By: Shawn Kelly

Okay, here's the thing.  If you're reading this, you're probably either an animation student with a head and heart full of big dreams and aspirations, or else you're already an animator and looking for a different perspective on the art you already love.  Or you're my Mom. 
Those three categories pretty much cover every one of you, so I think it's safe to say that for the most part, we're all in love with this animation stuff, and we all have big dreams for the magic we hope to create with the tools of our trade.

If you've spent any time at all hunting down this sort of animation information, you've realized that it's a nutty bunch of people who have thrown themselves into this life.  Creative people, sure, but animators also seem to be an unusually energetic and enthusiastic group of people.  Maybe it's because we have to have a childlike nature to be so willing to immerse ourselves in what has culturally been thought of as a "children's art form," at least here in the US.  Maybe it's because we spent most of our high school days cracking jokes and doodling in the corner rather than wearing prom crowns or winning sports trophies, forcing us to develop <gasp!> actual personalities. 

Personally, I think it's this:  despite the childlike halo that surrounds the idea of "doing animation," it isn't easy.  I've said it before and I'll say it again - this animation stuff is hard.

In fact, it's damn hard.

It takes a certain kind of person to not only have the patience to put in the hours and days and years of practice required to gain even a modicum of confidence in this art, but - and this is the important part
- it takes a truly unique person to power through all those hours and emerge at the other side filled with even more excitement and enthusiasm than when they began.

I had the honor of interviewing one of our true animation greats, Eric Goldberg, for Animation Mentor.  One of the things he said to me, which really rings true, was that it is impossible to make it in this industry if you don't TRULY love animation as an art.  "You have to love it," he said.  And that's the absolute truth.  If you don't have that passion for the art, you will never have the patience to power through all the years of learning.  To some, these years were tedious and frustrating, but for those of us who truly love what we do, they were rewarding and incredibly fun.

Those of you who are in love with seeing your characters brought to life know that for us, it's worth the struggle of learning, and worth the "tedium" of the actual creation of the performance.  Those of us who are in love with animation find joy in the details, thrills in the excitement of new discoveries, and resolve in the face of the continually new and ever-more-daunting challenges posed by new characters, new shots, and new projects.

Why am I saying all this?  What does this have to do with my Tips & Tricks article?

Well, here it is -- we have a problem in this industry.  It's been a problem for years, especially (for some reason) among students.  It isn't going away, and frankly, I think it hurts countless animation students.

We're…snobs.

There, I said it.  We're snobs.  Animation snobbery has reached epidemic proportions, in fact. I can't count the number of students who have explained to me that their skills would be wasted on anything but close-up acting shots, or how many students I hear about who have scoffed at job-offers to work on high-profile projects that may not be destined for critical acclaim, but would at least have given the students their first feature film credit!

I honestly find it shocking.  To turn down your very first animation job because you don't feel the movie or game is good enough for you, or because it isn't Pixar or ILM - I'm sorry, that's just asinine.  It's just as ridiculous as turning down a job because you'll be going in as a "mere" junior animator, or because you won't be guaranteed the much-vaunted "acting" shots.

I don't think all snobbery is necessarily evil, of course, but snobbery should be directly proportional to your experience level.  If you've been in the business a while, then sure, I think you have certainly earned the right to be choosy about what you work on, and have also won the right to request to focus on certain types of work, shots, or characters.

I'm mostly talking about the next generation of animators, here, the new folks coming up.  At Animation Mentor, we're really lucky to have an incredibly open and energetic student body - students willing and excited to learn from their mistakes as well as the mistakes of their peers, and frankly we put a lot of thought and effort into making sure we help continue to foster that attitude.  As a whole, they seem genuinely eager to create a well-rounded animation career, and they understand that for 99.99999% of them, that career will not begin as a lead animator at Sony.

However, for whatever reason, I would say that at least half of the young animators I meet who haven't been involved with Animation Mentor (and yes, even a few who have), seem to have surprisingly skewed expectations of what their first few years in this industry should be like.  They're all smiles on the outside, but you can't help but squint in the blinding glare of egos going supernova.

Everything is owed to them.  They all think they're the next Glen Keane.  "Don't waste my talents on smaller shots even though I have zero professional experience, I'm clearly the greatest animator known to man and you should allow me to bless your studio by placing me on only the most important shots in the film."   Ugh.

And you know what?  They might be right.  Maybe they're great.  Maybe they *COULD* have been the next Glen Keane.  But guess what?  With an attitude like that, they will never get the chance to rise to that stature.  No one is going to be able to stand them long enough for them to prove their worth.  Do they think Glen Keane showed up at Disney one morning, demanding to start right in on the biggest hero shots in the film?  Please.  He put in an incredible amount of time learning and studying from the more experienced animators who surrounded him at Disney.  I've never had the pleasure of meeting him personally, but I have no doubt that he'd tell us that he owes much of his animation knowledge to the time spent studying under the greats who came before him.

