No skilled artist wants to hear this

Summary

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Outlines

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Keywords

💡Luck

In the video, luck is described as a significant factor in success, particularly in the animation industry. It refers to being in the right place at the right time, which provides opportunities that may be out of one's control. The speaker mentions how luck has played a role in their career, with connections and timing giving them job opportunities even without showcasing their portfolio.

💡Meritocracy

Meritocracy is the idea that success is based solely on one's skill, effort, and talent. In the video, the speaker challenges this belief, arguing that while hard work and skill are important, luck and external factors like industry trends also play a huge role. This critique of meritocracy highlights the complexity of achieving success in the animation industry.

💡Networking

Networking is described as a key strategy for building 'luck' in the animation industry. It involves forming connections with other professionals, which can lead to job recommendations and opportunities. The speaker emphasizes the importance of attending workshops and joining communities where these professional relationships can develop.

💡Animation Industry

The animation industry in Los Angeles is the video's primary focus. The speaker discusses its fluctuating nature, highlighting how it thrived during the pandemic but has since slowed down, leading to fewer job opportunities. The discussion of the industry's state reflects the broader message about how external factors like industry trends affect individual success.

💡Connections

Connections refer to relationships with colleagues and other professionals that can help secure jobs and projects. The speaker explains how their past connections led to multiple job opportunities without needing to show a portfolio. This idea is closely tied to the concept of luck and networking as key elements in building a career.

💡Freelance

Freelance work is mentioned as a common way for animators to sustain themselves when full-time jobs are scarce. Some animators, due to their networks and experience, are able to juggle multiple freelance gigs simultaneously, which contrasts with others who struggle to find any work despite their skills.

💡Canceled Projects

Canceled projects are used as examples of bad luck in the industry. The speaker recounts their experience working on promising projects that were shelved due to studio interference or other external factors. These situations demonstrate how even skilled and hardworking artists can face setbacks outside their control.

💡Hard Work

Hard work is acknowledged as important, but the video emphasizes that it alone does not guarantee success. The speaker critiques the narrative that hard work is the sole factor behind achievements, especially in a volatile industry like animation. They point to skilled, hardworking animators who remain jobless despite their efforts.

💡Voice

Voice in this context refers to an artist's unique perspective, themes, and creative expression. The speaker encourages animators to develop their personal voice in addition to building technical skills. A strong voice makes an artist stand out, increasing their chances of being recognized and hired for unique projects.

💡Workshops

Workshops are recommended as an alternative to formal education for learning animation skills and networking. The speaker suggests that attending workshops, particularly those led by industry professionals, is a cost-effective way to build both skills and connections, which are essential for success in the animation industry.

Highlights

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Transcripts

[Music]

