Patchwork Hydra

the key to major success lately seems to be: be born in california or nearby, go to calarts, get into the industry. other options come when you can afford to move to california. the industry is VERY quiet in every other part of the country. i live in new york city, possibly the most famous city in the country, and there is next to no work to be found here. yeah there are outliers like Natasha Allegri and Rebecca Sugar, but the majority are from CA.

Pen Ward? CalArts. Craig McCracken? CalArts. Alex Hirsch? CalArts. Lauren Faust? CalArts. Thurop van Orman. Patrick McHale. Paul Rudish. Chris Buck. Aaron Springer. Butch Hartmann. John Lasseter. Jorge Gutierrez. Pete Browngardt. Arlene Klasky. Genndy Tartakovsy. Rob Renzetti. Tim Burton. JG Quintel. 

ALL Calarts alumni.

To make a further point: just about EVERY SINGLE ORIGINAL SHOW running on Cartoon Network right now has a CalArts alum as the showrunner, the only exceptions being Steven Universe and Gumball. Now you might be asking: why’s this a problem?? these people are brilliant. they make great shows, they’re creative geniuses. and i agree. and that’s part of the problem.

we got to see their work out of sheer luck. the luck that they could be born in california OR uproot themselves to move there, that they could afford to go to calarts, where the tuition is over 40,000 a year and growing. that they had friends who could offer them work in california.

consider all the people we’re missing out on. i haven’t even graduated yet and i’m already seeing TONS of my colleagues and peers who had starry eyed dreams of just being a PART of the animation process–doing inbetweens, storyboarding, designing characters–give up when they realized they couldnt get to california.

it is, to say the least, hard to uproot yourself and move across the country with 50,000 dollars in student loans on your back and no job that pays more than minimum wage, with no guaranteed apartment waiting for you. 

the most talented animation visionary in the world could be giving up right now, because they were born in pennsylvania and their household makes less than 40,000 a year. CalArts is not the problem. But the fact that CalArts seems to be the ONLY school you can hope to go to make it–and every other option being outliers or exceptions—is a BIG problem. we’re losing tons of potential talent like this and its an issue. the industry needs to branch out, it needs to learn to accomodate people who dont live in LA. 

this probably sounds whiny, but i’m tired of seeing amazingly talented people with brilliant ideas give up because they cant move away from everything they know, up to their ears in debt, hoping for the small chance of getting to draw keyframes for nickelodeon.

i saw that image when it was new, and i felt my dreams dying. i was VERY lucky to have not only the money but also the ambition to give up everything i knew in new jersey and move to san francisco, california - a state to which i had never before been - in order to rekindle my passion and dream of being in the animation industry with the academy of art because HAHAHA as if i could get into calarts (i told myself). and i had done that a year before this image came out.

i have no idea what makes calarts SO GOOD that its alumni dominate the animation industry, and have a significant impact on film in general (tim burton, anyone?). i know it’s “the school that disney built” and that it’s good, but i don’t know why. and it’s so unfair. i know and see talented and hard working people in the art school i attended in the past, the art school i attend now, and the people i follow and admire online.

can you make it as a freelancer working remotely from wherever you are? sure. is it even more difficult? yes. companies are going to hire someone who can work there in person, eliminating a lot of the hurdles that would be extra to keep up with someone working from who knows how far away. and what do you have to offer that someone in person doesn’t? you have to be super special to make them willing to accommodate that.

I was a wreck in every way back then, so when I met Penn I was nervous as hell. He was super nice though!! Asked me about my background, where did I go to school again? CalArts?

I told him no, I went to LCAD. ‘Never heard of it.’ And that was the end of the conversation. It was like I was invisible. I have never experienced anything like that before.

I’m not saying this was a universal experience amongst the interns. Quite a few of us came from different schools, and two others besides me were from LCAD as well. And another showrunner I met (a lovely person finishing up Flapjack) was kinder to me than I think I even deserved. I’ll never forget that experience.

It’s called Booster Buddy, it’s free, and it’s available for both Android and iOS.

It works by giving you ‘quests’ (daily tasks) that you are encouraged to complete each day. They are very small things and it caters to you (it asks you questions at the start about what you struggle with).

It’s designed to be child friendly and easy to understand. I’m finding it really helpful. You can also input medication times for a reminder and emergency contact details.

In the Settings section, there is a list of Helpful Websites for a variety of different mental health issues. The list is short, but it is a great idea.

