Informational Interview Reflection:
During HARDD Summer, we were introduced with important information and tools in how we can communicate with the professional career employee worker who is in the same career that we are studying for and how or what to ask in the interview. We learn what to ask questions to the interviewer to find out in how they were successful in their career and how to follow the same path they took to get them to be in that position they are in from this day. After we were given with that information in how to make a interview successful, I immediately did my research in who to interview. I am majoring in Animation Arts and my dream goal is to one day work for Disney in television, movies, MARVEL animations, comics, or even designing products for them. I know three people who work for disney, but unfortunately they were too busy, so it was impossible to interview them. At first I thought to myself that this assignment we were given might be a bit difficult, but fortunately luck was on my side. I remember in Tumblr of a famous animator I follow and I had to build up my courage to ask him in email if I can interview him. At first I had doubts he might never respond to my message because he was a very well famous animator and designer for Disney, which he might be busy with work and wouldn't have time for an interview of a college student. In a matter of 3 days, he respond back and he was very generous in accepting my request and we started to have a conversation in email instead of in person because he was working on a project for the Disney store.
His name is Steve Thompson. He has been working with the Walt Disney Company since he was 19 years old in 1994, which was amazing. I asked him if he does digital or traditional artworks which he responded kindly that he prefers traditional instead of digital because you have more creative art skills instead of having a computer helping you with your imagination, but also he uses traditional because he had always been use to it instead of digital. I asked his story in how he got started in working for the company. He told me that when he was young, he never really thought of becoming a product designer and also work as an animator as well in his year in college.
While he was attending his second year in CalArts to study character animation right after high school, a Disney consumer products (DCP) offered him a summer internship at DCP as a Senior character artist, which he saw this as an opportunity and accepted the offer. He immediately accepted the proposal, even though at the same time he was planning to finish 4 years in college. As he had just taken a job with DCP, his boss asked him to give DCP a year and if he still wanted to go over to animation, he could go after that. A year passed and he knew that he belonged in animation. Luckily Disney animation held a spot for him. In the time he accepted the proposal, he never return back to school and he was already assigned on a animation project of "Hunchback of Notre Dame”. During the same week, Disney Animation called back to inform him that they liked the test he had done for them for the movie and would like him to start working on "Pocahontas", which was in production at the time.which was his first film. He also made "The Little Mermaid" and many other animation films. Eventually after spending 10 years, he has been working for Disney Feature Animation and Disney Toon Studios as a Clean-up Artist and Character Designer. Unfortunately by the end of 2003 when Disney went to digital and made "Home on the Range", they had to let all the traditional artist go.
He explained to me that after the layout and still wanted to continue doing traditional art, he started at Disney Toon Studios where he started to work on a few films for both animation crew and character design. He also started to do freelancing again for DCP when a job for the Disney Stores came up. He had never designed products before, but he thought to himself that since he could draw, had disney experience, and had an eye for good design, he thought that he might had a chance in being accepted into the company job. When he was offered the job, he was filled with was excited, but then started to freaked out because he thought that he might now be quite good for the job. Thankfully, everything turned out fine and he has been ’ve been there ever since 2005 as a Principal Designer for the Disney Stores.
He told me how he took a nontraditional road to where he was today. He explained that the hardest thing to do for most people is to figure out what they want to do and go after it. Most people at 19 are just figuring that out, which I can actually understand what he was saying since that happen to me right now. He described as he look back to his 19 year old self, he was surprised in how everything went so fast and how his choices in life made it all of this happen to his life. The advice he gave me was to take my time to find a path that works for me. There are many schools with great art programs and also programs for product design. He tells me that if that is what I ultimately want to do, I should find the right school first and continue my passion in drawing! Fun Fact, He also told me that by night he is also a trapeze artist in the LA circus school for entertainment and his favorite disney character he loves drawing so much is Ariel.
Another general advice he would gave anyone who is looking to get into the industry, such as Disney is to draw from life. He tells me to take life drawing classes, go to the mall and sketch people, or go to the zoo and draw animals. This is how to many animators were able to draw disney characters this way. But he also says that if I understood the human body or anatomy, it’s hard to come up with new poses. He explains that I should learn how to properly draw hands and feet, which sounds a bit funny, but really it's a lifesaver. In the portfolio where they would do reviews animation, they would immediately pass over someone's work who seemed to be hiding the hands and feet in their life drawings. For studying product and design, figure out what I like and don’t like about a particular item or maybe think about how I would make it better! He also tells me that there are also a lot of smaller companies that work on Disney product. I asked him what would be better: digital or traditional. He says digital and to learn photoshop and illustrator, because they are hiring more people who knows digital or both traditional and digital. He describes himself as a dinosaur in the industry and still work at a big animation desk using pencil and paper. Lastly, he explains to me to not limit myself to only looking to Disney for work in the future. There may be a company that have a Disney licensee that would need a great designer or animator as well.
After interviewing this amazing professional animator/designer, I learned a lot about the company of Disney, what they are looking for in an artist, how I can be more than just one major, focus on both digital and traditional skills, and also to focus on what I love the most instead of studying or working or something that might not be right for me. I was very grateful for giving me such a wonderful advices and learning so many interesting facts in who he was and how he started to work for Disney. I will be focusing on the advice he has give me to focus on the most before going to the next step in becoming an animator. This was the most fun and interesting plus informidable interview assignment I ever took before in my life. I truly hope one day I will be like him and become an animator for Disney in the future.
~BELIEVE IN YOURSELF~