As an artist, it is often easy to feel like an outsider. In the past few years I've had that feeling more and more often while pursuing a second degree in business. Art folk are friendly and welcoming while the people in business are ruthless and focused on making money. I have never considered myself to be a mean person and, in a way, this makes me stick out in a crowd of business students.
This year was the first time I had ever attended CTN Expo. While at CTN, I felt like an outsider. I no longer intend to pursue animation as a career because I can't find where I fit in to the equation. I don't regret my decision to have studied animation but I do wish I would have realized I hated animating sooner. I was stuck on the fact that I loved animation as an art form that I desperately attempted to place myself in that world.
While walking around the expo, it was initially difficult to start a conversation with the rest of the attendants. While waiting in lines, I would ask people who had a portfolio or iPad under their arm, "so what are you pursuing?" And after answering or displaying their art, it would inevitably lead to, "how about you?" The first time I told someone I was no longer doing animation, they visibly lost interest in the conversation. They shifted slightly and their eyes darted away. It was uncomfortable.
By my third conversation, I was catching on to how to tell my tale. "So long story short, I appreciate animation but it's not for me. I'm studying business which will help me save up to go back to art school. I'm not really sure where I fit in but I think I'd like to go into special effects makeup and prosthetics." Okay now people are interested. A few conversations later, I was giving business advice to artists who didn't have business cards or websites. CTN stands for Creative Talent Network. People pay a lot of money to attend the show with the intention of networking and/or having their portfolios reviewed. To not have a business card at this type of event is a missed opportunity.
After a while, and feeling a bit more at ease, I would talk to larger groups of people about my art-business fusion. In one particular conversation where I shared advice on interviews and business law, I jokingly mentioned I could use my odd combination of degrees to do consulting for artists. I was going on about ways artists could prevent abuse in the industry and mentioned ways to help market themselves. About five people simultaneously asked me for my business card. Well who was unprepared now? A missed business opportunity for yours truly but definitely an idea I will be fleshing out for future ctn expos.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
3:20 AM
I have to turn in three briefed cases tomorrow and it's a lot more difficult than I had originally anticipated. I have a test next week for managerial accounting and this class is a lot more difficult than I had originally anticipated. Either I am underestimating my courses or I think too much of myself. All I know for sure is that I'm eager for summer to arrive.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Art 220: Entry 19
Our final class was on Thursday. Finals week starts tomorrow and on Tuesday, we will be screening the promos we've been working on!
On Thursday, we talked about the learning outcomes and what grade we felt we deserved in the class. We then had a discussion about the difference between Art and Graphic Design. In the past, I have felt that some classes were a waste of time and did not accomplish anything they set out to do. With the exception of one, this course successfully met the learning outcomes listed on the syllabus. Although I am not a design student, one of the main reasons I took this course was because I had a desire to improve on my ability to develop concepts. I not only wanted to come up with better ideas, but I wanted to generate many ideas quickly. I feel that I have succeeded in accomplishing this. Every idea I come up with may not be brilliant, but I am able to generate many good ideas quickly and strengthen them faster than I was able to before.
I found it interesting that many people were stumped when asked the difference between Graphic Design and art. As students making it their career choice, I was expecting many to give thoughtful and informative answers. I had a general idea myself, but I found it difficult to formulate a coherent description. Jimmy told us that we needed to know what Graphic Design was to effectively complete our videos. Together, the class slowly pieced the meaning of design like a communal puzzle. As a whole, it was stated that design was the use of art to communicate a message and solve a problem. Designers are critical thinkers, solving problems for their clients and being mindful of their audience. More might have been said but I began to think about my video and how I wanted to approach my idea. After talking to Jimmy about my idea, I left class feeling pensive and a little less stressed about the impending workload.
descriptor collection
demure: a shy or modest appearance or manner
sesquipedalian: using lengthy words; containing many letters or syllables
adamant: set opinion, unwilling to reconsider a decision
On Thursday, we talked about the learning outcomes and what grade we felt we deserved in the class. We then had a discussion about the difference between Art and Graphic Design. In the past, I have felt that some classes were a waste of time and did not accomplish anything they set out to do. With the exception of one, this course successfully met the learning outcomes listed on the syllabus. Although I am not a design student, one of the main reasons I took this course was because I had a desire to improve on my ability to develop concepts. I not only wanted to come up with better ideas, but I wanted to generate many ideas quickly. I feel that I have succeeded in accomplishing this. Every idea I come up with may not be brilliant, but I am able to generate many good ideas quickly and strengthen them faster than I was able to before.
I found it interesting that many people were stumped when asked the difference between Graphic Design and art. As students making it their career choice, I was expecting many to give thoughtful and informative answers. I had a general idea myself, but I found it difficult to formulate a coherent description. Jimmy told us that we needed to know what Graphic Design was to effectively complete our videos. Together, the class slowly pieced the meaning of design like a communal puzzle. As a whole, it was stated that design was the use of art to communicate a message and solve a problem. Designers are critical thinkers, solving problems for their clients and being mindful of their audience. More might have been said but I began to think about my video and how I wanted to approach my idea. After talking to Jimmy about my idea, I left class feeling pensive and a little less stressed about the impending workload.
descriptor collection
demure: a shy or modest appearance or manner
sesquipedalian: using lengthy words; containing many letters or syllables
adamant: set opinion, unwilling to reconsider a decision
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Art 220: Entry 18
On Tuesday, one of the students in our class shared her experience of AIGA's Student Portfolio day. The keynote speaker for the event was Robynne Raye, one of the co-founders of the design company Modern Dog. Jimmy gave us some background about the company and showed us their website. The information presented on the design company's site is written in a way that caters to businessmen and corporations but the art that was displayed was jocund and vibrant.
