2010: Imagineer Me Now...
'Sup 2010!!
Whatcha got for me this year? I hope it's not as scary as last year. I sure picked a great time to try to brave the world of freelancing. I've never been forced to be self employed for a whole year before! Thanks, Life! You've forced me to find my balls!
After a whole year of scary scary, I'm happy to report some awesomeness:
1) My 2nd book came out! Mackenzie Blue: The Secret Crush hit the stands on Dec. 29th, 2009,
which ended the year for me on a very happy note!
2) As it turns out, I'm gonna be starting the year with a bang as well! THIS Monday, my official duties of Concept Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering starts!
THE DILLY: About a month ago, I'd found out that I'd made Top 10 (out of 70) in an application process to Disney that started all the way in August. Us Top 10 were paired into groups of 2 and they assigned us to concept for project development. My partner was Jaime McGough, an amazing 3D modeler & sculptor, fresh out of school, quitting his retail job, and risking it all. I've never had to work with a sculptor before and was curious to see what would come out of the team work.
THE CHALLENGE: Our presentations were limited to only 10 minutes, we were all allowed a 1 minute video, and whatever we came up with had to fit a 4ft x 8ft board. Oh yeah, and we had 3 weeks to do it.
All job interviews are a ton of pressure. But this one was The Mother of All Big Deals. Drawing for Disney's like one of those jobs that an illustrator like me only dreams about. This was an exercise for Disney to evaluate how we worked in teams. I figured since Disney's all about creative collaboration, I turned to some of the most talented people I know:
• My best friend whitecitydevil : he's a genius with carpentry and mechanics, plus he's an ART TEACHER. Hello? Asset!
• The York Twins: my yoga friend Cat York's li'l girls-with big insights-acted as my focus group.
• My Mom & Dad: the nature of my project dictated expert knowledge of the hospitality industry, and since my parents have worked in it for almost 30 years, their logistical knowledge proved invaluable to getting my project data.
• My boyfriend ame_folle : my design conscience. Joe's brain is a limitless well of art, film, and fashion history, and he has a strong contemporary design awareness that made for a great art compass to keep me on track. Add to that his Parsons training, combined with his own personal creativity, and my boyfriend is like the Terminator of Art.
And it's true what they say: Knowing really IS half the battle. All that guidance and knowledge everyone gave me got me to expand my own knowledge, which made my presentation even more hard core. But even with all the help, I knew in the end that it would all boil down to whatever my partner and I came up with.
Disney told us if they liked our ideas, they'd take us on. And if they really really REALLY like our ideas, they'd actually consider building our concept. I was shooting for the gold, so it wasn't enough to just create something to get my dream job, I wanted my dream job to WANT to build something I created. For 3 weeks straight, my project partner and I didn't sleep, eat, or stop. We were creative machines. While working (and learning to work together), I used any free time to absorbed as much information and inspiration as I could. I also knew that I wanted to do my absolute best for this interview, so I used my entire arsenal of creative experience: marketing tricks I've picked up over the years, graphic design, art directing, I even went old school and picked up some serious pencils and tools I haven't touched since college. It was risky, but I had to use everything I had at my disposal. Even my dormant talents. This is Disney, I couldn't hide behind the computer for this one. My Vector stuff is the finished product but my traditional drawing skills, they're my creativity. Throughout this process, I realized just how hesitant I am to use my full potential, and how insecure I am about my hand work. I had to learn to accept and even embrace my artistic imperfections and I forced myself to love my lines and shapes. So I got my hands dirty with lead and smudge from pastels. For the first time in a long time, I drew real drawings. With my hands. Pen and ink. Total commitment. Illustration. Balls Out.
SKIP TO THE END: After being led back from the green room, we were escorted back into the presentation room to find all the Imagineers standing in front of OUR board ONLY. Of the 5 groups who presented, our presentation was picked as everyone's hands-down favorite concept and presentation. They told us that we stood out far above the other concepts and they were all really excited about our ideas. Some of the Imagineers even said they want to possibly even build our concept! My partner and I went from Top 10 to top of the list! 20 minutes after our presentation, Jaime got hired on the spot! He's now working as a Dimension Designer for a WDI property in Hawai'i! He was awesome to work with and even though he's a newbie out of school, he has the strongest set of priorities that taught me a thing or two. And he's my new friend! As for me, like I said, I start Monday.
As a Concept Designer. Me. For Walt Disney. Crrraaaazy.
For years since I can remember, people used to say to me "Oh, you like to draw? Maybe one day you'll work for Disney!"
At last. Now I do.
~
Whatcha got for me this year? I hope it's not as scary as last year. I sure picked a great time to try to brave the world of freelancing. I've never been forced to be self employed for a whole year before! Thanks, Life! You've forced me to find my balls!
After a whole year of scary scary, I'm happy to report some awesomeness:
1) My 2nd book came out! Mackenzie Blue: The Secret Crush hit the stands on Dec. 29th, 2009,
which ended the year for me on a very happy note!
2) As it turns out, I'm gonna be starting the year with a bang as well! THIS Monday, my official duties of Concept Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering starts!
THE DILLY: About a month ago, I'd found out that I'd made Top 10 (out of 70) in an application process to Disney that started all the way in August. Us Top 10 were paired into groups of 2 and they assigned us to concept for project development. My partner was Jaime McGough, an amazing 3D modeler & sculptor, fresh out of school, quitting his retail job, and risking it all. I've never had to work with a sculptor before and was curious to see what would come out of the team work.
THE CHALLENGE: Our presentations were limited to only 10 minutes, we were all allowed a 1 minute video, and whatever we came up with had to fit a 4ft x 8ft board. Oh yeah, and we had 3 weeks to do it.
All job interviews are a ton of pressure. But this one was The Mother of All Big Deals. Drawing for Disney's like one of those jobs that an illustrator like me only dreams about. This was an exercise for Disney to evaluate how we worked in teams. I figured since Disney's all about creative collaboration, I turned to some of the most talented people I know:
• My best friend whitecitydevil : he's a genius with carpentry and mechanics, plus he's an ART TEACHER. Hello? Asset!
• The York Twins: my yoga friend Cat York's li'l girls-with big insights-acted as my focus group.
• My Mom & Dad: the nature of my project dictated expert knowledge of the hospitality industry, and since my parents have worked in it for almost 30 years, their logistical knowledge proved invaluable to getting my project data.
• My boyfriend ame_folle : my design conscience. Joe's brain is a limitless well of art, film, and fashion history, and he has a strong contemporary design awareness that made for a great art compass to keep me on track. Add to that his Parsons training, combined with his own personal creativity, and my boyfriend is like the Terminator of Art.
And it's true what they say: Knowing really IS half the battle. All that guidance and knowledge everyone gave me got me to expand my own knowledge, which made my presentation even more hard core. But even with all the help, I knew in the end that it would all boil down to whatever my partner and I came up with.
Disney told us if they liked our ideas, they'd take us on. And if they really really REALLY like our ideas, they'd actually consider building our concept. I was shooting for the gold, so it wasn't enough to just create something to get my dream job, I wanted my dream job to WANT to build something I created. For 3 weeks straight, my project partner and I didn't sleep, eat, or stop. We were creative machines. While working (and learning to work together), I used any free time to absorbed as much information and inspiration as I could. I also knew that I wanted to do my absolute best for this interview, so I used my entire arsenal of creative experience: marketing tricks I've picked up over the years, graphic design, art directing, I even went old school and picked up some serious pencils and tools I haven't touched since college. It was risky, but I had to use everything I had at my disposal. Even my dormant talents. This is Disney, I couldn't hide behind the computer for this one. My Vector stuff is the finished product but my traditional drawing skills, they're my creativity. Throughout this process, I realized just how hesitant I am to use my full potential, and how insecure I am about my hand work. I had to learn to accept and even embrace my artistic imperfections and I forced myself to love my lines and shapes. So I got my hands dirty with lead and smudge from pastels. For the first time in a long time, I drew real drawings. With my hands. Pen and ink. Total commitment. Illustration. Balls Out.
SKIP TO THE END: After being led back from the green room, we were escorted back into the presentation room to find all the Imagineers standing in front of OUR board ONLY. Of the 5 groups who presented, our presentation was picked as everyone's hands-down favorite concept and presentation. They told us that we stood out far above the other concepts and they were all really excited about our ideas. Some of the Imagineers even said they want to possibly even build our concept! My partner and I went from Top 10 to top of the list! 20 minutes after our presentation, Jaime got hired on the spot! He's now working as a Dimension Designer for a WDI property in Hawai'i! He was awesome to work with and even though he's a newbie out of school, he has the strongest set of priorities that taught me a thing or two. And he's my new friend! As for me, like I said, I start Monday.
As a Concept Designer. Me. For Walt Disney. Crrraaaazy.
For years since I can remember, people used to say to me "Oh, you like to draw? Maybe one day you'll work for Disney!"
At last. Now I do.
~