I took the critiques i got from the tutors and tried to fix my cv and showreels as  best i could given the advice-

i edited the colour f my cv and slightly changed the layout so everything was easier to understand and read, i also changed the order of my skills and fixed my work experience to include more experience relevant to what i want to apply for i then added a purple Collum to try to make the layout more under stand-able and easy to read, and since I have created my showreel and portfolio I added a link to them.

Show reel-

this is my showreel after I took the tutors advice and fixed it. I took out a few of my clips and added music that is more appropriate for the video.I tried to make sure that this showreel would be more relevant to the types of positions I want to apply for which is mainly a 2d animator.

I edited my showreel again to cut it up and try to make it more interesting-

To prepare for my mock interview i looked at the sample questions they had given us and tried to rehearse to myself what i was going to say, however during the interview I could i got quite nervous and forgot a lot of what I wanted to say, i did get some good feed back from the tutors and the student who was sitting in in how i could fix some of my answers to the questions and also make myself appear more confident to a potential employer.

I feel as though after this practice interview i should be far better prepared for the real thing now that i know what to expect.

The studio i will be hypothetically applying for in my cover letter is Boulder media, they are located in Dublin and specialise in 2d and 3d animation. They have created animated works such as fosters home for imaginary friends and the amazing world if gumball. I thought this studio would be perfect too apply for as they have jobs listed for a 2d animation currently and i know a lot about the shows that they have produced/helped produce.The only issue is that if i was realistically applying for this job i would need prior experience with working on animated shows which i do not.

I found this job when I was looking up animation jobs specifically in Ireland and this one came up and I thought it would be the most interesting to create a cover letter for.

In class we where given many examples of good cvs and the types of layouts that are easy to read for potential employers. It should be easy to read, have proper spacing and have your name and contact information especially. Important information on a cv should include-

-skills

-experience/achievements

-education

-details

-general about

cvs I was inspired by-

A class mate showedme this cv they where inspired and i also really liked it-

For my cv i was inspired by more artistic cvs with nice colours and illustrations , which i feel would be a good way to immediately show an employer the type of work quality you can produce. I felt as though i wanted to make my layout slightly different from some of the other layouts we had been shown, because although they where could i was concerned i was repeating a layout that had been done many times-

This is my cv i had created, I had created another one before this but I thought it appeared extremely unprofessional so I created this one.I wanted to choose bolder colours so i would potentially stand out, but i also wanted too make sure that the colours used went well together and was appealing to look at. However a utopian did advise me that the pink I had used for the background was probably too brightly coloured to have white text and could potentially be difficult to read so it is on of the things i will have to amend.

I created an exaggerated illustration of myself to try and give my cv some personality and wrote my specialties under my name,(animation/illustrator).

some more of the critiques i was given to try and amend in my cv where that my about me was maybe a little bland and i could add something more personalised. In my skills category i could also try to arrange my skills in Order of what I was best at rather than randomly placed. For my experience and achievements i should try and write less about my work experience that doesn’t have anything to do with animation, I thought it would be good to write any work experience since thats what i had done for most of my cvs but it makes sense for this kind of cv this is not the case.I also need to fix my layout slightly by bringing the bottom paragraphs up so who ever is reading doesn’t need to look around as much to see the information they want to see.

For my show reel i watched other peoples show reels and videos that inspired me so i could make my video better. I have included animations that I feel could showcase my skills in 2d animation, such as showing animations where characters are climbing or jumping and also lip sync animations, while a lot of the animations I have are only sketches, i do have a few finished animations that are fully coloured with backgrounds and i have put them in my showreel also. I added in my 3d animation that i created in a group from the previous year, however i was instructed by a tutor to take it out as it could potentially drag the quality of the video down and my theme of showreel was heavily leaning towards 2d animation. I would like to try and create animations specifically for 2d animation to put in my showreel, as a large portion of it does seem to be unfinished animations.

i also included a title card at the beginning of my showreel as i saw i other showreel videos i had watched had them to advertise them selves better. I was also advised in class to have something like this as it would make employers find you easier online, it also helps to have contact information included in your showreel.

I was also advised to change my music in my showreel as it wasn’t very fitting for the video and would be too distracting for whoever would watch my showreel.

This is my showreel before I made my amendments

Some show reels I’m inspired by-

https://youtu.be/eF9Qoc6p_4Q

https://youtu.be/IGTJyeSGrzI

https://youtu.be/FdE5G95B7Mg

https://youtu.be/2iaPuUFIyMo

i really like these showreels as they show very good quality of work, have good pacing and are very interesting to watch.

For my portfolio i have created a presentation slide show of some of they work i have created incase i ever watched it send potential employers a png collage of my work, which would be able to open anywhere and would be very easy to view, i also was advised too make art station which i have done since it is a very useful website to display your art an images, they are very clear to view and can also be put into categories so if your employer wanted to see very specific art there are categories for them to click on, there is also a place to paste your showreel link for easy viewing and your contact information can be easily displayed on the website.

i have tried too add some of my better pieces to my portfolio but since i don’t want to upload them all at once and rather do it gradually there are just a few images, i draw a lot of people and my tutor pointed out that they seem to void of backgrounds, so i plan to produce my art with backgrounds to show potential employers that i am able to do this. I also want to include more studies and things other than humans to showcase that i can do other things.

when the tutor looked at my cv i was also advised to avoid creating drawings that involve bold white outlines as it can make my art i produce seem cheap and look like a sticker.

Three job roles in animation that really interest me and the skills required-

2d animator

The skills you need to be a 2d animator is first of all the ability to draw Since 2d animation is creating drawings and making them move so it is very necessary ,other skills that are seen as important to be an animator are, the ability to work as a team since animation usually involves many people and multiple animators, attention to detail, creativity and an artistic mindset, the ability to visualise abstract concepts.

Duties-

-Understand the animation requirements and have they ability to read scripts

-Comfortable working with deadlines

-Creative story teller

-The ability to synchronise frames and audio

-Develop visual frames with 2d.

Too be a 2d animator it is desirable to have  experience in producing animations as a passion project and studied some animation and creative media.

Storyboard artist

To be a story board artist you’d need to be able to show good story telling skills visually since this it’s a very important part of the planning, having good presentation skills , and the ability to draw and have a talent for sketching.Another thing that could be useful for a story board artist is a skills and background in acting.

Concept designer

Good skills to have as a concept   designer would be of course, the ability to draw but also attention to detail and creativity, also the ability to visualise other peoples ideas. Being skilled in design would also be a useful skill to have.good communication skills and knowledge of anatomy.

Portfolios and reels-

Animator portfolio/reel-

For a 2d animator I shouldn’t include concept art in my portfolio since that is not what a potential employer would be looking for, however I should put art that shows my skills in drawing such as life drawing .In my reel I should include my best finished work but also my work in progress to show the way it was done. My reel shouldn’t be very long and should have my best work during the first 30 seconds as that is typically how long a potential employer would watch for, do not go over a minute.

Story board artist portfolio-

For a story board artists portfolio you would need too show work of storyboards you have created before it show that you have skills in story telling ands that your able to layout a story in a cohesive and interesting way. It would also be useful too show your best art to show you have the skills and are able to draw well.

Concept designer-

For a concept  design portfolio you should put your best work first, show that you can produce a wide variety of characters/concepts  that all look unique and interesting, show the charters from all angles and the different expressions and drawing the same characters/concepts  in a variety of different ways.if these concepts are for a 3d project it is suggested to put the textures or inspiration pictures you have in mind to help guide the 3d animator.

Some show reels I’m inspired by-

https://youtu.be/eF9Qoc6p_4Q

https://youtu.be/IGTJyeSGrzI

https://youtu.be/FdE5G95B7Mg

https://youtu.be/2iaPuUFIyMo

Junior animator is an entry level position –

An entry-level animator helps to create animated stories using multimedia tools, computer graphics software, or motion capture software. The tasks may be narrow, such as rendering graphics or sketching storyboards. As a freelancer, you may work with other freelancers or on your own to create characters and stories.

At the moment I am interested in these three Job roles specifically.However  the one I will focus on for this assignment is 2d animation since I will be creating a showreel with majority 2d animation.

TASK 1- Different job roles within animation-

I searched up different kind of job roles in animation

-2D animator.

-3D animator.

-Background artist.

-Character animator.

-character designer 

-Clean-up artist.

-Digital ink and paint artist.

-Image editor.

-Key frame animator

A 2D Animator creates movement in a two-dimensional space, on paper or digitally . This can either be for short brand advertisements to feature length films. 2D animators can also be responsible for drawings and illustrations, designing frames and characters, integrating images, syncing visuals and audio etc.

TASK 2 -juniour,intern and entry level positions-

-social media/and design intern

-junior content developer

-filming assistant/motion graphics editor

-junior graphic designer

-vfx technical assistant

-entry level animator

-Junior animation assistant

i found this information by looking up junior animation positions and looking through websites that had jobs hiring.

An entry-level animator helps to create animated stories using multimedia tools, computer graphics software, or motion capture software. The tasks may be narrow, such as rendering graphics or sketching storyboards. As a freelancer, you may work with other freelancers or on your own to create characters and stories.

TASK 3-Kiana Khansmith

Director/Storyboard Artist/Character Designer

“Annie nominated Storyboard Artist with a demonstrated history of working in the animation industry. Skilled in storyboarding, character design and experience directing for television animation. Attended California College of the Arts.”

Kiana seems to have gotten her start by 3 weeks of storyboarding for Pixar during the summer which was hosted by her collage and then she began more freelance work and character designing.I found this information by looking through her LinkedIn  . She became a story board artist/director by being a guest director on an episode of big city greens, them from there  Became a character designer/storyboard artist, then the director of big city greens

Social media/portfolio

https://www.deviantart.com/kianamai

https://www.instagram.com/kianamai/

From Kianas journey I feel as though her education and the experience she got while being there helped her with her career journey, also freelance would be a good way to start and get more experience to then be hired by bigger studios, she also seems to have a large online presence as well which could of helped her get exposure.