Tonivegas82
New Member
Talent is only part of it, darling. Being a successful artist, in my opinion (and I'm not yet, so I could be wrong!) is about 60 percent talent, 40 percent practice and determination. Art is my life, and I don't say that lightly. I mean if I woke up tomorrow unable to use my hands I don't think I could live anymore, I'd feel so...useless. My life would feel pointless.
Don't let the talent of others make you feel insubstantial. There are many amazing artists at my school (The Art Institute of Houston)...some much, much better than me. Does it make my work any less important? I don't think so. Art isn't about being the best, it's mostly about doing you, and hoping others are receptive about it. My real dream isn't being an animator...honestly I'd love to make a living off my paintings. Animation is more of my safe job. I just want to make art for a living. I'd like to make an impact on the world. But if I can't, if my voice is never heard, I would be quite happy just making cartoons or movies. It's not going to stop me from painting what I feel, and it's certainly not going to stop me from trying to get my voice heard.
Just do what you love. Don't let other people dictate what you do with your life. If you want to make cartoons, do it. You don't have to have a degree. It takes a lot of practice (my animations mostly suck *L*) but it can be done.
Try this:
http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml
Make a walk cycle. Take a sketchbook, notebook, whatever, and draw stick figures in the poses you see in this tutorial on the bottom corner of each page. Then flip through it. It'll make you feel good. My first successful walk cycle filled me with such pride! A walk cycle is one of the hardest things to master, and I'm far from making it perfect yet, but I can do it, and that's the important thing. I agonized over it for weeks and ended up turning mine in well over a week late, but I did it!
Honestly, you could still get hired at Disney if you practice enough. All the information you need is on the internet. There are so many tutorials out there teaching you everything you need to know to animate...for free! A degree helps out immensely, but in the end, in the art world, all it is is a piece of paper. It'll get you more attention, but that's it. All the studios care about is that you know how to do what you need to.
You don't even have to animate! You could do storyboards, concept art, backgrounds...hell you could even write scripts or do the timing sheets (those things are so annoying *L* Too many numbers for my taste!).
At least draw. It's fun.Doesn't matter if you get paid for it. I've been an unpaid starving artist since I was a teenager, and it hasn't stopped me yet!
True. The thing is that, unfortunately, I lost all my imagination and passion I used to have. I remember as a kid staying up all night just sketching. My favorite "toys" were always a pencil and a pad. My high school experience kind of brainwashed me to go to college and aim for the most profitable career. Plus, I kinda invested way too much at this point to turn in another direction, even if I would be somewhat happier with a job in art or music. I'm at that age where I have to settle on a career, and I chose law (I like it but it can be demanding). Now, I'm just too corporate.
. I'm slowly metamorphisizing into a "suit". I still have the knack for art, but no drive - at least to become an animator. I know my 14 year old self would be kicking me in the ass now.
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. I change a lot, get bored easily, and lose interest in things. So nothing's really ever stuck with me, that I think could be considered a talent...
