For my CV, I first needed to figure out what job role I wanted to be applying for, and with that, it would help me figure out what crucial information would need to be included to best represent my skill-sets and experience to the employer. Considering that I have enjoyed multiple different aspects of the animation pipeline (including storyboarding, animating and post-production editing), I took into consideration the idea of being a Generalist Animator, where I could show off the range of my skills and find many different jobs that I would be genuinely interested in working on.
I took time to research into the different experiences between a Generalist VS Specialist, which along with the range of skills in multiple areas; a Generalist can generally be seen in smaller studios helping out with multiple elements of the animation pipeline, which causes them to spend more time working to the point of potentially having a permanent position at said studio. Generalists also have the opportunity to do freelance work, which can allow them to decide their own work hours and teach them a lot about marketing their own work and finding clients to work with. This kind of path can even lead to a freelancer founding their own studio, where finances and schedule management skills become even more important to to hone than ever before.
By taking reference from many other CV designs, I decided to keep my layout divided into 2 columns while including a space to place some of my artwork front and centre. This specific layout allows for the main bulk of information to take up most of the space on the page, and having some extra information to the side to also be considered.
To achieve this layout though, I took from my A-Level experience of researching and creating a full length comic, and divided the columns like the panels and gutters of a comic book page. I also subtly used repeating patterns such as polka-dots and checkered patterns to add some extra detail and flair to the the design.
For my artwork, I drew myself in a bright chibi-inspired style and had the art pop outside of the panel to draw attention to the energy and style I hope to convey throughout my CV. I finished the design by picking a couple of different fonts to use (Pacifico & Bree Serif), alongside a large speech bubble to highlight the most important information on the page (My name, job role and contact details.)
From there, I would just sort out a Google Doc with all of my animation skills and experiences written down in one place, so that I can easily refer back to whatever information would be most relevant to the job I’m applying for. I’d take the relevant information and paste it into my CV layout separately and organise it by using grids to keep everything aligned.
( https://businessofanimation.com/differences-between-generalist-and-specialist-animators/ )
( https://businessofanimation.com/everything-to-know-before-becoming-a-freelance-animator/ )
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FINAL CV DESIGN AND LAYOUT