The app has you input information (which you can choose not to share) like your local emergency number, local hospital, and an emergency contact person.

There are plenty of activities to keep you going in the right direction.

There is a calendar function and a medication reminder if you need one– and if you have an “as needed” medication, the app can remind you to take them if you check in in “Crisis” mode.

You can edit or change your information at any time, including your symptoms.

Also, less useful but really cute, you can dress up your animal buddy as you do more activities.

I just downloaded this app this morning and it’s A M A Z I N G. I’m not overstating. This app combines some of the best elements and methods from all the various apps I’ve tried.

The two features that I haven’t seen elsewhere in mental health apps that I especially love are:

- It lets you choose a cute animal friend as a companion to keep you socially motivated. To “wake up” and play with this friend, you need to complete 3 wellness tasks (that are super simple and easy), once you’ve done your daily checkin tasks, the cute animal wakes up to play with you. You can tickle it, talk to it, and even play dress up!! Much more motivating than apps that try to make you feel connected to real people, IMO.

- It includes a “calendar” feature (not a big overwhelming calendar like a normal app) that lets you add your own tasks to your daily checklist. So now, along with “checked in,” “completed quests,” and “take medication” I have an extra task that’s alerting me to the fact that I have an important phone call coming up. It made me describe this as “appointment”: “An appointment means someone is counting on you to be somewhere.” I think that might be the most motivating description of an appointment ever. As an anxious person who tends to cancel and reschedule everything, this app is already making me feel better.

Also known as an ambivert, an extroverted introvert is someone who exhibits qualities of both introversion and extroversion.

1. Their spot on the spectrum changes with their environment.

Your ambivert friend may be loud and gregarious around their family, but quiet and thoughtful at the office. Seeing them in both situations may feel like meeting two entirely different people.

2. Talking to strangers is fine – but don’t expect them to keep it to small talk.

Although an ambivert can hold up their end of a conversation, talking about the weather will not be enough to engage them. Their social energy is limited enough that they won’t want to waste it on meaningless chatter. They will likely push the conversation into deeper territory or bow out entirely.

3. They like to be alone – they don’t like to be lonely.

There is a big difference between the two. Choosing to sit at home with a tub of ice cream and a book feels fantastic. Sitting at home because nobody called them back feels sad and lame.

4. Getting them out of the house can be a challenge.

If you catch your friend on a highly introverted day, you may just be better off leaving them at home. They might manage to be social, but they’ll just be thinking about their books and their couch the whole time.

5. If they’re new, you can find them in the back of the room.

An introverted extrovert will approach new situations with cautious excitement. If they know someone in the group, they will likely cling to them a bit as they become comfortable. If they do not, they might waver on the edge of the crowd, slowly getting used to the water rather than jumping in all at once.

6. They’re selectively social.

They don’t mean to be snobs. They just have limited social energy and prefer interacting one-on-one or in small groups. For this reason, they can only afford to invest their social time and energy in those who they feel truly connected to.

7. Making friends is easy. Keeping them is hard.

They like talking to people, but they value their alone-time, as well. This can make maintaining a friendship tricky. If your ambivert friend makes an effort to consistently invest time and energy in your friendship, be glad. You are truly special to them.

8. Their social desires change with the breeze.

They might be desperate to hang out with you on Friday, but then not answer your call on Saturday. They’re not mad at you. They’re just super comfortable in bed watching films.

9. They can talk to you for hours.

If you manage to catch them in a one-on-one situation, an extroverted introvert will just not shut up. Once their interest is engaged, there’s no stopping them.

10. Listening is great too, though.

The first official teaser for Lost Ember!

“A last ruler shall come when Inrah turns his face, followed by eternal light.”

Explore the remains of a fallen world from fascinating perspectives! Slip into the role of different animals to uncover the fate of an ancient world. Dive into deep waters, fly at lofty heights, dig underground as a mole or even climb steep cliffs with a mountain goat, there are lots of ways of getting around.

With a wolf as your main character a determined companion will tell a story of loyalty, despair and betrayal that led to the fall of a whole world.

Because this is the best idea ever, the Kickstarter has already been fully funded! 

But if you know you absolutely MUST have one, you can still back the project and get your notebook at a discount :)

I think about this ALL THE TIME. I fucking love it. 

Fandom is the most brilliant, beautiful, collaborative, critical, deeply subversive stuff there is and I ADORE IT TO PIECES.