JanJanBear-Art

Q: May I ask what happened? Like how’d you work from warner bros to Disney? Were you a free lancer and contract ended? Felt like it wasn’t a good environment? Sorry if I’m nosy once I get my BA in animation I kind of want to know the process of finding a job in a company or what artist go through. Btw CONGRATS! LIVING THR DREAM!!

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I already answered this on my post but I figure it would be good to post it separately for those who want job careers similar to mine.  

A: I was a full time employee at Warner Bros but Be Cool Scooby Doo ended productions arounndddd November? So I was looking for another job and got a recommendation from my art director to test for Ducktales at Disney. I took the art test and i just pretty much got the job but i’m at this 6 week trial thing where they want to see if i’m the kind of person they want to work with. 

The most important advice i can give you is NETWORKKKKK PEOPLE!!! Your friends will get you the jobs. People will want to work with people they already know —-> FRIENDS are usually the first to be recommended in anything. Don’t just sit there and dream that your art will be so dazzling that it’ll make recruiters hand you a job, you have to get out there and approach those people in the industry! That’s how I was even able to work for WB in the first place! 

(side story: I met my art director from WB when she was giving a presentation in my class, and then the teacher in that class gave me her email and i talked to her how i was interested in working in the BCSD team. At that time they didn’t have jobs but at least she knew who i was at that point and was interested! Then i met her again when i invited her to go to my Grad show and we finally got to talk one on one. After that my boyfriend’s friend was a BG painter at BCSD at that time and gave us a tour at WB where i met the art director again!!!! and FINALLLY there was a position opened for a BG designer. So through all those meet-ups my art director at that point gotten familiar with me enough that she emailed me to give me a art test and i got the job!!! 

So talking to people is IMPORTANT! You don’t know where that person’s career is heading so just be nice to everyone and at least say hi! The worst thing that they can do is just ignore you. So don’t be scared to reach out to your peers, teachers, WHOEVER! 

And when you DO GET THE ART TEST: 

Make sure whatever you do is strictly what they ASKED for. I’ve seen so many tests where the artist tries to put themselves in the art tests or just do the things the job says NOT to do (read EVERYTHING in the style guild). Showing yourself off is the WORST thing you can do. The tests aren’t about YOU. It’s about if you can fit in THEIR show’s style, they need consistency! That’s what makes you the better option, that you know your place and you can do what’s asked from you.