Evaluation

Since second year I’ve always enjoyed PP because it helped me, someone who was very naïve to what the world in general, initially, was like. It gave me an opportunity to meet new people and experience new perspectives while giving the right amount of reality check. While last year I think I was pushed more, not that it was a bad thing at the beginning, I think that this year I started to act a lot more independently and explanatively. Going to festivals of my own accord, applying as a volunteer at said festivals and actively asking studios and industry professionals for advice and favours (Studio Tours, Feedback on work etc.) In part I have enjoyed these events because they take me outside of the bubble that I keep myself in and I get to start seeing knew perspectives and experiences which in turn influence my opinions and my work. In example the talks and conversations with Andrew Burrell really pushed me to reconsider certain paths within my practice in regards on how to develop a story and to put myself in it. Another example is how when I visited golden wolf and brown bag I could see a place for my practice within the future, whether that be the near or distant future.

All these events where I take myself outside of the bubble and my comfort zone leave me feeling passionate and excited to work however I have had a few struggles during PP, namely with confidence in my own ability. I let a lot of possibilities slip past as I would either ignore them or decide I was unfit for the role without even trying because I thought I wasn’t prepared. It came to a point at the end of the course where I wasn’t even creating anything and I had scared myself into a corner of not wanting to try and apply for anything that would require a degree of commitment or standard of expectations, only looking at short courses or masters, trying to put myself into a safe situation and so I wasn’t even creating. Once I realised this however I realised that if I want to get anywhere I will have to learn from failure and try and find out as much as possible how to improve upon myself and my work but only after I’ve made the mistakes or tried.

While I previously said that just searching for further and higher education was backing me into a corner I won’t stop searching for more ways and new ways to learn as I do still believe I can continue to progress, I just have to make sure I approach it with the sense that what I produce now is good as well. While the confidence within my own work has grown I have come to the realisation that I don’t fully understand the way the industry works, this in the context of how a studio functions as one piece. I saw this in Blue Zoo and Golden Wolf but I myself don’t know how to function to that system nor am I certain how to fit into it. Because of this I am hoping to learn more about the speed and process of the industry on the summer course.

In regards to the content of the course and module, I really appreciated having the sessions where the topic of the class was not about art. In this sense I’m referring to the classes on finances and after university life. It helps to establish a plan of what needs to be done after university while also helping to understand what is necessary to act as an independent adult and assists in taking action to take the next step. I do feel that the timing of the module could be improved as the hand in tends to be a month after a lot of internships go up and then come back down and during that time focus tends to be shifted more towards extended practice. I think it would be good to line up PP to be ready for internship programs and jobs that go live in April so that the work is ready and in a presentable format (portfolio, show reel) to professionally present to studios with confidence. Besides that, the module allows for a moment of critical evaluation within oneself and work, letting you start to understand your direction and where you want to be in the industry as well as how to get into it.

Overall the module of PP this year has set me up nicely to attempt entering the industry as a professional. While my logo and brand are by no means completed they will do the job for me right now at helping me get myself out there. I now have the confidence to talk to people about myself and my work and I am now working on building my confidence in my own art work so I look forward to my future endeavours after university.

Gobelins Summer School

I applied for their two week summer course in Paris and was able to get in. The course is going to cover working on 2D performance based animation working on a shot for two weeks and refining it at an industry pace and to an industry quality. Im really looking forward to the course because its at the school that, as of right now i want to do a masters at and as such it will give me a great opportunity to see what the school is really like as well as how the teachers teach and give direction.

Applying for Jobs - Golden Wolf Character designer

After the realisation of the presentation i wanted to be actively job hunting while still looking at education as either a back up or a focus depending on the job. I sent an application to golden wolf as they are currently looking for character designers and previously i had been spending a lot of time being unsure but now I've sent the application off, whether i get it or not is another matter but i specified that until the end of july i can only work remotely
below is my email.

