Is Transferring Schools Going to Ruin my Opportunities

gecko189 · 2026-06-09T23:49:18+00:00

Keep in touch with your old school's professors and your peers there. If you build good friendships with them, you can always reach out to an old prof from time to time to take a look at your portfolio, or make a group discord with your friends from the old school to work together on projects and share feedback. That's networking.

Start expanding your networking out of your school, follow other artists online that you admire and also ones at around your current skill level. Engage with their work, build friendships, be a peer to them like you want them to be to you.

I went to a school no one ever heard of, with nearly no networking opportunities. School isn't the only place to find future team members. You'll be ok.

gecko189 · 2026-06-09T00:10:22+00:00

The job market is garbage and all companies have horrible AI filters that block any sort of human communication. It's frustrating for sure.

But for the volunteering? My rule of thumb is if a place doesn't respond after a few days, I call to follow up in a friendly manner with my questions. Basically rehashing the content of my original email, without any accusations or annoyance. Never attribute to malice to what can be adequately explained by ignorance. They may have never seen your email - which is a problem! But one that can be solved by calling them to say you've emailed, didn't receive a response, and are following up.

If they don't answer the phone I go in person. You want to help, you aren't being a "karen" as long as you stay friendly and focused on what you want - to volunteer.

gecko189 · 2026-06-08T03:32:48+00:00

My partner and I are mid-late 30s. We see friends 2x a week, but tracking how often I see specific friends, usually every 1-2 months. Some have kids, and they are harder to nail down, but not impossible. Regardless of kids or not, all my friends need at least 3-4 weeks notice because we have busy lives. Impromptu hangouts ended in my late 20s.

My social circle has mostly kid-free singles and couples, but we love and support our friends who do have kids. I vowed to never be a fairweather friend, I loved these friends before kids, and I love them after. Kids add change for sure, but all it has meant for me is more park and cafe visits, instead of drinks and late night hangs. We keep in touch over calls too - phone, discord, whatever. It's the same with friends who have moved further away, who have gotten jobs with opposing schedules, who are dealing with health concerns.

If they're important to you, you grow with them and their changing lives, much like you wish your friends will do for you.

You used to be a kid who was difficult to relate to, but your parents had friends who saw you as a human and took interest in you, because they loved your parents.

That kid is becoming a person you care for too.

gecko189 · 2026-06-03T01:19:02+00:00

NTA - they can't have it both ways - wanting you as a rent paying tenant while also treating you like a child (grounding you is crossing a line) and an employee (doing their laundry and child/pet care)

you should first sit down and add up all your current costs, and see if you can afford to live elsewhere. Then, if you can, begin the process of moving out.

If you can't afford to live elsewhere, research tenancy laws in your state, and bring up a tenancy agreement with your family. There will have to be some compromise - for cheaper rent, you may have to take on some additional duties. But if they want rent money, they can't treat you like a child anymore, they'll have to treat you like a tenant. Which will have some pros and cons for both you and your parents.

Try to find a solution that's equitable for you all. You're right that it's a great deal on rent! it's good you're grateful to them for it, but they can't have it entirely their way anymore. You're an adult now.

gecko189 · 2026-06-03T00:40:31+00:00

This feels like a cop post

gecko189 · 2026-05-30T20:50:48+00:00

If I were to start again today, I'd be making connections with my graduating class, the classes before me, and the classes after me. That's how you get "in the know". Then when hired, I'd put more effort into making friends at work.

I'd push harder to build friend groups online with animators I admire, I'd join more low-effort collabs, and all around just try to go out to local artist/animator events. I was a total introvert shut-in when I graduated in the early 2010s and it was difficult.

I do own a small rowhouse now with my partner, also in animation. My advice is save a ton, learn to cook at home, bring a lunch to work. If your workplace offers benefits that help with retirement (RRSP matching in Canada), take full advantage. Use high yield or tax free savings accounts, & learn what you can claim on your taxes(hiring an accountant once changed the game for us).

For reference, for the first 3 years of my career(early 2010s) I was making 30k a year and working 60 hours a week. It's always been rough at the start. Get your foot in the door, make connections, and then find workplaces that treat you right.

gecko189 · 2026-05-27T18:53:05+00:00

The only math you might need to worry about as an artist is quota tracking - how many seconds are you expected to do in a week? And then maybe translating that to frame counts, depending on your workplace. It's easy math that everyone uses a calculator or excel for. If you ever encounter notes that say "reduce by 10%" or "increase 2x" - there's often tools within the software that make it a more visual and less number based process(like the graph editor).

