Hey Girl!! Thank you so much!! Emily’s are the best and you seem especially wonderful. I always have a hard time with this question, but am going to attempt an answer without giving you a novel.
Here’s the best advice I ever got before going to college: The school is only as good as what you make of it. Woodbury was the best choice for me, but I would not recommend it to everyone. The biggest reason I went is because it’s located in Burbank. In animation, your talent is very important, but who you know is equally as such. Since Burbank is the heart of the industry that was my ultimate deciding factor! I was right in that choice because in school I had three different internships and am now working on Adventure Time. People always ask me how I got so lucky, but that’s not it at all. I’ve definitely been lucky and met some incredible people, but luck can only do so much in animation. I put myself out there the entire time, I was always did my own thing, followed my own path, and I worked my butt off every single day. If you want to succeed you HAVE to do that an any school you go to. Woodbury is really expensive (like most animation schools) so the only way to get your money’s worth is to really dedicate yourself. Study outside class, work on side projects, get inspired by other art and artists, draw constantly, and most importantly don’t treat your class projects like just another homework assignment. It has driven me crazy since my first semester when kids would be like “Oh well I’m just gonna get it done so I can pass the class.” And I was always like “No! This is what’s going to get you a job later!” Because of this, at Woodbury I felt like I was by myself a lot of the time. Not to mention the faculty support at Woodbury is iffy at best. There are a couple amazingly talented and knowledgeable professors who really know their stuff, and there are a lot who don’t. You gotta find the professors that do and learn everything you can from them. That’s true for any school. If you work hard though then it will be worth it. I was not a very great artist when I came into Woodbury and while I’m still nowhere near where I want to be, I have no idea where I’d be today if it wasn’t for Woodbury.
Hopefully that helps! I have so many thoughts about this that it’s super tough to put it all into one small answer. If you have any other questions please let me know! I’m always happy to let people pick my brain about getting started in animation. :)