hey guys it's Tony koua and today I'd

like to talk about luck I've been in

this industry for over 10 years now I've

seen it dip and Rise multiple times

within the span of time it's hard to

gauge what the future of the animation

industry here in La is but to think that

one success is only about how hard you

work or based on meritocracy is someone

who lives in a bubble no skilled

hardworking artist wants to hear this

but luck matters a lot so how would I

describe luck or what count as luck the

way I would describe luck is being at

the right time at the right place and

that in return gives you a window of

time for that opportunity during the

pandemic the animation industry thrived

there were a lot of Productions a lot of

things were being green lit and a lot of

opportunities came for people who wanted

to break into animation now it's the

complete opposite and of course these

are things that are usually out of your

control this could be the state of the

industry Studio decisions that affect

the livelihood of artists and animators

the times and Trends here and there

there are people who got opportunities

because they went to a school that had a

program where Studios would visit the

school and recruit students there could

be cases where it's all about knowing

the right people at the right community

that allows for opportunities I would

say be careful of people who say they

worked super hard or hustled to get to

where they're at specifically talking

about quote unquote success uccessful in

the industry and I think in most cases

this is true however they could have

been in a circumstance where things

worked in their favor this could be

during at a time when the industry was

booming and there were more venues for

animation related opportunities or they

just knew people some people were

privileged and had easier having access

to certain resources or not being

affected by circumstances outside of the

medium whereas there are others who had

more obstacles to come through now I

know a lot of people would scoff at me

saying that hey it's all about skill

it's all about work that you produce and

that part is true but I would also argue

look at the industry now and look at how

many hardworking artists there are who

are super skilled super talented who

have the Merit to do good work have been

out of a job for almost over a year so

when I hear other animators talk about

how much work they put into get into

where they're at and they kind of

compare themselves to other artists who

they feel are slacking or can't get a

job it just comes off as ignorant so

look there are many artists in the

animation industry right now that don't

have a job a full-time job and these are

all hardworking highly skilled artists

who may all have varying levels of how

much they hustle or how hard they work

to get to where they're at but the state

of the industry right now is so freaking

weird that there's a huge pool of these

people that don't have work but that's

not to say there are no jobs in the

animation industry here in Los Angeles

there are people not only do they have

jobs but they have multiple jobs doing

freelance left and right while having a

full-time job on top it's because these

people people have connections from past

experiences and they have an established

Network in most cases you have to reach

out to people to get work or sometimes

someone that you've worked with

recommends you for a project and that's

how you can get an opportunity to be

truthful to you guys there was a time

where I didn't update my portfolio for

many years but that's also because every

time I wrapped on a project I was

recommended to another project or I

would be placed into a new production

without having to show my portfolio to

prove that I was capable of it and a

part of that is because I had

connections and I had a network from

previous experiences so in that regard I

had a bit of luck and I will acknowledge

that but have I also had some bad luck

absolutely and as we've established bad

luck and luck these are all factors that

are out of your control so for me for

example I've been in multiple canceled

projects that I've been involved with

and these were feature films that had a

lot of potential but because of Studio

interference or some other reason those

projects would get shelv there were

times where I had these really cool

amazing opportunities that would be a

boost in my career but I couldn't take

it because they found out that I had a

Visa a Visa that they weren't willing to

work with like when I was working on

bluee Samurai for example I thought it

was going to be Niche and kind of Fade

Into Obscurity I'm glad I was wrong by

the way it became an Emmy award-winning

show that won multiple Awards a lot of

people were talking about it I joined

the show because I was already internal

with Netflix and I had friends that

recommended me with Invincible I had a

friend that became a director on that

show and he asked me if I wanted to

become a part of that production despite

my skill level being established in the

community definitely helped my chances

these were projects to have people that

I've worked with in the past or that are

friends of mine who would actually

recommend me to be a part of the

production that they were in you can

call it nepotism but if you think about

it that's how many Industries work it's

about knowing the right people or being

in the right community and if you

already have a working relationship with

someone in the past and they want to

bring you in the expectations are

already set now going back to the topic

of canceled projects or projects that

failed there are a lot of Highly skilled

and hardworking artists that have been

in similar situations and I do believe

that their careers would have been

different if these projects that they

worked on kicked off I think I'm running

out of advice to give to people trying

to break into the animation industry or

just general animation advice I could

give because the more I Venture into

this industry in this medium the less I

know and I find myself repeating the

same piece of advice over and over again

with just different wording advice is

hard to give because I do not want to

come off as ignorant but the way I would

approach this is that it's me giving

advice to myself and what I would do the

first one I'd recommend is to build up

your luck Factor so I'm going to talk

about things that are realistic and that

a lot of people can do so things like

networking building connections taking

initiative to be part of communities or

community events and of course these are

skills of their own a lot of the

opportunities I got were because of

people that I've worked with in the past

recommended me for future roles or

people that I met at an event or at

certain communities wanted to

collaborate with me or work with me call

it knowing the right people call it

nepotism this is an industry that

depends on the relationships with other

artists and creators so some people

build connections through going to

school and school is expensive so I

would recommend if you wanted to go to

an educational space with a lot of

students and teachers I would say look

at online workshops or local work shops

and it's something that's very common

here in La a lot of people go to

Workshop style schools instead of whole

degrees and here in La a lot of those

Workshop classes are held by teachers

that are currently working in an

industry and that could be a way for you

to make that connection with the

teachers and your classmates who may be

your future co-workers look into online

communities like Discord servers and I

think a lot of people get their anime

work through Discord servers as well I

would also encourage you to just keep

building your skills and your voice

skills are like jaason ship or how you

execute certain things or how you

utilize a technique or methodology the

way I would talk about voice is like

themes you want to explore subject

matter that you want to talk about like

when you see people's personal art you

kind of get a sense that there's a sort

of theme or sort of vibe that they're

going for and it's prevalent in a lot of

their art so besides skill also explore

your voice explore subject matter that

feel genuine to you explore themes ideas

and motives that reflect you as a person

when your skills and voice become unique

and strong there will there will be

higher chances of people knowing who you

are you being unique and them reaching

out to you I do think that still working

on your own voice and your own skills

are good habits that continue over time

and is still very valuable I personally

don't think that I would have gotten

work in my earlier days just with my

story portfolio alone I got it through

my own student films I got it through my

own personal work so if you're off

making personal work I recommend you to

think about characters and story putting

them in scenarios you know making little

Comics or narrative pieces and if you're

an animator make animation tests

regarding your characters or your

stories make a short film maybe

storyboard it make an animatic of it

edit it put it to music put it to sound

it shows the type of stuff that you're

into and I think that's just as valuable

as skill so I would be careful listening

to people who say they got to where

they're at because they worked super

hard and did more than what was expected

of them first of all I think it's kind

of weird to measure what is considered

hard work because to some people a lot

of the definition of what hard work is

is different maybe the person talking

about how much they hustled or how hard

they worked it to get the opportunity

that they wanted maybe it was a good

time for the industry maybe things were

looking good or the landscape was

different some people may have had

circumstances that gave them way more

obstacles whether the artist is disabled

or their foreigners trying to secure a

Visa and for people who went through the

Visa process of trying to like secure

that it's super restricting or

other people with rough luck there was a

time I had to talk about how much I was

struggling or how much work I put into

something but then I was told I wasn't

doing it right I wasn't doing enough or

that people would tell me if they were

me they would have done it completely

differently now the point I'm trying to

make is that I'm not here to say hard

work is useless and I'm not a fan of

people who use their bad luck to

generalize their failings in the

industry because I personally also think

that it's not a good look some people

may have been privileged or had good

luck some people not so much some people

will work hard to get what they want

some people will work hard and not get

what they want life isn't fair but can

it build great productive habits and

open you doors absolutely and even when

I had friends that brought me onto the

same production as they were in it's not

just because I was friends with them

they know my work history they know that

I can turn in work in time and they know

I can put in the work they also saw me

appropriate for the type of show that

they were in now going back to the

conversation of hard work or working

hard or whatever that is if you feel

like you working hard or hustling gives

you a sense of purpose I'm in full

support of that I'm kind of like that

too and I'm always doing something on

the side outside of my full-time job

because I feel like there's a part of

that that is kind of self-fulfilling as

jhead guaris once said on his Twitter

hard work can increase your luck Factor

not only does it make you stand out and

that people will reach out to you for

certain opportunities but it also builds

like productive habits for yourself and

that's the thing you should just do

stuff for yourself and that type of

stuff can transcend into other parts in

your life so whether you're given good

luck or you have to deal with hard work

it's about how you decide to utilize

that anyways that's all by interested in

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