Presentation - Final reflection and self Evaluation

We held our presentations on our self reflection and the possible directions we want to take ourselves after leaving uni. Initially before the presentation i thought and felt so certain and sure that i knew where i was going and what i wanted to do. but during the presentation it just revealed all my insecurities and lack of confidence that i have in myself. my focus was to go on to further education because i felt that i didnt have enough skill in the areas to get jobs. Unintentionally i have allowed these uncertainties to swallow me up. It came to a peak when Craig expectant lained that he believed i am better than i am and as good as some of the practitioners that i talk of but the difference is that they are doing and being active creatives something i have been greatly lacking in recent weeks, possibly months. After this i began to question my plans and direction however i came to the conclusion after some pointers on confidence from Vlad (haha) that i just need to do stuff and not think about the if's the buts and the maybe's because if its something i can't change why think about it andd just do it. I also want to adopt Rosie's practice of just going for it and trying new things even if they do fall flat as it is a way of continuously opening doors and opportunities.

Below is my presentation.

CV, Showreel and Portfolio - Study Task Position

Current state of my showreel and portfolio

Business cards and professional presence - Study task Position

For the time being i am going to stick with the business cards that i have currently in part mostly for the fact i have 200 something of the things to still use but also that i only did a rebrand last year and i feel that as of right now i need to keep a sense of familiarity and consistency through my presentation. I think i will redesign the sloth in the future to match the development of my art and artistic direction.



I want to keep it quite simple and clean. When the business cards are used up and redone the back will be replaced with a website. As of right now i am sticking to the social media that i use and the current email of guy.a.h.rathbone@gmail.com because I want to have my own domain, one that utilises the tag line, 'A guy draws' but could also bring into context my purple sloth character but i want to take it slow with the development of these concepts as i will use them for the foreseeable future as i don't want to have my brand be guyrathbone_art for example and i don't want my email or website to include gmail or wix as i feel theres a lack of professional independence especially if i work from contract to contract. I also don't want to change my designs on my visual identity because as of right now my work and style of drawing is continuously evolving and changing as such the style will never really represent how my work is at this point in time so the importance of the business card and visual identity at this point is simply to remember who i am and the tag line a guy draws. The text is different but still clear and legible while the illustration of the monkey lifting the G gives a sense of performance to the logo and brand which is what  want to get across in regards to my focus.

Across my social media i have used the same logo on my business card as well as the same photograph to keep consistency in my presentation of self.



If any rebranding took place it will be to digitise the monkey along with the redesign. Below is a mock up of were the design is currently but right now it feels like it would only look half finished. as such i am leaving the brand as is.



As well as keeping a digital professional presence I also wanted to update how i present my self in person so i got card holders for my business cards and the ones i collect. And a new case for my iPad to keep it professional when i approach people to show my showreel and work.

Brown Bag Open Day

After the workshop and talking with the brown bag animators i applied for brown bags open day where i got to go to the studio and got to talk with one of their artists. Because it was only me and someone who id met at MAF as a volunteer who were interested in the art department it was really easy to chat to the artist and have them look at my portfolio. Also i had met a large quantity of the members of the studio before this which made chatting even easier.

The artist discussed what the studios looking for what they're looking for and what standard they want as well as telling me that the work I'm doing for my portfolio is right in regards to the content.

The studio was handing out booklets and postcards with tips and pointers on how to get hired ad what to do with your portfolio.

Barry Purves - Visiting Professionals

The Barry Purves came in he brought a really refreshing and optimistic outlook on life and animation. He talked about the animations and projects he had worked on with such passion and love that it really became infectious and personally really excited me because he was all about encouraging the topic of empathy and emotion within your work which is my main area of focus when creating something.

Below are the page notes i took.

Andrew Burrell - Visiting Professionals

Andrew burrell came to the university to discuss his practice and experience as a scriptwriter for tv. I had previously talked with and met andrew at maf having taken part in his scriptwriting workshop, so his talk covered a lot of what he discussed at maf.