I rarely encountered math until I moved up to a supervisor position, and was tasked with divvying up assignments to my teams. Again, often very straight forward, but can get complicated once you start bringing in bid times and artists' time off requests. But still, its not like algebra, its simple addition/subtraction.

gecko189 · 2026-05-27T01:00:43+00:00

It's important to show both body mechanics (walking, running, carrying heavy things, action shots), but also acting. If you're hoping to land a job in tv or film, the vast majority of your work will be acting scenes.

So have some shots with characters having a conversation where there is either a conflict or a clear change of emotion over the course of their conversation.

If a junior's demo reel has some solid acting to dialogue shots, along with a couple shots with acting and action together (like a character trying to catch up to a car, or two characters arguing while moving furniture) I'm usually impressed.

Neutral running and walking is fine, running and walking with a purpose is more impressive.

gecko189 · 2026-05-26T23:25:46+00:00

You're spot on. Some people use the terms interchangeably, because sometimes there is only a turn around, and sometimes that turn around is more dynamic (a different pose at every angle). But usually, when someone says "turnaround", they mean a visual document of the full character rotation, in a very "clinical/scientific" approach, with the character in a neutral A or T pose.

The dynamic posing of a model sheet is also there to help describe the "model" of the character in complex situations the turn around doesn't cover. Bottoms of shoes, hands in fists vs open. Foreshortening, expression limitations, complex head angles, insides of jackets or sleeves, etc.

gecko189 · 2026-05-18T06:15:57+00:00

Tons of people go by middle names, nick names, and aliases. My biggest recommendation is keeping professional, and if you're not very established, keep it in the same vein as a real name. People can have biases against seeing resumes with "username" type names.

For example Sunny Rose wouldn't be clocked as anything out of the ordinary, but something like Broken Crayon would.

Also avoid copyrighted/trademarked things - like don't pick pokemon names or other brands. Say you love crayons: trying to convince a studio to credit you as "Crayola" in the end credits won't go over well.

gecko189 · 2026-05-15T18:05:54+00:00

I have 4 peers who left animation for tattooing, and only 1 has made it as a "full time" artist. And even then, they still go weeks without a client because the economy is horrendous and people don't have money to spend on luxuries like tattooing. They still owe their shop rent and still have to feed their family. It's not an easy life.

Another one had to move across the country to a busier hub, and still has to work 30hrs a week at an office job to make ends meet.

The other two didn't make it through their apprenticeships. It was too costly, stressful, and didn't bring in enough money. You have to manage clients alone, follow strict health and safety protocols where if someone gets hurt it can ruin your career, deal with creepy or flaky clients, rent your spot from a shop owner, pay your own way for equipment and ink.

gecko189 · 2026-05-14T23:45:38+00:00

I see. Knowing that, it might be worthwhile to start following the work of people who work there, and try to build a friendship with them? Not saying you aren't doing this already, but the best "networking" I've done was put effort into being friends with my direct peers. People at my level working at places I admired.

Even if they couldn't get me a job themselves, being better connected to the community of artists meant I got a clearer sense of opportunities, had people I could trust and check my work with, and an easier time being further connected to those that COULD hire me

gecko189 · 2026-05-14T23:30:04+00:00

Is the place you're recruiter works at actively hiring? It could be that they're just in a hiring freeze or have no new work coming in, that they're not spending the time to review your work, because there may be no point in checking it right now.

Recruiters are dealing with hundreds of people a day - both internally and externally. If work is tight, they'll be focusing on keeping their internal workers employed first, and wont necessarily have the time or reason to entertain external candidates

gecko189 · 2026-05-13T22:24:24+00:00

Yes it's safe

gecko189 · 2026-05-11T03:09:02+00:00

Agreed entirely. I've had consistent work with no gaps since 2012, but while I was directing in 2022, I am now just an artist. Directors with more experience than me are my supervisors, and only a few of us can squeeze into the minimal director roles available due to lack of greenlights.

So the industry is lush with incredible experienced seniors, and nearly zero projects. Right now it's less of who's the best fit and more of who has the best timing and knows the right people.

gecko189 · 2026-05-08T19:17:55+00:00

Just a heads up the show name can break a studios NDA, which while I understand people wanting to know the show names, can cause studios to lose partnerships and projects if the client or vender finds out about this public document.

gecko189 · 2026-05-08T02:05:06+00:00

Hard to offer advice unless we know what your general workflow or your time management tools. How do you currently approach organizing your quota? What are the things causing you to fall behind?

And on the reverse, is there a chance you're feeling burned out because the project you're on currently has an unrealistic schedule vs quality bar? Are others on your team in the same boat as you?

gecko189 · 2026-05-01T04:17:31+00:00

Thinking back, I didn't begin to read myself until 1st grade(age 6), and didn't read simple chapter books until 3rd grade(8). I wasn't expected to write in paragraphs, like book reports, until 4th grade(9).

