Whats Next

What’s Next? Animate!

Catching the Animation Bug

• Life-changing experience: “So, have you caught the animation bug? If you did, congratulations, you’re never going to be the same”
• Natural question: “But what you may be asking yourself is, well, what do I do next?”

Core Advice: Keep Creating and Learning

Keep Making & Watching

For Artists

• Continuous creation: “Here’s my advice, keep making and keep watching, if you’re an artist, draw and animate until you find your style”
• Medium exploration: “I mean, that can be 2D, CGI, stop motion, even video game animation, experiment until you find your medium and then commit to it”
• Storytelling practice: “Tell stories whenever you can and keep track of your progress”

Portfolio Development

• Essential tool: “Start a portfolio of your work, a portfolio is the most important tool that an artist will have when they’re trying to get work”
• Living document: “It’s a living document so as your skill increases, swap in your best pieces”
• Universal necessity: “Every serious artist should have a portfolio and there’s no reason that you can’t start one now”

For Non-Artists

• Alternative path: “And if you’re not crazy about the artistic part, but you love animation, well, then just watch as much as you can”
• Challenge yourself: “Challenge yourself with animation you’re not familiar with and study the history of the medium”

Animation History Study

Historical Pioneers

• Winsor McCay
• The Nine Old Men
• Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 70’s or 80’s

Modern & Global

• Anime
• Indie productions
• Shorts
• Music videos
• New and old content

Discovery Approach

• Broad exploration: “Go find out what you like, find an animation festival, go watch some cool stuff in another language”
• Lifelong learning: “All great artists remain students their entire career”

Professional Development Opportunities

Internships

• Early exposure: “If you’re college aged or near it, well, you might want to think of an internship which can be an incredible way to see the inner workings of a studio or a production company and get your feet wet”
• Opportunities available: “Here at Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks, they provide early career opportunities as do many other production companies”

Networking Strategies

• Relationship building: “You can also start building your network of fellow animators and artists”
• Multiple channels:

• “Make friends at a festival”
• “Start a LinkedIn account”
• “Track artists and executives whose career paths you admire”
• “Join Reddit subgroups”
• “Meet other animation maniacs around the world”

• Simple directive: “Just network”

Industry Mindset

Passion-Driven Field

• Driving force: “The folks who end up working in this field are the ones who are driven by an intense passion”
• More than work: “It’s less a job than a calling to tell stories in this way”
• Recognition: “If you’re still with me at this point there’s a good chance that you have that”

Final Encouragement

• Gratitude: “Thank you for playing along with me and I can’t wait to see what you create”

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Project: Build Your Storyboard!

Assignment Overview

• Goal: “Now that we’ve got a great character, and have seen them in a compelling environment, we’re going to tell a story!”
• Tool importance: “Storyboards are an essential tool of animators”

Technical Requirements

6-Panel Storyboard

• Format: Using a 6-panel storyboard template
• Objective: “Let’s try to tell a story that makes sense and elicits the emotional response you’re going for”
• Character: Use the hero Blob you’ve created
• Structure: Build a simple narrative with beginning, middle, and end

Creative Guidelines

• Dialogue restriction: “Try to use dialogue very sparingly, if at all”
• Creative freedom: “But you can create your very own universe, using the environments you created from Single-Panel exercise, or starting fresh”
• Additional elements: “Props? You bet! Other characters? Go for it!”
• Scope: “The world is literally at your fingertips… just stay within 6 panels and as little dialogue as possible”

Learning Support

• Example provided: “Once again, Jenn Kluska has created an awesome storyboard examples with her Blob (hers has more panels, but that’s something you can work up to!)”
• Success principle: “Above all, focusing on clarity and simplicity leads to the best results”
• Template availability: “There’s also a storyboard template available for download below, and you can use it digitally or print it out and draw by hand”

Skill Transfer Value

Animation Foundation

• Dual purpose: “Not only are you telling a story, but you’re creating key poses for your hero”
• Traditional process: “And this is the critical process for traditional animation”
• Unlimited practice: “The skills you hone here — and there’s no limit to the amount of storyboards that you can create”
• Universal application: “Will transfer directly to your animation goals, whether you’re excited about 3D, 2D, stop motion, video games, or beyond!”

Sharing Opportunity

• Industry connection: “Want to share your work with Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks? Drop it here”

The path forward in animation requires continuous creation, learning, and networking, whether pursuing artistic or non-artistic roles. Building a portfolio through consistent practice, studying animation history, and connecting with the animation community creates opportunities for growth and career development in this passion-driven industry.