My first blog ever

Intro
Hi everyone! Wow. Where do I begin? Hmm. No clue. Got so much to say. Maybe I should give a quick overview of where I'm at, where I've been and where the heck I hope I'm heading (yes, I said HOPE!)


When I was a kid
Been drawing all my life. I used to spend my summers on the front porch and draw comics. I still have them. I read them over and realize what passion I had for art back then.. I just hope it hasn't dropped off a bit with the way my life has changed these past few years.

The College years
I studied Graphic Design at George Brown College after high school. I finished two years, then decided I wanted to go into animation at Sheridan College. So, I quit the program at 2 years (it was a 3-year deal), worked for a year, saved up my tuition, got accepeted to Sheridan, and completed my 3-year diploma in classical animation.

Graduation
I graduated. Now what? Had no clue. Had no leads, no idea where to apply. You can't look in the classifieds and see ads for "animators wanted". Doesn't work that way. You gotta be on the inside of the industry, or know friends who are there. They have your hook-ups. Unfortunately for me, I didn't keep in contact with many guys/gals after college, which I now realize was a slight error. So, I started to build my portfolio with background layouts, character designs, etc etc. Eventually, I managed to get my hands on some studio contacts and began applying.

Began working
It took me 3 years, but I finally got a huge gig with Kids Can Press (Nelvana) in Toronto illustrating for their series, "Franklin The Turtle." It was short lived. I illustrated 3 book titles for them, and then the series was canceled. I was lucky to get the last 3 or so books of the series.
Back on the street
So, back to square one. Out on the street. I was working industrial jobs during all this time, because, well, I had bills to pay. You gotta pay bills. More and more, my hope was fading. Then it dawned on me.

The realization
I didn't really like animation. I tried to fool myself for those few years after school that I enjoyed it. But I wasn't fooling myself anymore. How did I know this? I knew because I never even watched a cartoon on TV... I had no interest. I looked at cartoons and said "man, this is stupid", and changed the channel. I haven't watched a full cartoon in years, and never did even during college. That should have been my wake up call, but I graduated anyways.
I was sick of all the students staying up all night, examining Disney flicks. During school, we'd take our breaks in between classes in coffe shops or pizza parlours, and all anyone wanted to talk about was how Mickey Mouse should have been desgned differently or how She-Ra should have had a green crown instead of a yellow one. Huh. This crowd wasn't for me, because I was thinking more along the lines of a ski trip that was coming up, or how I wanted to celebrate my girlfriendfs' birthday that coming weekend. In other words, my mind wasn't 100% on animation, and it seems that's what it takes to succeed in the biz. The animation industry is a highly critical one and you're subject to having your artwork torn apart at every turn. "Look at how short her pinky finger is!" Or, "his walk looks a bit stiff...".. blah blah, la la.. all that work and for what... I knew this industry wasn't for me. 60 hour work weeks, average pay at best, relocation, short-lived gigs, drawing things/characters/designs that I have no interest in drawing.. forget it. I wasn't single, and I wasn't available to travel to other cities to work. I didn't care about 'status', so it didn't matter to me if I told a stranger that I was an "animator" or a "forklift driver".. I'm a low-maintenance guy at best, so status or job title means nothing to me. Real life matters to me, and what I have to do to make myself and my family happy is what matters. Being an "animator" is just a title and is only beneficial if you really enjoy it and can accomodate that lifestyle. Basically, I couldn't live that life, and I kind of knew that before graduation. But, I started something, so I finished it.

What next?
It just wasn't for me. After the Franklin series, I decided I was gonna stay out on my own and just work commissions. So I did. I did many murals in private homes, lots of gift caricatures, portraits, a job here, a job there. I was busy at times, and not-so-busy at others. I still wasn't convinced that the freelance market working for the general public was going to work.

Along the way, many people asked me why I wasn't drawing portraits/caricatures in festivals or fairs. They said I'd make a killing. I said I was too scared to sit infront of people and draw them, all while tens of people watch behind me. I couldn't handle that stress. It would be like a pressure cooker, and I was the turnip. No way, I said. I'm not that brave.

Same old, same old
So, back to the drawing board. Back to the 9-5 industrial job so I can pay for our house, cars, bills- all that stuff. Back to doing small art jobs for people, for 100 bucks and working 20 hours for it. Back to selling celebrity portraits that I have drawn, and selling maybe 60 bucks a day if I'm lucky. Blah!

The turning point
It dawned on me.

I gotta try it. I gotta look into this portrait/caricature thing at festivals, markets, malls, parties, etc. 'Cause if I don't, I'm gonna be slaving away at these stupid little jobs for random people and making 5 bucks a week at it. No good.

So, my buddy was getting married. I volunteered to draw caricatures at his wedding, for free. Just to try it. I had to get over my fear and try it out. Just to see.

I had line-ups, all night. Drew for 4 consecutive hours. Every customer asked "how much" and I told them, "free".

Half these things didn't even look like them. But they loved them!!

I made tips. They paid me, even though I didn't charge. It was for me to get 'over the hump' and get my fear out the way. It worked. A successful night. I drew infront of hundreds of people, many of them watching behind my back. Cameras flashing. Video records taping. Comments like "wow, that's him!!" or, "that doesn't look like her".

Building steam
Canada's Wonderland was hiring caricature artists for the 2007 summer season. I applied. Got in. Started in April of 2007.

I learned quite a bit there, actually. The most valuable experience was drawing infront of hundreds of people a day, and getting used to it. I met a few really good artists there, some of which I really envy to this day and hope to be as good as. They taught me a lot.

The pay sucked. Really bad. You had to slave yourself really hard just to make a decent wage.

They forced you to use their tools (markers, paper, etc) and would *NOT* allow you to use your own style. You had to go by their style. That sucked. Because if they had let me do my own thing, I would have loved it even more and attracted more biz for them. But no. It had to be their way. Their markers, cheap paper and less-than-desirable coloured 'crayons', I guess you could call them. They were really tight with their stuff, too. To sum it up, you had no freedom to do your own art your way. And that made it hard. Not to mention, the joke of a paycheque after all that work you did.

BUT- I realized that caricatures was a huge, HUGE business. Lineups for most of the day. People were dropping anywhere from 20 bucks to 100 bucks on caricatures daily. No joke! People love this stuff.

So, again, it dawned on me. I had another moment of realization.

What the heck was I dong there? Why wasn't I out on my own, at festivals, flea markets, malls, parties, etc, doing this myself? Doing it my own way? Not to mention, keeping ALL the money????

Duh..

On my way
I signed up for festivals and events for the summer of 2007, just after leaving Wonderland after just 2 months there. Canada Day parades, farmer's markets, art/craft shows, you name it.

And sure enough, business was the same. Line-ups all day, sometimes. People still drop 20 to 80 bucks for their kids to get drawn. 100/hour is easily acheivable, so long as you're good (or half-good, to be honest with you!!)

I finally am convinced tghat I have found a path that I'm going to follow for the forseeable future. Next year, I plan to leave my day job and hit up tourist attractions/shows/festivals/parades/etc and make this a full-time thing. I'll make twice as much at my day job, no problem. This summer has been my breakthrough year. It took a lot of searching and thinking, but I finally found something I really, really enjoy. I enjoy travelling to different places, seeing brand new people each and every day, and having satisifed customers. No bosses, no time cards, no 9-5 hours, none of that. No contracts to sign, no negotiations, nothing. Total freedom- drawing cartoons of kids/adults out in the sun all day and making 2, 3 or more times the amount I would in any studio drawing cartoons that I hate. All cash money.

Looking ahead
Like I said, I plan to do caricature/portraits full-time soon. I plan to book space in malls, shows, etc for the 2008 season and would like to do it all year. I really believe that the compensation will be huge, from what I've experienced so far. It is not out of the question to take home over $500 in one day in cash, and much more if you're fast. That is insane money and I have no idea why you'd want to do anything else! The business is there!! There's a huge market for it and these sorts of artists are few and far between. Just get out there. You'll love every minute of it, like I do.