That should be the goal of every new animator, in my opinion.  Get yourself into an animation studio - be it games, features, television, whatever - and learn as much as you possibly can from the more experienced animators around you.

So here's this month's tip:

*Tip #18:  Rise Above The Snobbery*

Animation students live and work in a relatively tiny community.  The same way that a virulent cold can sweep through an office, infecting all the co-workers, the double-headed monster of unwarranted snobbery and big egos in a competitive field has run rampant through the student community.  It's up to YOU to help change that, because to be honest, it's YOU who this will hurt the most if it continues to go unchecked.

I mentioned that it takes a special kind of person to become an animator in the first place, and that a big part of that was passion.  We're passionate people.  We're excited about what we do.  We have the patience to put in the practice time, and the enthusiasm to remain invigorated by the work.  However, that passion can easily mutate into the very snobbery I'm talking about here.  We love this stuff so much that we can easily become laser-focused on whatever type of work we perceive to be the "worthwhile" work.  Your peers talk endlessly about acting shots, acting shots, acting shots.  It isn't hard for animators to start to feel that a close-up acting shot is the only worthwhile use of their talent.  They're completely wrong on many different levels, but it isn't uncommon for that attitude to fester.

Animation snobbery is also perpetuated in large part by those of us who are teaching, as well.  Students hear their teachers bad-mouth certain studios, look down on different mediums, or blast rival projects.  Is it any wonder that students get it into their heads that they should only accept a position at Studio A when Studios B, C, D, and E have all been pilloried by their teachers, for whatever reason?  Teachers, most likely desperate to gain the respect of their students, pathetically try to bolster their own image by tearing down the images of their rivals.  I've seen it happen in classes I've been in, and I've known teachers and animators who take this approach.

These teachers should absolutely be allowed their opinions, and as an animation student, you (sadly) WILL hear them talking like this. 
Whether it's coming from a place of bitterness, insecurity, or simple ego, it *is* going to be something you will come across in this animation journey.

I'd love to think that this will change someday, but realistically there will always be egomaniacs out there trying to teach.  At Animation Mentor, one of our most stringent rules is our "no ego" policy in hiring mentors.  An egotistical reputation will kill the application of even the most experienced and talented animators hoping to mentor for us.  I'm not sure if other schools are rigorous about this as well, but we all should be.  It's surely one of the things perpetuating these absurd expectations in today's students.

Anyway, it probably isn't going to change.  All that means is that it's now on YOUR shoulders to simply not let it affect you negatively.  If your teacher is bad-mouthing certain studios, do not let that get to you.  If your fellow students are blasting certain types of animation or mediums, do not let that get to you.  If everyone around you wants to be a picky snob about what they will animate or what studios they will deign to grace with their presence, fine - LET THEM BE SNOBS.  In fact, their snobbery merely means that you will have more job opportunities to pick from!

All you can do is decide to NOT be a snob yourself.  If you don't have experience, go after that "bottom-rung of the ladder" job as a junior assistant animator somewhere and immerse yourself in the culture of that studio with gusto.  Have fun, and learn everything you possibly can!  As you do, you will CLIMB that ladder, and I can absolutely guarantee you that you will hit the top of that ladder while your snobby peers are still standing around wondering why they still haven't been named Supreme Lord of Animation at the one studio they're willing to work for.

Especially in your first few jobs, it will be absolutely critical that you are genuinely eager to animate pretty much anything the studios are willing to throw your way.  Don't be demanding; don't go in expecting the flashiest of shots.  DO, however, go in expecting to learn something every single day, and don't let a day go by where you don't.  Improve every day.  Grow as an artist, every day.  Make yourself more and more valuable to the studio every single day.

If you have an ego, find some way to get rid of it.  Just let it go.  It isn't worth keeping around - it's a virus that will drag you down in front of your peers, and be an anchor on your career.

In short, have a GENUINE heart to learn, and wear your humility like a badge of honor.  Don't let the egos of your peers infect you too, no
matter how many of them there are.  

Just focus on yourself, because frankly, I don't even really want you to try to convert the egomaniacs around you.  I think I can speak for most recruiters when I say that no one really wants to waste their time interviewing them anyway.

Ok, that's it.  You can probably guess that I ran into a few egos this month, which is less frustrating than it is saddening.  I wished these people weren't so blatantly shooting themselves in the foot, that's all.  I know this is kind of a hardcore subject this month, but I wanted to throw it out there.  Who knows, maybe we can start to turn this ego trend around, huh?  Here's hoping so!

Hit me with any feedback/comments/requests, if you want: 
tipsandtricks@animationmentor.com

As always, have fun and keep animating!!!!

Shawn :)