Studio:
●
Blizzard Entertainment
School(s):
●
Gnomon School of Visual Effects;
●
AnimationMentor.com;
●
The Animation Collaborative
My name is Casey McDermott, and I
like to call myself an animator. Lets
jump right into WHY animation. Why would
anyone choose a craft that takes so long to master(if mastering is even
possible)? A craft that when you start
it becomes your whole life, in and out of work.
Anything I see in motion or in pose or even inanimate, I can't help but
think to myself, “I can use that someday!”
Since I could remember I would (and
still do) run around in my batman pajamas, cape included, and act out crime
fighting scenes alongside the TV with Adam West. I would watch Pinocchio three times a day,
and every time Monstro would come on, I would gather everyone in my family and
lead them by the hands all the while yelling the words, “Mon, Monstro,” which
obviously means, “COME ON GUYS, MONSTRO IS ON TV RIGHT NOW LETS WATCH
THIS!.” It was quite obvious I have an
infatuation with playing characters and imagination. So much so, that one time my mom dropped me
off at daycare as one Casey McDermott, but when she came to pick said “Casey
McDermott,” you better believe there was not a single Casey McDermott at that
daycare! There was, however, a Peter
Vankman (from Ghostbusters), as I told (and convinced!) everyone that was my
name.
I didn't have a
normal childhood, but really who did?
Half of my family were artists.
My mom was ink and paint at Disney and Hanna Barbera, and she worked
alongside her mom and aunt who were also Ink and Paint artists at Hanna Barbera, Disney, and Filmation. My
other Aunt and Uncle also worked at Disney in the animation and effects
departments, respectively. My dad was
and still is a contractor, but has built some amazing and breathtaking homes
and structures, some of which I have had the great fortune of growing up
in. I was surrounded by constant creativity
and support. My family loved and still
loves getting dressed up for ren fairs, pirate fairs, halloween, christmas, and
any other sort of occasion that allows for it.
We all love to pretend.
So of course I would grow up doing art
right?! Wrong. By the time I hit 10 years old, art was the
furthest thing from my mind. All I
wanted to do was be a baseball player.
It’s all I knew about and cared about.
But I still loved to pretend. I
pretended every day that I was a professional baseball player, playing in front
of screaming fans booing and cheering, sweat dripping, muscles tight and me
fighting the tightness to keep them loose, the smell of chalk, dirt, and grass
stains infusing together to create the unique aroma that maybe only baseball players
can understand. There I was, stepping up
to the plate in the bottom of the 9th, the score all tied up, and one swing
away from making history and winning a championship. It was always so vivid in my head. Even though I was playing baseball, I really
believe that this mindset has helped me today.
I don't like to start working until I can see what I want in my
head. I always want a vivid image and
aesthetic so I know what I am striving for.
In college I wound up ramming my knee into a pole during a game and
cracking my patellar and tearing my medial and lateral meniscus. I was in an “immobilizer” for 9 months and
additional 4 months of physical therapy afterwards. This was a very hard time in my life,
thinking I was done with my dream and coming to terms with it. I attended a Junior College in Chico
California (this is also where I met my lovely wife) during the time my leg was
in an immobilizer and I started taking “3D multimedia classes” to get my mind
off of my nonexistent sports career. With some great inspiration and support from
teachers there I learned that I could make a new living with “multimedia.” All of a sudden my passion for baseball
started to shift to animation and multimedia.
My brother
in law, who is an editor, told me of a Production Assistant internship for the
summer at Sony Computer Entertainment America.
With a little good fortune, and some good recommendations, I got the
internship. While I was there I got to
be a part of all aspects of game development, from the art side with Maya, to
production side with directors and project leads, and finally I got to do a
little voice over work. It was this
summer I knew for a fact what I wanted to do for a job. While at SCEA, I asked what schools were best
to further my education. They all said
Gnomon was the top school at the time. I
applied there thinking nothing of rejection.
Then I learned they only accept 24 students a year. I had a very puny art portfolio and they saw
that in my 1 on 1 interview with the school board. All I remember is when I left my interview, i
confidently said, “I am excited to come here,” and “See you in August.” Maybe I tricked them into thinking they had
already accepted me.
