile to continue to pursue the video essay style on topics you care about. like I saw you made a gravity falls video and it might be worthwhile to talk about or rank the episodes with your opinion. Good luck!
7:43 matpat has said on the Ludwig fnaf lore stream that he was stretching because he was struggling to find a good topic for the fnaf video, but had to make it because it won a twitter poll
