Wednesday, August 26, 2009

the start of the adventure


I decided a while back that i wanted to work as an artist at Pixar. It was a random musing, i wasn't even sure i was serious about it. As with anything I'm not sure of, i put it on the back burner for a while to see if it stuck around. Sure enough, my desire to pursue this goal kept getting stronger over time. So now, with my head full of crazy ideas, I'm going to start working on some plans i have to approach this dream position at this incredible studio. i feel like I'm trying to climb a castle wall. Blindfolded. With both hands tied behind my back. Drunk. Well, not the last one, because i don't drink. The point is, i'm well aware of how lofty my goal is.

Time to strategize...

While i do have a pretty good idea, i'm not 100% certain i know exactly what i will have to do in the position i'm shooting for, or the level of work i'll be expected to produce. To give myself a bit of a roadmap, i've gone online and ordered a few books that i think will help me know what i'm doing. I ordered the art of Wall-e and the incredibles, and a book full of story art from the disney archives. I also ordered a book with 20 years of lectures from Walt Stanchfield, one of disney's great animators, which doesn't relate directly to creating concept art, but should definitely include some very useful information. A few years ago my grandmother gave me a book of the art of pocahontas, which is a beautiful film and the book has already inspired me. I'm considering these my textbooks, pouring over the pages to extract any useful information about the purpose and technique of the artwork.

The other half of the strategy, to compliment the absorption of information, is to take action. For this half, i've decided to do the deed.... i'm going to conceive and visualize a story and film all my own, probably will end up doing hundreds of drawings and paintings, and eventually i will hopefully prove and prepare myself. The next entry i write will be a taste of what that story will be, the loose idea I have so far.