Modern Dog is known for their playful poster designs. They enjoy creating posters but, unfortunately, it does not pay well. Jimmy told us that what keeps the company afloat is their corporate work. The corporate money they earn is enough to allow them to take on projects where the pay is little to none. I think many creative people search for this. They want to live their dream, producing fun artwork they enjoy but they need to strike a balance and bring home a paycheck.
Some entertainment companies have a no-moonlighting clause in their contracts. Legendary animator Chuck Jones was fired from Warner Bros. when they discovered he had broken their exclusive contract to work on a UPA film he had written with his wife. Despite working at a renowned company, Jones had the desire to do his own side project. As awesome as it is to have art projects for homework, there are moments when it's still work. I'll be painting in a very specific technique that the professor desires and I'll want to doodle in my sketchbook. I expect it will be similar once I get settled in my career. I'll be working on a project that may not necessarily be my original idea. I'll love that it's art but every once in a while, I'll want to do my own thing.
descriptor collection
anhedonic: inability to feel or experience pleasure
jocund: full of humor, cheerful
fallacious: mistaken idea, deceptive
Modern Dog is known for their playful poster designs. They enjoy creating posters but, unfortunately, it does not pay well. Jimmy told us that what keeps the company afloat is their corporate work. The corporate money they earn is enough to allow them to take on projects where the pay is little to none. I think many creative people search for this. They want to live their dream, producing fun artwork they enjoy but they need to strike a balance and bring home a paycheck.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
Some entertainment companies have a no-moonlighting clause in their contracts. Legendary animator Chuck Jones was fired from Warner Bros. when they discovered he had broken their exclusive contract to work on a UPA film he had written with his wife. Despite working at a renowned company, Jones had the desire to do his own side project. As awesome as it is to have art projects for homework, there are moments when it's still work. I'll be painting in a very specific technique that the professor desires and I'll want to doodle in my sketchbook. I expect it will be similar once I get settled in my career. I'll be working on a project that may not necessarily be my original idea. I'll love that it's art but every once in a while, I'll want to do my own thing.
descriptor collection
anhedonic: inability to feel or experience pleasure
jocund: full of humor, cheerful
fallacious: mistaken idea, deceptive
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Art 220: Entry 17
Thursday's class consisted of deep thoughts and a whole lot of whoa's.
These were some of the questions people posed during our game of "what if...?"
Even after class had ended, I continued to ponder the possibilities. As a kid, I would hold my nose before drinking nasty medicines. I found out years later that smell determined taste, and holding my nose was actually an effective coping method. When someone asked "what if earth had zero gravity?" I simply thought of how cool it would be to float around weightlessly. What I did not consider was how our eating habits would be affected. Jimmy pointed our that the aroma of our foods rises to our nostrils as we eat and if gravity changed, how would our sense of smell change?
I loved the possibility of space being a spec in God's heart. And God being one of many others like us. It made me visualize infinity in a new manner and I felt so minute-- but not in a bad way. When someone proposed the extinction of religions, I contemplated the fate morality. If religions never existed, would politics have existed? If no one believed in anything higher than humans, would we have a sense of wonder?
If we were to run out of oil, I feel we would not cope well at all. We would be quite unprepared. Cars would be scattered everywhere, and many people would possibly have to leave their jobs or leave hours early to arrive via bike. It would also force us to bring back electric car.
I continued to think of more what if's for a few hours. Some a bit outrageous and others that plunged me deeper into thought. As creatives, we should explore different possibilities-- both plausible and implausible. We can consider the implications and simply let our minds go free. I felt like this was a great exercise in cultivating creativity and developing the imagination.
descriptor collection
disillusioned: disappointed in someone of something
weary: visibly tired
petite: smaller than average
What if we could never die?
What if sexual identity didn't exist?
What if there were no more religions?
What if 9/11 never happened?
What if there were no such thing as success?
What if earth had zero gravity?
What if everything we do has been decided?
What if consciousness is a dream?
What if everyone looked the same?
What if space was God's heart?
What if Hitler and the axis powers had won the war?
What if females ran the world?
What if there were no borders?
What if we ran out of oil tomorrow?
These were some of the questions people posed during our game of "what if...?"
Even after class had ended, I continued to ponder the possibilities. As a kid, I would hold my nose before drinking nasty medicines. I found out years later that smell determined taste, and holding my nose was actually an effective coping method. When someone asked "what if earth had zero gravity?" I simply thought of how cool it would be to float around weightlessly. What I did not consider was how our eating habits would be affected. Jimmy pointed our that the aroma of our foods rises to our nostrils as we eat and if gravity changed, how would our sense of smell change?
I loved the possibility of space being a spec in God's heart. And God being one of many others like us. It made me visualize infinity in a new manner and I felt so minute-- but not in a bad way. When someone proposed the extinction of religions, I contemplated the fate morality. If religions never existed, would politics have existed? If no one believed in anything higher than humans, would we have a sense of wonder?
If we were to run out of oil, I feel we would not cope well at all. We would be quite unprepared. Cars would be scattered everywhere, and many people would possibly have to leave their jobs or leave hours early to arrive via bike. It would also force us to bring back electric car.
I continued to think of more what if's for a few hours. Some a bit outrageous and others that plunged me deeper into thought. As creatives, we should explore different possibilities-- both plausible and implausible. We can consider the implications and simply let our minds go free. I felt like this was a great exercise in cultivating creativity and developing the imagination.
descriptor collection
disillusioned: disappointed in someone of something
weary: visibly tired
petite: smaller than average
Art 220: Entry 16
On Tuesday we were given the following sequence of numbers:
1
10
11
100
and asked to fill in what came next. We were split into two teams and our team chose that the next number in the sequence was 111. Our reasoning behind this was because we saw a pattern where a zero and a one were added to the number two spots before. For example, a zero added to 10 makes 100 and a one added to 1 makes 11. Another one added to 11 would make the next number in the sequence 111. Alternating between adding zero's and one's would create the sequence 1, 10, 11, 100, 111, 1000, 1111, 10000, 11111.
Jimmy chose a representative from each group to go up to the board and present our reasoning. Using what was presented, we then had to come up with the next numbers in the sequence. Unfortunately, not all the things we discussed as a group were iterated to the rest of the class and the other group had a difficult time finding the next number in the sequence using our formula. Similarly, we felt that the other group's method had conflicting pieces of information that prevented us from solving the sequence.
I found it interesting that both groups approached solving the number sequence from a visual perspective-- like true art majors-- rather than trying to created a mathematical formula. Although we spent a good amount of time discussing different methods and preparing for our presentation, leaving out one minor detail prevented the other group from completing the sequence. Like previous exercises, this one further taught us the value of clear communication.
Jimmy chose a representative from each group to go up to the board and present our reasoning. Using what was presented, we then had to come up with the next numbers in the sequence. Unfortunately, not all the things we discussed as a group were iterated to the rest of the class and the other group had a difficult time finding the next number in the sequence using our formula. Similarly, we felt that the other group's method had conflicting pieces of information that prevented us from solving the sequence.
I found it interesting that both groups approached solving the number sequence from a visual perspective-- like true art majors-- rather than trying to created a mathematical formula. Although we spent a good amount of time discussing different methods and preparing for our presentation, leaving out one minor detail prevented the other group from completing the sequence. Like previous exercises, this one further taught us the value of clear communication.
descriptor collection
ingratiating: agreeable, pleasing
overwrought: overly complicated in construction or design
overwrought: overly complicated in construction or design
congenial: pleasant due to similar interests
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Art 220: Entry 15
On Thursday, we saw another TED Talk video and Jimmy gave us some history about the TED talks. It was started by an architect named Richard Wurman who transitioned into the world of design. One of his first big projects was to design the pacific bell logo for the smart pages. His company came up with the idea, he was not hired to design it. Whenever you have a big idea. no one is going to approach you. You have to get your ideas out there. If not for an intern named Maria, who was working for Wurman at the time, the company would have never gotten the gig. She was very motivated and asked to pitch the idea. She asked to be sent to San Francisco, and believing he had nothing to lose, Wurman complied. When she successfully got the gig for her firm, they allowed her to oversee her own branch. In this way, she got to learn process of running a design firm which facilitated the process of laughing her own firm, today known as Hot Studio.
I find it incredibly inspiring that someone so young could have accomplished so much after recently graduating from school.. She had all her education fresh on her mind, she was highly motivated and she just grabbed the opportunity by the horns. She traveled across the nation, something that can be frightening at such a young age, to represent her firm.
Our attention span is 19 minutes. This is how long TED talks are. TED talks are our nation's geniuses. John Maeda graduated from MIT with a background in computers. He was given advice to became a designer and he followed said advice. His work is intricate. I too, enjoy intricacy and making things complex for myself.
simplicity = more enjoyment, less pain
descriptor collection
exuberant: very energized and excitable
cordial: friendly, heartfelt
majestic: beautiful and dignified
I find it incredibly inspiring that someone so young could have accomplished so much after recently graduating from school.. She had all her education fresh on her mind, she was highly motivated and she just grabbed the opportunity by the horns. She traveled across the nation, something that can be frightening at such a young age, to represent her firm.
Our attention span is 19 minutes. This is how long TED talks are. TED talks are our nation's geniuses. John Maeda graduated from MIT with a background in computers. He was given advice to became a designer and he followed said advice. His work is intricate. I too, enjoy intricacy and making things complex for myself.
simplicity = more enjoyment, less pain
descriptor collection
exuberant: very energized and excitable
cordial: friendly, heartfelt
majestic: beautiful and dignified
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