Article Response: "What I Wish I Knew When I Was in Art School"

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    It's always nice to learn about other people's experiences in the film industry, as an artist and as a person, because, not only can it be difficult to impress others with your work, but also to prove to yourself that you're not just wasting your time. As artists, we all go through hard times regarding our work - worrying whether we're actually good enough, putting too much pressure on ourselves, and comparing ourselves to others. This can turn into a huge issue, because if you spend all of your time worrying and putting yourself down, you may never get better. (Better, in this case, means proving to yourself that you're talented and that your work is satisfactory, while also impressing others.) This article, written by Jon Williams, goes through his thoughts and experiences on what he wish he knew when he was in art school, and advice to future artists and filmmakers.

    When Jon first walked into his new job at EA's office, he quickly realized that some of his co-workers had not attended a four year art school like he did, but instead were hired professionally out of high school. I've been hearing a lot about this kind of thing recently, where some people are debating whether or not art school is actually worth it. For me, I would say yes, as it gives you a chance to work on various different film projects, discuss/critique them with a group of people, and get a grade for it. That way, you know whether or not you're on the right track.

    He also discusses the fact that the computer programs you will use for film/animation purposes will always be updated and changed. He says he cared more about trying to learn all of the features that Photoshop and Maya had to offer, which can be beneficial, but he realized he should have spent more time building a solid foundation in the fundamental arts, or in other words, studying anatomy, drawing from real life subjects, sculpting, storytelling, acting, etc. He also felt that he spent too much of his time "thinking" about how good he wanted to be, instead of actually working towards that goal. "You don’t have to be the best at whatever skill you’re trying to learn, you just have to stick with it and strive for quality. Realize and embrace that there will always be more skillful artists than yourself." This is really great advice, in my opinion.

    I'm really glad I read this article, as I'm always interested in what people have to say after they experience something that I'm most likely going to go through in the future. He gave a lot of great advice for students, either for those who are still trying to determine whether or not they should go to art school and those who are already there now. Definitely will keep his advice in mind.