Calicougar

Since we’re on the topic of overworking / being passionate in animation and blah blah blah.  I want to share my story about working on the first season of Hilda (for context I was the animation director), specifically..how completely garbo my mental health got because 

I INSISTED ON WORKING MYSELF INTO THE GROUND. 

This is a story I’ve shared when I’ve had a chance to do lectures or talks, and if there is one really awesome thing that comes with ..weird ..animation clout, its that you can use those powers for good in terms of teaching people about the BS that comes with the job…anyway.

The reason why I like to talk about this is because I insisted on doing it to myself, and that was really got me thinking about the factors that do lead us into over working. Because heres the deal

Hilda season 1 was, without getting into too many details, a heckofatime…especally for the core crew. we were a small group, doing something new because most of us haven’t worked on a show before that included pre production. My entire career up to that point had been working on service work for shows that were created in Burbank, so the new pipeline had a ton of challenges. We did all care, and we all believed in the project SOOOO much. I would tell people not to work over time, because I want my team to leave on time - but I was there…a lot. Leaving the studio by 11pm , working through the weekends..it wasnt an uncommon thing for me. sure , it wasnt all the time, but this stuff spans years sometimes so it went in waves. But whenever the challenges came up, i doubled down. because I super believed in it.

  And the thing was - other people told me to stop. I had a lot of valid concerns given to me by my friends and team members who saw how I was burning myself out at both ends. And I thought like, well , its my *choice*.  Its my chance to have a voice and be creative and try to do something different and we all have to push ourselves and yes its HARD but. THATS HOW YOU DO IT RIGHT? surely if I just make sure I’m the one overworking and my team isn’t.. that’s fine. 

Can't believe I still have to say this!

Despite everything you might have heard, there is no "CalArts Style." It doesn't exist. CalArts isn't an art-style or animation studio, it's actually a university for art and animation founded by the Disney brothers. (Yes, THOSE Disney brothers)

I know there's this image going around of these cartoon characters sharing the same head, eyes and smile...

but that's deliberate, misleading exaggeration. In reality..

They're actually very different from one another. Sure, they share a few faint similarities but overall each character and their respective series have their own style and identity.

Animation with those similarities? (Round eyes, mouthes and bendy limbs) There're actual names for that style of animation: Rubber-Hose, Bean-Mouth, Noodle-Arm, Fleischerian. take your pick.

But to call all animation with those little similarities "CalArts"? It's stupid, lazy and dishonest. CalArts didn't create or popularize the Bean-Mouth. Like all art-styles, it became trendy following the major success of shows like Adventure Time, Steven Universe, ect. And most importantly, there is no uniform style at CalArts. In fact, here, let me show you the work of noticeable CalArts Alumni:

Just look at the diverse art-styles and animation, all from former CalArts students!

On a side-note:

Rebbeca Sugar (Steven Universe) never went to CalArts.

Ben Bocquelet (Gumball) never went to CalArts.

Nate Stevenson (She-Ra) never went to CalArts either! (Something I find hilarious since She-Ra doesn't look anything like the aforementioned Bean-Mouth cartoons but rather a bold, modernized version of Sailor Moon)

Another reason why people must stop using the term "CalArts"/"CalArts Style"? It was coined by none other than disgusting predator John K. Yes, John K, the co-creator of Ren & Stimpy who used his influence to prey on teenage girls. (TW: sexual exploitation, grooming, gaslighting.) He coined the term "CalArts"/"CalArts Style" to bash works like The Iron Giant, Animaniacs, Gargoyles, Les Triplettes De Belleville (which is also ridiculous since Sylvain Chomet didn't go to CalArts) along with the works of Disney, Warner Bros., Dreamworks, Richard Williams and Don Bluth. In simple terms, he was a toxic piece of work who loved tearing anything that didn't meet his standards of zany, off-model grotesqueness.

Here, a friend of mine on social media explains better than I can: