The Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling

The OA Backstage Pass:

Available exclusively to students, The Backstage Pass includes our Escape From Art Jail series, live portfolio review sessions, hour-after-hour of extended interviews from The ArtCast, The Paper Wings Show and MORE!

Extended Interview: Animation Layout & Visual Development Artist, John Nevarez

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In the podcast version of our interview with John Nevarez (Disney, Sony, Illumination, Pixar) he gave us a masterclass in gesture drawing technique and shared his secret to staying sane in this crazy business.

This Extended Interview Includes Over 50 Minutes Of Extra Audio:

  • When is a painting finished?
  • John’s creative influences.
  • Math as the “safer” career path.
  • Seizing opportunities.
  • When you’re afraid to pursue your dreams…
  • Outsourcing and the future of the animation industry.
  • Versatility.
  • Giving life to your drawings.
  • Why and how John left Pixar to be a full-time freelancer…

[Read more…]

Have You Lost Your Creative Identity? Personal Brand Development Case Study (Part 3) :: EAJ #26

HannahDaigle-Glowbug-1024x537In our previous Escape From Art Jail series, we learned how three successful artists developed their personal brand.

Now Edge and Sarah Mills (Social Media Manager and Magic Box Coach) help Escape From Art Jail student Hannah Daigle develop her own personal brand and present herself as a competitive professional in the Animation industry.

Questions Answered:

  • How do I keep depression from stalling my work?
  • How do I punch social anxiety in the face?
  • When can goal-setting be harmful?
  • Will I be blacklisted in the industry?

[Read more…]

Extended Interview: Creature Designer & Fantasy Illustrator Brynn Metheney

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Brynn Metheney puts the “dragons” in Dungeons & Dragons.

While many of her animals come from imaginary worlds, they look like they could exist in this one…

In part one of the podcast version of this interview, we talked about Brynn’s childhood in the desert, how her father’s job as an engineer helped her understand creature design, and how she makes her animals feel so real…

In part two, Brynn shared some nitty gritty drawing tips and practical ways to improve when your artistic growth seems slow.

This Extended Interview Includes Over 40 Minutes Of Extra Audio:

  • Drawing the human skull.
  • Horses!
  • Stylized animal anatomy in 101 Dalmatians.
  • Perfectionism & Introversion.
  • Being bullied as a kid.
  • Coping with social anxiety.
  • Why artists shouldn’t sacrifice sleep and food.
  • Creating an ideal home studio.
  • When artists take themselves too seriously.

[Read more…]

Is Social Media Ruining Your Art?

ChrisOatley_OctopusSocialMedia Is social media empowering your best work? …or is it just a distraction? Are likes and shares actually toxic to your creativity?

In this panel discussion we help you maintain a healthy relationship to social media.

Panelists: Ejiwa (Edge) Ebenebe (Technology Director for The Oatley Academy), Adam Westbrook (creator of the ‘Delve Video Essays’), Amanda Duarte (co-founder and artist at Limetown Studios,) and Magic Box coach Melissa Dow.

Questions Answered:

  • When is giving up social media the best decision?
  • How do you break out of the addictive endless scroll trap?
  • What ways do you use to reduce the presence of social media in your life?
  • How do you deal with the feeling of discouragement?
  • How  do you incorporate social media into your artistic life, without sacrificing productivity?

[Read more…]

Planning A Career As A Creature Designer: Personal Brand Development Case Study (Part 2) :: EAJ #25

SarahDahlinger_SeenAndUnseenCover_EAJMarch In our previous Escape From Art Jail series, we learned how three successful artists developed their personal brand.

Now, Chris and Edge help Escape From Art Jail student Sarah Dahlinger develop her own personal brand and present herself as a competitive professional in the creature design industry.

Questions Answered:

  • How do you handle organizing a diverse portfolio?
  • Should I use international networking to expand my client pool?
  • What happens when funding dries up from potential clients?

 

[Read more…]

Creating Stories From Emotional Honesty

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Have you ever asked yourself what to write about?

Truth is, we all have a huge library of ideas available to us…

If we only dare to look inside of ourselves.

Together with Story Group Hosts Robin and Zi, Maike takes us for a deep dive into honesty, vulnerability and how to mine your personal history for inspiration without getting overwhelmed…

Questions Adressed:

  • How do I know I’m being honest with myself?
  • How can I avoid offending loved ones with my honesty?
  • What if my emotions change over time?
  • What are the benefits of keeping a journal?

[Read more…]

Wait… You Mean There’s No Money In Comics?! Personal Brand Development Case Study (Part 1) :: EAJ #24

JoieFoster-Clucked In our previous Escape From Art Jail series, we learned how three successful artists developed their personal brand.

Now, Chris and Edge help Escape From Art Jail student Joie Foster develop her own personal brand and present herself as a competitive professional in the comics industry.

Questions Answered:

  • Should I branch out to diversify my income streams?
  • Are agents useful for comic creators?
  • Can I rely on crowdfunding to make a living?
  • How effective is networking when I don’t live near my clients?
  • Should I represent myself with an alias or pseudonym?

[Read more…]

Lessons From 2016 With Team OA

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For The Oatley Academy Team, 2016 was our most intense, productive and collaborative year yet.

In this New Year Celebration we share insights gained from the hard lessons and new discoveries we experienced in the past year.

PANELISTS: Ânia Marcos (Community Director), Ejiwa Ebenebe (Technology Director), Érika Casab (Support Ninja), Jessica Doll and Lauren Morse (Hosts of DIY Animation), Maike Venhofen (Storytellers’ Summit Instructor), Shawna JC Tenney (Host of Stories Unbound) and Chris Oatley (Director for The Oatley Academy).
[Read more…]

Finding What You Want To Say

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Artists have always been conveyors of nuance and subtlety…
Artists have always been a culture’s conscience …
Today our job as artists has not changed.

Chris Oatley, along with Storytellers’ Summit hosts Adam Westbrook and Maike Venhofen face a difficult question all artists have:

‘How can we create honest art and stories in a time of so many cultural divides?’

Questions Addressed:

  • How do I dramatize what I want to say?
  • How do I avoid demonizing people with different ideologies than mine?
  • Are villains just characters that don’t agree with the hero?
  • Should I dramatize an uncomfortable theme in such a way that is comfortable for my audience?

[Read more…]

Connect With Us:

Whether you’re pursuing concept art, illustration, character design, storyboarding, comics, animation or children’s books, The Oatley Academy will help you become a professional Visual Storyteller. Please reach out! We would love to connect with you.