Gnomon was a great experience and
taught all aspects of CG and art, more of a generalist course at the time. I wouldn't trade my experience there for the
world. Working with a such a small class
size, with individuals who all had different fields that they wanted to
specialize in made it fantastic for collaboration. 2 weeks after graduating, and some guidance
from some mentors of mine at Gnomon, I had the great opportunity to start
working at Rhythm & Hues, and a week after that I started attending
AnimationMentor.
Ignorantly enough, I thought this
would be easy to attend school and work at the same time. Well the production schedule is very
unforgiving and became very jealous at the fact I was also attending
school. I wound up having to take a
leave of absence from AnimationMentor.
Well worth it. However, the entire
time I worked at Rhythm & Hues questioned everything I did and looked at
everyone’s gorgeous work, which put me into some despair. I did not feel adequate at all, in fact I
felt like I knew nothing (Jon Snow). The
first dailies I attended were very eye opening.
One animator, (also a friend, peer, and mentor to me) by the name of
Jeff, presented work so beautiful that it looked like dancing. He had beautiful texture and timing, with
great hand and finger flourishes, and the dialogue was so clear and appealing,
I was sick to my stomach. I didn't take
lunch for 2 months, in hopes that during that extra hour, I might get better or
learn something to make my hideous animation not stand out like a sore thumb. However, during my time there I sat next to 3
incredibly talented artists and animators, including Jeff, that helped shape me
with honest feedback and support.
After my contract ended, I thought
it best to go back to AnimationMentor to learn again. At the end of school I picked up some
freelance gigs from some studios such as BrainZoo and MPC, along with several
others, for little 3 to 6 month gigs.
Animating at as many studios early in your career I think is a great way
to learn, not only about the studios, but about yourself. It is sort of like the dating scene, in my
opinion. You have to date around a bit
to see what you like and don't like, and until you find studios that fit you as
a person and as an artist.
That is how I got started. The reason WHY I animate is that I love to
create, imagine and pretend. It is in
these callow fantasies that I really feel comfortable and free (as ridiculous
as that sounds). For anyone who has made
it this far in the story I have some words of advice. Firstly, whenever anyone ever asks me “should
I get into animation?” my answer is NO, the fact that you even ask that
question means this is probably not the medium for you. As I tell my students, animation takes a
certain type of patients that many people do not retain. Hell, I question if I am patient enough. And to reiterate, you will be animating at
work for 8-12 hours a day, then you will come home and animate more, or see
things you want to animate, or be inspired to animate, or depressed that you
don't know how to animate, or be thirsty for more animation. Your average work day is not enough to quench
that thirst.
Secondly, with schools nowadays
attempting to make animation look very fun and bubbly, I say, don’t be
fooled. Yes, animation can be fun, but
by god is it frustrating. See through the
facade, and realize that these bubbly personalities are, for the most part,
business’ advertising. No, we do not all
act this way. Schools will not make you
great. They will give you great
information, but in the end, you have to do the work to make it successful.
Thirdly, keep a vivid
imagination. It’s ok to pretend, in
fact, it's encouraged. Always plan out
your shots thoroughly, being sure to be proud of what's in your head before you
put it on paper, or in a CG program. “Fail
early and fail often.” Collaborate your
ideas early and often, show early and often and get ready to fail. It’s the only way we learn and get better,
and by collaborating with others, you will be absolutely amazed at how much
your craft and storytelling can soar.
Lastly, stay passionate and
thirsty. The reason why we have chosen
this art form is because we are passionate about telling a story through it,
and letting the viewer see a piece of us.
It is a very vulnerable feeling and you MUST grow a tough skin in order
to grow. Love what you do, even when you
hate it. It’s important to feel proud of
something you have created, but don't be satisfied, keep chasing the next big
thing.
Thank you for your time, and
hopefully this is useful to anyone who reads it. Hopefully someday our paths may cross. Best of luck in all of your personal careers,
and “keep animating,” or don’t... it’s
up to you, if you want to that is, of course...! :]
-C
One Word of Advice for Future Animators:
Leave your ego at the door so that you're not married to any
1 idea, because the best idea can come from anywhere/anyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment