RESEARCH
I wanted to look at what roles are out there particularly at a more junior level. I used these websites to see what roles are in demand currently.
https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/animation/
Then I wanted to look more into the local industry
https://www.nijobs.com/jobs/animator/in-northern-ireland
https://ie.linkedin.com/jobs/animation-jobs?position=1&pageNum=0
https://cheersdogears.com/jobs/
I noticed not a lot of jobs at a more junior level are available anywhere in NI or the RoI currently at the minute which is a bit concerning as when I applied to the course there was an abundance of roles post-pandemic. This means I can’t be picky about what roles etc are on offer and that I have to make my industry material really strong to stand out against other applicants.
Honestly I would do any role but ideally I would love to go into a preproduction role like a character designer or as an editor in post.
I then went on to look at what existing portfolios are for them specific roles.
https://artofgina.com/
https://www.kayekang.com/
https://megpark.carbonmade.com/
https://www.jackiedroujko.com/
These portfolios are very clear about the role the applicant wants to apply for. I noticed all showcase skill along with creative range and they have a range of styles that could suit various projects potential employers may be seeking.
THEME
I started looking into possible designs that I could use across all my material.
Firstly I looked into colour schemes then fonts and finally started creating logo designs.
I took my instagram profile picture and vectorised it. The colours need changed and more dimension can be added as well.
I didn’t end up using the vector but once I tweak the colours plus line work I will have it for future use
I also want to experiment with line weight and colour as well to get an overall theme.
I used adobe colour generator to create a colour scheme using the picture above.
CV
I wanted to look a little more into CVs
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/how-to-write-animator-resume
https://www.tealhq.com/cv-examples/animator
Then I looked at different CV designs that were more unique and showed some personality.
Using the theme I created for my portfolio with the green accents I decided to use the same for my CV.
In this version I got feedback from others about the readability of the text with the background colours.
I went through a few iterations trying to balance aesthetics with readability. I think in the end I struck a healthy balance between the two. One thing I did was include a QR code to my portfolio to avoid any messy links.
I would’ve liked for it to look a little less bland however I think I was able to get all the information I wanted across. The text could be a little more clear as I think it would have to be slightly zoomed in to be fully readable but I wanted to try to keep it concise with all the key points.
COVER LETTER
I wrote about 9 different cover letters for the placement opportunities. In the end I found a template that worked for me where I could talk about how I fit the requirements for each specific job in the end. I wanted to focus on Paper Owl since their undergraduate placement scheme was the only one that had a trainee design position.
‘Job Description
To create broadcast ready Backgrounds, Characters and Props designs by following the
series director’s and Art director’s guidance, while also supporting the project where
needed.
Responsibilities
• Creating broadcast ready Designs for a 2D preschool show
• Working as part of a team to hit episodic deadlines and quotas
• Taking on board and addressing notes from the series director and art director
• To be creative and have an eye for storytelling, character acting and action
• Providing support where needed on the project
• Willingness to learn and taking on feedback
Essential Criteria
• Design and drawing skills
• Strong organisation skills
• Good time management skills
• Good technical knowledge
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
Desirable Criteria
• Knowledge of the Adobe Suite, especially Photoshop’
I firstly wanted to make clear what about Paper Owl in particular attracted me to possibly working there. Then I went on to talk about some of the things I have learnt in this course that would lend to being a trainee designer. I also brought up other skills I have learnt outside of university particularly in my part-time job to prove I can work for a long period of time with others. I also made sure to mention that I fall into their desirable criteria as well.
I made sure to look into Paper Owl as a company and show that I know what the studio is about.
PORTFOLIO
These videos acted as a good starting point for me.
I tried to use many different web creation platforms to make a site to host my portfolio such as ArtStation, Card, Squarespace etc. but in the end I settled on Wix. The website went through a lot of changes over the couple of months I was adding to it.
https://hshky4fsp6.wixsite.com/spanielart
I didn’t have time to try to optimise it for mobile but that is something I will work on during the summer.
While I was creating the website I was getting feedback from my peers along with past classmates from 6th form. This was one of the most helpful pieces of feedback I got and helped me to improve my portfolio greatly.
One thing I really wanted to do was start a medieval/fantasy personal project that I can design, characters, creatures, props and environments around. I kinda messed myself up a bit by doing environment in the game project as my heart is more in character design however it did give me a good basis to motivate me to learn how to do environments.
I’m not happy with the page of my 3D work however a lot of the stuff I did last year was lost because when cleaning out my laptop to prepare for this year Sharepoint glitched and all my work was lost so I had to add things from lower quality blog screenshots. I will definitely be updating this section of my portfolio first, along with creating more environment/prop designs.
I do think I should have shown some more of my traditional cutesy style designs as I feel like my portfolio is more aimed at teen/young adult animation rather than the preschool and younger age demographic companies here make their work for.
Another issue is I just ran out of time to finish off some pieces for the portfolio while trying to juggle the rest of my coursework.
So here are early WIPs of stuff I plan to add later.
One key thing I took from all my research into portfolios was to have my strongest pieces be first and last. I think there is a bit of filler but I will replace them with stronger pieces that better showcase my skills in the future.
SHOWREEL
I wanted to look at others showreels so here are some I found inspiring.
I really like the flow of movement in all of these showreels, the music really highlights the key moments and the colour story from shot to shot has been carefully considered.
Then I looked at how to make a showreel.
Here is the draft version of the showreel.
I took what feedback the lecturers were giving about the editing and keeping it up beat. I also wanted to keep in mind about having my best work first and last.
I wasn’t able to perfect the editing and have it at a steady rhythm, I was trying to balance showing the best parts and keeping a nice flow. I definitely need more 2D work as the I didn’t have as many strong 2D pieces as I thought I would when I ended up looking at all the animation I’ve made the past 2 years. I will definitely rework this as I create more animation.
