04 - 26 - 2014
Since my last Deviant ID update (four years ago!) the beloved Disney TV show "Phineas and Ferb" has stopped production and I've recently moved on to a brand new Disney TV show with the working title of "Rapscallions". By the time it actually shows up on TV (more than a year from now), it will have a new title…but we don't know what that is yet. It's fun though, and a bunch of my most favorite P&F co-workers have migrated over to this new show with me. So it already feels like home.
Between these shows I was briefly at Titmouse Studios in Hollywood, working on a show called "Randy Cunningham 9th Grade Ninja". It was back to my small studio roots! A creaky old building, lots of beautiful young fresh-out-of-art-school artists, small budgets, close quarters, funny smells, etc. It was fun to be the "old guy" who had funny animation stories to tell, and an eager audience of new-to-the-business artists to tell them to. But when Disney called, I shook hands and said my goodbyes. Because, let's face it, nothing beats the fit and finish (and paychecks!) (and perks!) of a big studio like Disney.
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Oh right, some people might be reading this for the first time.
I work in the television animation business. I'm a storyboard artist in Los Angeles.
"Oh. What's that like?"
I was once interviewed through a series of emails, and I was asked: "What's a typical day like for you with regards to your job?"
I answered:
Sit.
Think of the story.
Think of the funny.
Draw it.
Draw it well.
Draw it fast.
Repeat.
That's my job. And, in what I'm about to say I'm glossing over the really hard work it took to get myself into my current station, and the extraordinary amount of effort it takes to remain employed (by drawing and re-drawing a thousand little pictures every six weeks), but really, it's a ton of fun. And if you want improve or maintain your skills of storytelling and drawing, there's really nothing else quite like it.
If you can handle the workload, breaking a story and bringing it to life is one of life's greatest joys.
You go to bed at night with a sore hand. But there's a smile on your face, and a deep feeling of satisfaction.
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