Professional Documents

Hello again, friends! This post is doubling as a presentation I'm giving at my alma mater university for the Animation and VFX students there. I was invited to give a talk on resumes, websites, and professional documents in general. I decided to make little graphics to put in my presentation. Some of the tips in this post are more specific to animation-based work, but I feel that a good portion of what I cover can be applied to other professional fields and presenting ones' self in a polished manner. ​

DISCLAIMER: The information in this post is a collection of advice I've gathered from industry professionals, workshops, and my own personal experience. Feel free to pick and choose what resonates with you and leave behind what doesn't!

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Websites

A website hosts your curated and professional work, including reels, portfolios, and other portfolio links.
It also provides a platform for your contact information and social media links.

Structure

For free website building, I would suggest Weebly over Wix for free websites. This blog is created on Weebly, along with my portfolio site and travel sites! Squarespace and wordpress are also common, but I have not tried them out myself. ​Look at websites for professional artists you admire! See how they lay out their information and what info they include! (same goes for portfolios!)

Keep your ABOUT ME section professional! Look at example blurbs from other artists!
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"So-and-so has been drawing since the womb and watched every Disney movie etc etc etc....." 

This statement is not original, unfortunately. BUT THAT DOES NOT INVALIDATE THE ORIGIN OF YOUR PASSION! Rather than talking about the earliest days of your interest, consider talking about how your interest in art became a professional endeavor. This will probably lead you to a more unique about me statement. 

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Social Media

Post feed-based current and recent art, sketches, things you'd like to share with others.
Interact with other artists and see other current work!

Structure

Consider having professional and private accounts! Especially if you want to work in children's entertainment, this might be a good idea for you. Use your professional social media accounts for posting artwork and connecting with other artists. Have your private accounts protected and use them...however you want! Beyond filtering out ranting/venting etc, having a professional account means you have a consistent stream of art-related content with no thematic breaks. Once again, this is up to your own personal discretion, and there are many different approaches to managing social media. 
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Posting Habits

- Have your own art as your profile picture (at least) and header image if possible! 
- Make sure at least one form of contact (website, email) is displayed in your description. 

How you post can make a big difference in the growth of your following. ​
Experiment with when/how/what you post and find what works for you.  
Below are some tips from a comics workshop I attended, for some soft goals for staying active in the algorithms! 

TWITTER

• around 3 original tweets a week
• 5 RT's of other artists per week
• Follow at least 200 people
• Post in the afternoon to evening. 
• Hashtagging isn't as important, but look out for # events like #Inktober! 
• Pinned tweet is a mini portfolio! 4 pieces of art, and all contact info! ​​

INSTAGRAM

• around 1 original post a week
• Like the posts of other artists! 
• Post stories of WIPs/sketching! 
• Hashtags can make a difference!
• You can separate hashtags from your caption with periods and hitting enter.
• Lunchtime or evenings are the best time to post! 

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USERNAMES

A username is a consistent way to identify yourself and what you do/make across multiple forms of media. 

Structure

​Short and specific does the trick! JaneDoeArt / JaneDoe / JaneDoeDraws / JaneDoeAnimates -- something with your first/last name is a solid start for username ideas. If you already have an artist handle or moniker, use that! Consider adding art/draws/etc onto it to connect the account to the kind of content you post. 

 Identity & Profile Descriptions

Put some time and consideration into what username you choose. 
​It's okay to not know what you want to do yet. It's okay to not have the perfect label for your profession!
​Many social media sites allow you to change your username.

It IS cool to describe yourself as a student (animation student, VFX student, etc).

But, I strongly advise against using "aspiring" in your bios/descriptions!

• "Aspiring" is a synonym for "would-be" and feels wishy washy/non-specific. 
• "STUDENT" denotes someone who is actively applying themselves to learn a trade.

Once again, look at examples across social media! Look at the accounts of artists you admire, or artists who are working in your desired field. How do they describe themselves?

Emails

• Consider creating a professional email seperate from your school email if you're still a student. 
• Respond to emails promptly and politely.
• Create a simple signature that always appears at the bottom with your profession label and website URL.
• ex Animator & Illustrator / hoodiekid.com

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Resume

Resumes show work experience, education, proficiencies, any honors, and contact information.
Even if the job isn't in the art field, connect how it makes you a good EMPLOYEE.

Structure

I suggest gathering all of your information as a plain text document. Then, draw some thumbnails and play around with the space certain sections take up. If possible, try out photoshop for non-linear text arrangement and fine-tune your spacing. If you don't have access to photoshop, consider using text boxes in Google Docs rather than inline text.  Also, don't be afraid to change parts of your resume structure based on where you're applying. 

• MAKE SURE YOUR RESUME IS EASY TO READ.
• Pick a consistent, clean font or font family. OpenSans!!
• Your contact info should be easy to find.
• SHORT and SPECIFIC does the trick for job descriptions.
• Consider putting a couple of details per job entry if you're a student or recent grad. What kind of work did you do at this position? 

XP / Skills Bar Charts ...

They look pretty, but they're not specific and they serve very little purpose. What does 4/5 dots mean? Percentage? Years? Confidence level? It's hard to say and not helpful.
At a glance, a resume should say what you're PROFICIENT in. I would save the specifics of your amount of experience in a program for the interview, where you can better put into words the things you're familiar or unfamiliar with. 

• Only list programs and skills you're confident working in.
• For student/intern resumes, consider a list for programs you are currently learning. This doesn't suggest mastery, but it does show that you're taking steps to learn a new skill. 
• Operating systems like Windows and information processing like Microsoft Office are more or less required for most studio and office jobs, so I don't think they're necessary to include on a resume. 

Interests

Include an interest section at your own risk! 
​The point of an interest section is to show your versatility or give a taste of your personality/hobbies.
So, interests you include should be activities outside or adjacent to your art career. Be sure to be specific and concise!

