FAQ
Did you go to school/What school did you go to?LCAD– BFA in animation. Spring 2015 - Fall 2019!Can we be friends?Friendships happen organically, you shouldn’t have to ask someone to be your friend! I wish you luck on finding true friends!What projects have you worked on?I have worked for Wildbrain on Polly Pocket as a board artist as well as boarded projects for indie creators such as Illymation, Anxiety Fix by Naomi Romero, and Meatcanyon, as well as other pitches, scripts, and indie works.I am currently available for both story and revisionist opportunities in both TV and Feature animation!How can I support you?The best way to support me is through my patreon, where you can pledge for my exclusive art and wips! You can also purchase my prints, or leave a tip in my tip jar via ko-fi! Any little bit helps!I also take illustration commissions, which are open in random intervals throughout the year. Please check my status if you’re interested!Can I dub or voice over something you made?You can dub over or animate on top of my animatics or comics, just credit me and try to tag me or message me with a link if you post it! I’d love to see it!Can I repost or use your work?I only allow my fan art to be shared with credit. Please credit and tag me if you use my art for an edit. You don’t need to ask me to use my work, but a tag and credit lets me know that you are using it.If you want to use any of my fan work as an icon/banner on social media, please credit me in your bio. You are not allowed to use it without credit.Please do not repost my work on social media where you can reblog/retweet/share etc.If you want to use my original work for any reason, please ask me via DM first.Selling my work is not allowed. If you find someone making merch out of my art, please let me know immediately!What tools or programs do you use to draw?I almost exclusively use Procreate and Toonboom Storyboard Pro to draw these days. For some of my lineless illustrations I use Adobe Photoshop. I use a Wacom cintiq hooked up to an iMac!Storyboard Pro is the software I use to board and time out my animatics! Sometimes I make additional edits in Adobe Premiere.I also use SBP to animate scenes that I don’t plan on cleaning up and coloring, but if I am cleaning up and coloring, I use TVPaint, Adobe Animate or Toonboom Harmony depending on what would be most efficient for that specific scene. Additional effects and compositing are added in Adobe After Effects.For most of my traditional art I use gel pens, zebra brush pens, or colerase colored pencils in a travelogue pocketbook.How long have you been drawing/animating for?Since I could pick up a pencil, which may have been around two or three years old. I was encouraged to make art a career starting at a young age. I drew a lot of comics when I was in kindergarten, and started animating by flipping through stickynote pads when I was in elementary school. In middle school I started animating flipnotes on the Nintendo DSi, and started making original stories and characters around that time as well. I made the choice to start taking art seriously when I was 14, and decided to pursuit animation as a major when I was 15!Any tips to improve?Study. I still do studies, all the time, that I don’t even post! Do not be afraid to make a million drawings you hate, and do not be afraid to use references! Use stock pose art, photography, and film and game art books to your advantage. That favorite drawing from your favorite artist you always come back to? Figure out what specific stylistic nuances you like in that piece and try and incorporate it into your work. Do not be afraid to trial and error things to see what works best!Go outside to your local park or somewhere public and do life drawing and cafe drawing. Study anatomy using youtube videos or online classes to get form and structure down. Trace photos to try to figure them out (side note: never post these, these are for your own purposes). This will teach you to muscle memory things while your brain is processing how structure works!Draw with a pen instead of with pencil! This will force you to focus on gesture and train you to worry less about messing up since you can’t erase, which will make you faster and better at drawing. Also, draw from your shoulder or arm instead of using your wrist– this will make your lines cleaner and looser.When it comes to animating I highly recommend looking into the 12 principles of animation. Getting those fundamentals down will boost your skills 10-fold.I also believe it’s important to look at art and stay on top of media. Keep playing games, watch new shows, read new comics, whatever you’re into. Improvement happens by looking at art and subconsciously absorbing new information, too. Keep up! And keep up at your own pace, nothing wrong with taking your time.Learning to be content with your art even when something doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to will take years. In the end, just draw what you love. That might take a little while to figure out too. Experiment and be patient with yourself, and make sure you seek other outlets that inspire you and relax you. I go to the gym/pool, go on walks and hikes, and take photography for example. I also like trying new recipes to cook, watch nature documentaries, and listen to medicine and murder podcasts! Having other hobbies and interests gives me ideas for new pieces and stories! I think you should draw a lot if you’re passionate about it and you have fun with it, but being hellbent on producing art 24/7 and not doing anything else will only cause problems. Try new things and keep an open mind!It’s also especially important that you take care of yourself– if you have any serious mental health issues or personal problems, seek professional help from a therapist or counselor, and seek additional support within an immediate social group a.k.a your friends and/or family if you have them. Make sure you do your best to eat and sleep properly. Your art will suffer if you, yourself, are suffering.Oh, and one more thing, be sure to stretch those wrists, arms, and that back of yours! Look into hand and arm stretches, do everything you can to prevent issues that will inevitably develop in your adulthood if you over exert your body.