27 February 2020 - Laura Price's thoughts on a question I've had on my mind for a couple of months now; Should I go to art school to get a job in the animation industry?

So when I started with the goal that I wanted to be a visual developer for feature length animated films (and I mean really had that goal in mind after quitting my old job in sales and planning that I wanted a career in the art industry rather than doing it as a hobby), I had the mentality of I've already got so much debt from having completed an undergraduate course in illustration, I don't want to ever do another course again (in any subject). Also in terms of mentality and productivity wise I struggled a lot during my university years as I went into it with the wrong mindset; I didn't actually go for the learning and developing but more along with the flow since it was the direction a lot of my high school friends were taking and it seemed like a good experience to have. This lead to me not taking advantage of the actual opportunity I had for skill learning and development and many regrets looking back now.

So to avoid this again I was quite adamant that I can self teach the skills and knowledge I need and do the practise to develop. After all, literally all the information and resources I need can be found online or if needed through books (that I can purchase quite cheaply through Amazon or eBay).

But then as I've been reading up on interviews and blogs from establish and very experienced artists in the industry, I see that a lot of them have had the formal art school training in animation. A lot of the artists who's shows I think are amazing have gone to prestigious universities such as CalArts. At the same time as well, lots of developing artists with amazing styles who I follow on Instagram all seem to be students in their first or second year in art school like Art Centre, Scad or Ringling (these top art schools in the animation prime location). On blogs when they discuss their experience in these art institutions it seems like the knowledge they're being taught, the software they get to practise using, mandatory assignments to be completed and networking opportunities available at end of year shows is pretty integral for success into stepping into the industry.

So now my mind is a little turned...I'm wondering yes I can teach myself from the information I can gain from searching the internet and books, but is my progress severely stunted going down this route? Could the progress I make in one year, in two years, in five years have been doubled if I had done a course provided by an art institution with all they experience they have?

This video popping up from Laura Price, who is an established visual developer having worked for Disney in big name animations gives me some insight. For me it's very useful and reassuring to hear from her in particular because she hasn't had any formal education in animation. She studied a different course and developed her artwork on the side so it's good to hear the opinions from someone who hasn't had the typical experience.

For sure I'd recommend watching the video, it's a short one only being 8 minutes long. The main thing is if you're also unsure about whether to pay for a university course, maybe her insights can help give some food for thought.

For me I think for now I will continue with the self imposed learning but I do want to save up and sign up for Bobby Chiu's Schoolism membership. This is definitely not what I advise what everyone else does but I think a little structure and guiding from experts can help give me more direction and more effective skill development because I do feel more and more I'm just floating.