• "Music" is not specific. "Playing acoustic guitar" is.
• "Art"  is not outside your animation career. "Tabletop games" is adjacent to storytelling, and may count more towards studios that work in games versus ones that don't.  

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Portfolio

A portfolio demonstrates the work you have created that best showcases your skill towards a specific profession or ability. 
​RARELY does one portfolio work for every purpose! Don't be afraid to make multiple versions tailored to what you're applying for.

Project Based

Time-Based

Profession Based

Show a collection of work all done for the same project/goal/story/theme.

​Show a collection of work from the past year, four years of college, etc.

Show a collection of work all done for the same kind of position.

Reels
A reel shows work that needs to be turned around (models) or viewed in motion (animation)
Here are some tips from my Pixar portfolio review:

• Make sure your animation tests have visual context and story.
• Avoid grid bgs and lambert props - throw bgs and colors on props.
• Make sure nothing goes on for too long. Leave the viewer wanting more.
• Create different reels for specific studios; they only need to be 4-5 shots long.

Structure

My advice when it comes to structure is to arrange your artwork from
​what greatest shows YOUR STRENGTH in your PORTFOLIO FOCUS to what best shows your VERSATILITY.

Character Design Portfolio ex.

• Best polished character designs
• Character design sketches
• Life drawing of people
• Figure drawing
• Animal drawing

Game Animation Reel ex.

• Combat animations
• Walk/run cycles and blends
• Animal mechanics studies
• Human mechanics studies
• Stop motion claymation

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Interviews

Interviews are a chance for you to showcase your interpersonal skills and preparedness for a potential job.
​They may be done in person, on the phone or over video chat. 

Structure

Interviews are a chance to show your passion and proffesional polish, so you should give yourself a chance to shine by PREPARING! My biggest advice for job interviews is to make a list of questions and practice giving answers. Have your friends give you mock interviews! Get used to answering some of the usual questions, especially the dreaded "Tell me a little about yourself!" 

Some additional general tips:

• Have a couple of questions prepared to ask the interviewee about the position/company. 
• Arrive early to account for parking/finding your way inside the building if need be. 
• Bring a copy of your resume just in case. 
• Bring some business cards! 

Find ways to talk about studio properties in a passionate, but professional way!

Especially in entertainment, studios like to hear that you're a fan of their properties. For some studios, participation in their content (like games) is a huge bonus in their consideration. It's important to show enthusiasm for the job you're interviewing for and the content that job will interact with.

​However, the pitfall in entertainment (especially children's entertainment) is speaking in a manner that is more fitting of a fan than a professional artist. My biggest recommendation for this situation is to think critically before an interview about why, as an artist, you connect with certain media. Being able to point out an aspect of production that makes you enjoy a certain show or game can be helpful to tie this down. ​

Very passionate, but not professional or polished. 

"ZOMMGGG Starfire is my WIFE"

Passionate but more professional: 

"I connected with Starfire in Teen Titans. The writing in the show was impactful to me"

Regardless, try your best to read the room and the energy when you start an interview! Some interviews will feel very formal, and others less so. Being prepared with the kind of questions you may answer will help to adapt to either situation.

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Business Cards

Structure

Business cards provide a quick format to exchange contact information at conventions, interviews, or chance meetings. When traveling and meeting people I usually end up giving out at least 1 business card to stay in touch with someone! It's worth it to have a couple tucked in your wallet. 

​Staples sells double-sided businss cards for extra cheap. For well-made cards, I suggest Moo. Generally, when I make business cards, I make one side with my best artwork or logo, one side with all of my contact information. 
​Make sure your business card is CLEAR AND EASY TO READ! And proofread that spelling several times before you send it to print! ​

Suggested Info to Include

• NAME.
• INTEREST/PROFESSION.
• GRAD YEAR. (if student)
• EMAIL.
• SOCIAL MEDIA.
• WEBSITE.

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Invoices & Pricing

A pricing sheet provides a CLEAR REFERENCE for yourself to calculate the labor of your own work and how much you charge for said work. Some people post their pricing publicly, and others only share pricing upon quote inquiries. Your pricing sheet should be updated regularly. 

An invoice is a document of the transaction occurring between you and your client. It is your place to make all stipulations of your work order explicitly clear. Invoices create a source of accountability for both the artist and the client. 

Structure

When creating a pricing sheet, look at how much people are charging for that skill or experience level! Browse on twitter, tumblr and instagram in tags like #commissionsopen. 

Digest this information, and then do not undercharge for your work. Valuing yourself fairly makes conditions better for the whole art community! ​And make sure to re-evaluate your pricing at least every year as your skill grows.

Regardless of whether or not you share your commission prices online, I'd suggest making your own personal guide for how you price your work, be it an hourly rate, rate per characters, color for illustration, etc. Use this guide as a reference to make sure you price yourself fairly. 

​For commissions, I have my own invoice form I fill out and send to clients. I also highly suggest Mishlist, which allows you to make several commission types for people to submit via the website. Money processing services like Paypal also have their own invoice-makers.
​It is worth it to get used to documenting and keeping track of your freelance work early on! 

​Invoice should at least include:

• Your contact information
• Your payment information
• Client's contact information
• Description of work
• Pricing and pricing breakdown.
• Due date.
• Date of creation of invoice.

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Conclusion

This was a lot to cover! If you made it to the very end, congrats! I hope some of you reading this found this information useful, or at least interesting. As I said in my disclaimer at the beginning, there are many different ways of going about professional documents. To me, there is something very satisfying about making a cohesive set of work that showcases professional skills to the world. The art and animation communities are very unique, so if you have an insight you'd like to share with me, feel free to send me an email! 
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