Graduation, Crash+Sues, and Slime Monsters!

I suppose I should write a little bit more about my experiences over the past few months just to keep everyone up to date. My life has been changing so much lately! 

I've graduated! I'm no longer a student of AiMN! My class' portfolio show went well, I had the privilege to meet some great people, show off my work and (of course) get tons of hugs from my family. I think overall my experience at Ai was really positive. I think the trick is surrounding yourself with dedicated and passionate people; the friends I made there (and of course the rock-stars of the faculty) certainly pushed me to be better. I'm a firm believer that school is what you make it. If you give 110%, that's what you'll get back.

Through a mixture of timing, persistence and a bit of luck I managed to get brought in to Crash+Sues as a full-time, freelance animator. I felt like the luckiest person in the world, getting a phone call a few weeks before graduation from their producer asking if I was available. The whole experience felt unreal. I'll always be incredibly thankful for the opportunity.

But of course, when doing anything new and outside of your comfort zone, there's a certain amount of fear that needs overcoming in order to grow. I definitely felt that coming in to Crash+Sues. It was nice that I had interned there a year before, so I knew the building and the people. But coming on as a professional meant a whole new set of responsibilities that had to be tackled. It's true when they say you'll learn more in your first few weeks on the job than you do in your entire four years at school. It's a roller coaster ride, and like a roller coaster it's exciting and scary all at the same time.

And also fun!

I haven't felt this motivated in over a year. The new experiences and environment are exactly what I needed to remind myself why I loved animation so much in the first place. Being surrounded by the incredibly talented animators, editors, and producers there is humbling. I have so much to learn! It just makes me want to CREATE. 

Anyways, this little project was something I did in my spare time at Crash+Sues. I just wanted to make something with monsters and eventually it evolved into a fun little PSA about eating healthy. I liked the idea of this guy being talented enough to chew an apple into the Crash+Sues logo...