SHOULD I GET AN MFA????

[lazylinejane]

I'll try to make my description brief.

Senior in undergrad, will be graduating with a BA in Theatre. I'll probably be working this summer, trying to find tech-based theatre jobs (costumes, scenic painting, set design).

I was primarily focused on acting these past four years. My goal was to be an actor since I was 16. This past semester it dawned on me that my real passion isn't acting, but it's storytelling and drawing.

I'm coming out of college with an average amount of debt (still a lot) and I'm trying to find some sort of job to pay it off. At the same time, I am adamant about teaching myself ToonBoom & as much graphic design/web development as possible. I know Photoshop pretty well.

i know I'm very behind on those who've gotten BFAs in Fine Art or Animation. However, I am hellbent, hellbent to work for the film/animation world.

I guess pros I have in this situation is that I'm an avid moviewatcher and I'm far more disciplined when I teach myself things.

In my situation, is it better to

a) Work on my own to build up a portfolio and reel? And just get as much experience as possible?

OR

B. Work on my own to build up a portfolio and reel? and THEN get an MFA?

I'm bypassing the BFA route because to me, an MFA is more useful as I can eventually teach, something I'm really considering.

WHAT SHOULD I DO IN TODAY'S WORLD?!

Edited April 10, 2012 by lazylinejane

[OutWest]

Hi. Do you have awesome drawing skills at this point? Have you had any 3D training? These two things are the most basic and you can take intro courses at Comm Colleges to start out and see if you really want to do this. Also, what kind of animation are you interested in? The world of film animation is huge and you can do things such as designing the architectural elements for films (I have a friend that works for Disney doing jsut that because he orig. had an architecture background)...vary rarely is somebody going to pop into film aniimation and start doing characters...the advanced people do that kind of thing. You'd probably start out being a "rigger" (prepping the models so that they can be animated) and do long hours in the Grunt Work Department befroe you ever see anything "cool". Tons of people want to do what you do, so it takes time to break in!

You should also look into smaller houses (not just the Disney's out there) that do killer 3D work such as www.motiontheory.com , www.thisisdk.com , www.rga , www.akqa.com , and places of this nature that do music videos and TV commercials. Many people cut their teeth here (I know about this kind of thing because I used to be an advertising television art director in LA and we used to hire people such as these guys for spots)...also, don't forget about the video game industry as well.

Anyway, good luck!

P.S., as far as chools go, you can get into animation programs w/o an animation BA/BFA, but you should have at least some intermediate level in 3D programs (Maya, 3D Studio Max, etc) and be able to draw the hell out of anything...If you do this training at Comm Colleges and a ton on your own (I do NOT recommend expensive trade schools for training) for a year and work on your reel/book, you might have an excellent shot...what schools are you interested in? CalArts and Art Center in LA are, of course, top notch, but also check out USC's animation in the Cinema school (they have terrific connections to the gaming world).

Edited April 11, 2012 by OutWest