The Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling

The ArtCast:

Artistic insight and career advice from the most inspiring voices in animation, games, vfx, comics and new media. Hosted by Chris Oatley and The Oatley Academy Team.

Books That Will Change Your Creative Process (Best Of 2017) :: ArtCast #106

The term “Concept Art,” brings to mind a specific kind of imagery. …but isn’t that a problem…?

What if the struggle of learning Perspective Drawing simply isn’t worth it…?

How can an animated TV show be deeply autobiographical for it’s creator and still have huge, mainstream appeal?

Maybe what other people think of your art matters less than you think…

Today, in celebration of a New Year, The Oatley Academy Team shares their favorite books of 2017. …books that will almost certainly change your creative process.

Click through to listen…

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Quick, Draw! The Making Of The Best Art Bag In The World (Part 3) :: ArtCast #105

BestArtBag3_EtchrArtSatchel_iPadThree years ago, Darren Yeow, a successful, self-taught Concept Artist created The Nomad Art Satchel: a product we didn’t know we wanted, yet it changed the lives of artists around the globe. The bag’s unique tool storage system and thoughtful design made it possible to sketch anywhere. It’s simply the best art bag in the world.

Now, the Kickstarter for The Nomad’s successor, The Etchr Art Satchel, made over $200,000 within the first 24 hours of launch…

…and we’ve been recording the whole story, since the very beginning…

In part two, we checked in with Darren as he was choosing business partners who could help turn his one-man passion project into an international enterprise.

Now, in our last installment, we meet Darren’s business partner Simon Frisby, and they share how they’ve built a business with “changing the world” as a founding concept…

Join us today as we discuss:

  • Why Darren wasn’t satisfied with the Nomad’s big success – and how he made it bigger…
  • How to build collaborations that actually work.
  • The surprising truth behind llama awesomeness.
  • Marketing strategies for artists – that aren’t just numbers and research.
  • Choosing the perfect name for your project.
  • Creating genuine human connections through… memes?

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Quick, Draw! The Making Of The Best Art Bag In The World (Part 2) :: ArtCast #104

Etchr_ArtSatchel2_Watercolor

Three years ago, Darren Yeow, a successful, self-taught Concept Artist created The Nomad Art Satchel: a product we didn’t know we wanted, yet it changed the lives of artists around the globe.

Now, the Kickstarter for The Nomad’s successor, The Etchr Art Satchel, made over $200,000 within the first 24 hours of launch…

…and we’ve been recording the whole story, since the very beginning…

In our first installment, we checked in with Darren in 2015, shortly after the successful Kickstarter for The Nomad.

Now, in part two, we wrap up our 2015 interview and jump forward in time to February 2017, while Darren is preparing to launch the reinvented Etchr Art Satchel…

In this episode, we discuss:

  • What is your idea worth?
  • Why you should prepare before opportunity knocks.
  • Is resilience a skill you can develop?
  • Reducing stress and overwhelm during the launch of your Kickstarter.
  • Balancing your Kickstarter project and freelance work.
  • How to get investors for your business.
  • How Darren future-proofed his career.

[Read more…]

Quick, Draw! The Making Of The Best Art Bag In The World (Part 1) :: ArtCast #103

Etchr_Art_Satchel

Three years ago, Darren Yeow, a successful, self-taught Concept Artist created The Nomad Art Satchel: a product we didn’t know we wanted, yet it changed the lives of artists around the globe. The bag’s unique tool storage system and thoughtful design made it possible to sketch anywhere. It’s simply the best art bag in the world.

Now, the Kickstarter for The Nomad’s successor, The Etchr Art Satchel, made over $200,000 within the first 24 hours of launch…

…and we’ve been recording the whole story, checking in with Darren since 2015…

In our first installment, Ânia Marcos – now a Producer on The ArtCast – and Darren discuss:

  • Learning from every job you get, even if it’s a little sketchy.
  • What makes The Nomad uniquely perfect for artists.
  • Building an art career in spite of a late start.
  • Mastering the skills you need to be a successful artist, without stepping foot in a classroom.
  • When and why you should compare yourself with other artists.
  • How to keep going when your plans fall apart…

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How To Promote Your Picture Book with Jake Parker :: Stories Unbound #20

StoriesUnbound-JakeParkerBooks-1280wideIn today’s conversation with Jake Parker (Author/ Illustrator of Little Bot and Sparrow, Creator of Inktober) we discuss different ideas for promoting your picture book:

  • When should you start growing an audience? (Sooner than you think!)
  • Why trust is essential for growing an audience.
  • Should your project have its own website?
  • The importance of school visits.
  • …and Shawna shares her personal tip to avoid overwhelm!

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Creative Bravery: Why Animation Pros Sarah Marino and Jenn Ely Thrive In A Challenging Industry :: ArtCast #102

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This month, Sarah Marino (Color Supervisor at Nickelodeon), Jenn Ely (Production Designer for House Special, Visual Development Artist for Dreamworks) and I are teaching a new online workshop called First Flight: How To Create Your New Career In Visual Development.

I invited them both to join me here on The ArtCast to promote First Flight and talk about how they achieved such significant success in their animation careers…

Episode Highlights include:

  • Turning fear into faith.
  • Becoming more professional by de-emotionalizing your creative process.
  • Why we stopped caring about job titles.
  • How fear cost Jenn a a big opportunity (and why she’ll never make that mistake again).
  • Why Sarah had to climb through a human hamster wheel. (That’s not a metaphor.)
  • Inspiring gumball machines and the healing power of ice cream.
  • Is a successful animation career worth the cost?

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Interview with Animation Art Director Ryan Carlson (Part 2) :: ArtCast #101

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In the previous episode, we met Ryan Carlson – my Disney mentor and the person without whom The Oatley Academy may never have happened…

Now in part two, Ryan talks about:

  • Working on The Iron Giant and what he learned from Brad Bird.
  • His advancement from Assistant Effects Animator to Art Director.
  • How to lead a team of creative professionals well.
  • The greatest gift an aspiring animation professional can offer an Art Director…

PLUS: The ArtCast: Behind The Scenes with the OA Team!

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Interview with Animation Art Director Ryan Carlson (Part 1) :: ArtCast #100

RyanCarlson_PleinAirBarn_AC100

In many ways, I owe my career to  Ryan Carlson.

He played a key role in giving me my first break at Disney, taught me more about painting than any other individual and he, more than anyone for whom I’ve worked, has intentionally helped to advance my career.

…and considering that The ArtCast probably wouldn’t exist without my time at Disney, and The Oatley Academy only exists because of The ArtCast, The Oatley Academy might not exist without Ryan…

In this episode we discuss:

  • Why failure is a necessary part of the creative process.
  • What makes a good Art Director?
  • Ryan’s process for creating a Color Script for an animated feature film…

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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.