He discussed the matter of writing with out a cynical mindset and not to dislike your characters. Because the way you perceive your characters is reflected in your writing and if you can't bring yourself to like your characters, even if they're supposed to be dislikable then no one will. A lot of what Andrew talks about lines up with my own perceptions and approaches to character design and the backstory aspect of my practice. To understand and relate to a character it becomes more possible to bring out their qualities in their design and animated performance.

After the presentation i went over and just had a small catch up with him ending on asking if i could send him my extended practice script which he was happy to have a look at.

Presentation - Study Task Research

We had to identify around 10 studios and possible options for was we want to do and approach during the year and after university.

After Graduation Plan - Possible Options

After considering internships i started to consider what more options there were after uni and graduation. I know I want to continue my education in various forms, online schools, short courses, summer courses and in the long run, masters courses. This is. mostly stemming from my own uncertainties of not entirely sure where I want to go and a case of my work not being at a level that I am not satisfied with.

Another option I have considered is to do some travelling in an environment where I will get to continue learning animation but also be able to take a break and a breather and see a bit of the world on my own.

Possible Courses

• Gobelins Masters in Character animation, Paris, 2 Years
• Schoolism online courses
• Stephen silver 8 week course, LA
• Schoolism Workshops, Europe
• AFS, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, France, 6 months

Getting back in touch with Moth Collective

After a month of waiting I emailed moth collective back in regards to the internship position as I hadn't heard back from them. they said that they were going in another direction with their candidates but to try again if an opportunity arises in the future which I will keep an eye on.

Blue Zoo Internship Application

Before altering my portfolio I contacted one of BlueZoo's concept artists about what the visual development internship entails and what blue zoo could be looking for. The artist, (Izzy Burton) said to consider including more work that entailed light studies and colour usage but she was unsure of what the internship specifically wanted and looked for as she was not a part of the program. She suggested considering colour work and visual development work so I added a few colour studies and colour scripts to my portfolio.

I also almost didn't apply for the internship. I came to the conclusion that I just didnt have the skills to get the internship so why must I even bother? This lasted until I watched a video by Izzy Burton where she talked about her journey and explained that even if you're uncertain you should still apply because you really won't know unless you try.

Stephen Silver Workshop

I spent a weekend in Manchester attending a Stephen silver character design level up workshop. While there I was able to learn under someone who's philosphies and ideals in life and art are some that Id really love to adopt so to get a real understanding of his practice by having him teach a class was incredible. As well as learning his character design techniques I got to meet with people and artists from brown bag and learned about brown bags open day from a friend who works there. I also asked him to give me some pointers on creative CVs and mine is a train wreck so I have a clearer idea for what a creative CV is now.

After taking the workshop I now really want to go to his school in LA and learn more from him (Stephen Silver) so I will begin applying for his school and see what happens.

Revised Portfolio

As I was considering BlueZoo internship as well I wanted to revise my portfolio so that it had some of my newer work and had more visual development pieces to try and help with getting their visual development internship. I also added more work to the portfolio as it was definitely lacking in quantity to a degree of quality.

Below is the sent portfolio.

Revised CV - Standard CV

After taking some consideration over the state of my CV at this current point I could see it needed…. work. So to make sure I had one as Back up in case of emergency's and to look a certain degree of professional I created a standard CV.

This version definitely feels more controlled and organised as well as gives off a more professional vibe.

Application for Moth Internship

While on twitter I saw that Moth collective were advertising for their summer internships looking for traditional 2D animators. I decided to use this as an opportunity to try and get back into the habit of contacting professionals and emailing people.

I sent the current CV, Portfolio and showreel from the previous posts.

Showreel April 2018 version

This is the current state of my showreel, with time I plan to work into each scene that is just roughs and do clean up and colour to create a much more appealing showreel.

Portfolio First Pass

I tried to focus on adding work that was primarily gesture based and showed clear silhouettes of different characters. i also thought that i need a very few and specific images keeping it very brief. a bit too brief.