Here is an incredible letter from Pixar animator, Austin Madison. Thank you Mr. Madison for taking the time to write a letter for this project. This is such an inspiring and encouraging letter, and I know it will make an huge impact in someone's life. This is one more amazing letter that will make up the book...can't you see how encouraging this project as a whole would be to so many people the world over? If you are a professional animator working in the industry, then please take the time to read my first blog post telling about this project and consider participating in this amazing project.
Please check out Austin Madison's blog.
You can read Austin's blog post about the Animator Letters Project here.
Also,
Transcript
PIXAR
May 17, 2011
To Whom it May Inspire,
I, like many of you artists out there, constantly shift between two states. The first (and far more preferable of the two) is white-hot, "in the zone" seat-of-the-pants, firing on all cylinders creative mode. This happens about 3% of the time.
The other 97% of the time I am in the frustrated, struggling, office-corner-full-of-crumpled-up-paper mode. The important thing is to slog diligently through this quagmire of discouragement and despair. Put on some audio commentary and listen to the stories of professionals who have been making films for decades going through the same slings and arrows of outrageous production problems.
In a word: PERSIST.
PERSIST on telling your story. PERSIST on reaching your audience. PERSIST on staying true to your vision. Remember what Peter Jackson said, "Pain is temporary. Film is forever." And he of all people should know.
So next time you hit writers block, or your computer crashes and you lose a entire night's work because you didn't hit save (always hit save), just remember: you're never far from that next burst of divine creativity. Work through that 97% of murky abyssmal mediocrity to get to that 3% which everyone will remember you for!
I guarantee you, the art will be well worth the work!
Your friend and mine,
Austin Madison
"ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!"
Hi Mr. Downs,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, i want to say what you are doing with animation letters is pure genius, i myself would always try and email animators hoping for a reply. Needless to say, i didn't get a reply, which i totally understand why as they are usually very busy with their work. I am from Singapore as well, i am an aspiring animator hoping to work at Pixar someday. Like the Singaporean before me, starting out in animation in a small country with limited resources is difficult, even more difficult when you are a junior in high school. Unfortunately i don’t have a story about how i was depressed and decided to push through the and prove my peers wrong. On the plus side i am grateful i have such supportive parents and peers who are always there to push me further. While they might think its the greatest piece of animation out there, i know, as with anyone in the industry that it could be better. How have i tried to improve my animation skills ? books ? i have tried to browse through books on maya but im not sure if you noticed this but most maya books, focus on the modeling/rigging side of it, strange huh ? My solution...go back to the roots of animation, hand-drawn animation. I purchased a lightbox and bought some animation paper..which was not cheap. It was totally worth it ! It was a great tool for just getting the fundamentals of animation down like squash and stretch. This is ideally not where i want to go though, im focused on working at pixar someday , 3D animation. Do you know any online classes i can take, i wish animation mentor did like a summer class for high school students. This summer, I will be attending the CCA pre-college animation program in Oakland and am very excited for that, hopefully ill get my first visit of Pixar Studios!
Although i sometimes envy people for having those “connections” with people at the studios, i know as long as i “don’t give up” like Mr. Hartline said, i will eventually achieve my goal. I love this project and it keeps me motivated. I know this is impossible but it would be awesome to have a letter a day, something nice to read before i start school every morning.
Great work and wish you all the best.
Mark Lim
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Thank you Mark for the kind words about the project, and for telling your story. With enough hard work and dedication, you can make any dream come true, even working at Pixar! Being in High School, I realize you can't do Animation Mentor now, but when you graduate, I highly recommend that school. If you want a career in computer/ 3D animation, then that is the school to go to learn it. I am going there right now, and loving it! Also, I would recommend that you pick up the book "How to Cheat in Maya 2011" as it is a book geared specifically towards animating in Maya, rather than madeling, rigging or anything else. It's a great book and has been a huge help to me. My hope is that this project will hit off and be able to give you just what you said- I think it would be amazing to have enough animators participate, where you would be able to pick up the book each morning and read a new letter of encouragement.
ReplyDeleteHey WIllie,
ReplyDeleteI have no aspirations of being an artist or animator. I do think I need to work on releasing some of the creative "music" inside me more. One thing I have drawn today though is inspiration from Austin's letter and your initiative. All the best as you go for it!
regards,
Dave Gale
Cape Town, South Africa
Hi Willie
ReplyDeleteAs an aspiring animator, I've found your site a real inspiration. Lately, I've been slugging it out, hunting for resources and working on independent projects, but with very few people having my back, it can be rather discouraging, so thank you.
Wishing you well,
Jill
Hey Dave!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, I love hearing from people around the world (South Africa! Too cool!) who have been inspired by this project- even when they aren't animators, like yourself. I think it is great that this project is reaching outside of the animation circle and inspiring people from all walks of life- that is just so awesome!
Hey Jill!
Thank you so much for writing- it's so encouraging for me to hear from people like yourself who have been inspired by this project. Just keep pushing on towards your dream, and don't give up! You'll get there eventually. :)
a heartfelt thank you from someone who slogs out the soul-destroying day job only to rebuild it at night through the magic of animating. hugs.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I feel like I can't do it, I look at this to know I can. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteexcellent !!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
Thank you FeeDee, Brynn and Jorge for the nice comments, I am glad to know that y'all like this project! :)
ReplyDeleteGracias desde Madrid, España, por una carta memorable. Lo podemos aplicar a cualquier trabajo. Gracias, muchas gracias.
ReplyDeleteThank you jftamames! Great to hear from you all the way in Madrid! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is even more complicated ... ... ... it is possible that only 3% of the ideas can be outstanding. The point is the idea is just 1% of a good project, implement it, process it and bring it to fruition is 99% of the work, and many times you do all this work with the wrong idea ..
ReplyDeleteEmprendedores! Creativos! Profesores! Todos los que vivimos de lo intangible, leed esta carta de la Factoría Pixar que anima, en tiempo de crisis es algo básico, a "persistir", perseverar en el trabajo, la ilusión, etc, etc Todos hemos sentido que el 97% de nuestros días, de nuestras horas son frustrantes, vacías, mediocres ¿o no?. El otro 3% es inspiración, creación que fluye como un buen vaso de vino. El proyecto consiste en convertir y trabajar para que de ese 97% salga otro poco divina, sí, la aventura está ahi!
ReplyDeleteTotalmente de acuerdo. Es una carta que inspira a esforzarse, a no dejarse vencer por las dificultades ni los malos tiempos, sino que la constancia es una de las claves para alcanzar nuestros sueños... Intentemos aprovechar al máximo ese 3% de inspiración, lo cual no quiere decir que el tiempo restante que empleamos en el trabajo sea inútil o que no haya que emplearlo con ilusión y empeño...
ReplyDeleteI am a rookie animator working in the industry and I just wanted to say thank you for putting into words what anybody with passion towards any field thinks. This is the most important thing to do. Also, I have learned that if you can "man up" about it, and change ther perspective from "oh man I have writers block" to "I am sorting through unorganized ideas and unrefined pieces till I get to that next golden masterpiece" then it actually becomes fun! This is always a struggle though, there is no ACHIEVING it. We have to enjoy the journey. Thanks so much for your insights Austin!
ReplyDeleteThis post comes to me at such a perfect time. I am getting some rigging training, to work on improving myself. I will persist!
ReplyDelete