From a Motion Designer to Design students: “Consider these 3 points”
I had the great pleasure of speaking to Carla Barr’s Type 4 class at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena this past Thursday.
The presentation included a little “Show & Tell” along with some insight about the Motion Design world from a Freelance Motion Artist’s point of view.
This was a particularly special moment, since I graduated from this very school myself.
My goal was to give a brief taste of what the Motion world is about but, also give some advice that could be useful even for those not considering Motion Design as a career path.
Here are three key points mentioned in the talk:
You do not have to be an animator to participate in the Motion Design Universe:
Motion Graphics works with mixed media. This means that a project may need a variety of talents, including anything from an animator to an illustrator, a graphic designer, a 3D modeler, a sound designer, a photographer, an editor, an actor. It is a fast paced environment, where working with artists from different disciplines can be at times challenging. However, once each artist completes their piece of the puzzle and steps away, the finished picture can be breathtaking.
Become naturally organized:
Unlike school projects, you often won’t see a project from beginning to end. You may be hired to do a section, and then be asked to move onto something completely different. This means that someone will be taking over your files. Time on projects is limited by budgets and a variety of other circumstances. The person that takes over your file needs to be able to hop onto it as if he or she has been working on it from the start.
School is your chance to learn how to be efficient. Learn how to work in an organized fashion from start to finish. This requires practice but, with a little persistence by the time you graduate, working quickly and neatly will be second nature to you. This means that you will be able to dedicate more time to creativity instead of fixing your own mess.
Hold onto your school connections:
ACCD is a small giant galaxy with ties that you may be holding onto until the rest of your career.
It has been 7 years since I graduated and I still find myself reaching out to classmates for referrals, advice, and recommendations.
You will often find yourself working with an Art Center alum because we are all over the industry. Both because of our strong reputation in striving for excellence, as well as our tendency to promote each other. Art Center has a very tight community and if you hold onto it, you will definitely experience the benefits of your education.
I do strongly believe that this is a lesson that can be attributed to all school and professional relationships. Respect your school and professional ties, because you never know when you might need each other.
Best of luck to all the design students out there preparing themselves for their careers. I impatiently wait to see your contribution to our world.