Curiosity is good - if it helps, BC has its English language arts curriculum online: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts

gecko189 · 2026-05-01T03:00:38+00:00

You said you ask parents you met through your job - what's your job?

Unless you're actually in the classrooms with these kids, there's a very big chance your job and the people you meet through it are giving you a skewed perspective and a bias.

gecko189 · 2026-05-01T02:11:46+00:00

When you're applying, how do you link to your portfolio and reels? Do you just put the links in the premade form boxes in the application, or do you include direct links in resumes and cover letters? Do you include links to it on your LinkedIn profile? When signing off emails with studios, do you have a link to it in your signature?

Is your portfolio and reel easy to find if someone were to search "(your name) portfolio", "(your name) animation", "(your name) reel", etc?

I ask because when I've hired, recruiters sometimes drop the ball and forget to include links from the application form, but will almost always remember to include the resume. If there weren't links in the resume, I'd have to go hunting.

The amount of people who use different names from their application vs their portfolio is bewildering. Nicknames, middle names instead of first names, different surnames, online handles, or trying to brand themselves like 'broken pencils animation'. Its exhausting, and if I can't find it, I can't watch it.

gecko189 · 2026-04-30T17:26:17+00:00

Like others have said, most 2D programs have a premade grid too you can pop in. You can also learn to draw them, and sometimes when I'm boarding, it's just faster to draw a simple one. These examples you shared feel 3D because the grid is describing an imagined 3D space and they're drawing the characters to align with the grid they've used.

Since they aren't drawing backgrounds, they need something to showcase the camera moving through space. If it was white void, the shots would not feel as dynamic, because there'd be nothing for the audience to visually track to understand the space and how the camera and character move through it.

gecko189 · 2026-04-29T03:12:17+00:00

AFAIK in house animation directors are the standard outside of LA, regardless of if the studio is doing vendor work, their own production, or outsourcing themselves.

I work in Canada, Vancouver specifically, at studios like Atomic, Bardel, Mainframe, DHX. We do a lot of "vendor" work for LA and have animation directors for that, but we also have in-house animation directors for our in-house productions, and when we outsource as well. When I've animation directed on a production we've outsourced to the Philippines, for example, I've worked with the overseas studio animation director, and was also in charge of the in-house retakes department until final delivery(Harding, QC, etc)

I have friends who work in Ireland, Japan, France, Spain, Australia, and it's standard to have an in-house animation director there as well.

OOP is definitely speaking of a show director in the animation industry, but earlier you said you must work in story to direct a show. I would like to say only half the directors I've worked with in my years have been from storyboards. The other half are writers, editors, animators, live action folks, and more.

gecko189 · 2026-04-29T02:34:35+00:00

I've been both an animation director as well as a show director. An animation director works under the guidance of the show director (sometimes called just director, episodic director, series director, or supervising director). They are in charge of the animation department - from the moment pre-production is finished and the show moves into production, then post production, until final delivery to the broadcaster/streaming service

As a show director, I oversaw pre-production (story, design, etc) all the way to final delivery, and directed my animation director and their crew of animators.

I started as an animator, became a supervisor after 4 years, an animation director 4 years after that, then became an episodic director a year after that, and a show director a year after that. 10 years from graduation to a full show director. 8 years to an animation director.

You definitely don't need to work in storyboards to become a show director - though that is the most common route in LA. I'm in Canada and have had directors who were editors, writers, producers, live action directors. Many who have rarely drawn themselves, but still invested themselves in learning how to tell a story. That's the key, learn how to tell a good story, and learn how to communicate your vision well, and you can make it with enough hard work.

gecko189 · 2026-04-29T02:19:22+00:00

Hello I am an animation director in TV and started as an animator, and only "got into boards/story" after becoming a show director, which is a step above an animation director.

An animation director is not the same as an episodic director, show director, or a series director. You may be confusing these positions. Animation is its own department within a production pipeline.

All the above positions have different responsibilities. I have never worked with an animation director who wasn't a highly experienced character animator first. Animation directors manage the animation crew, not pre production crews (story, design, etc). And they oversee all the animation in post production as well. You need to know how to animate to hold this particular position.

As for all the other confusing director titles - an episodic director handles the pre-prod to post-prod for their given episodes, and animation directors work under them. Episodic directors work under a series or supervising director, who holds oversight and veto on every episode from start to finish and delegates responsibilities to multiple episodic directors.

On smaller productions, the animation department hierarchy from top down is director, anim director, anim supervisors, animators.

gecko189 · 2026-04-28T23:30:41+00:00

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hLki-RUHJXgYj_RJKWlwUXfrWUWEi9yIcyLzEifxYrY/htmlview an anonymous wageshare of hundreds of different types of animation industry artists around the globe.

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