Ryan Woodward

It was an amazing Wednesday to have the pleasure of meeting storyboard artist, special effects artist, and animator Ryan Woodward. Drawing with him on the beach in the morning, then hearing his presentation that night - I learned quite a bit about him, what he does, and how he does it. He started his presentation with a bit of information about himself, how he had broken into the business with no degree as a special effects artist for Warner Brothers. Then went onto explaining the story of how he went from an underdog doing inbetweens to doing storyboards and his own animation.

One piece of advice I really grabbed while listening to him talk was how to be an opportunist. He has a tendency to take on jobs just to learn how to do them. He said its a great way to learn more and it empowers you for future projects. For example, when he started to do animatics, he had no idea how to do After Effects. But when he got the call to do one, he took it, spent all weekend long learning, and put all his effort into doing his best even if it caused late nights. Being a Motion Designer, I think we are all opportunists  We all want to learn more, experience more, especially with the industry we're in today. It helps us solve problems for our clients or our employers or our projects. The more we know, the more opportunities we take, the better and more empowered we are in our own futures.

I also think a very important thing Ryan had to say that I will note is how not to become too attached to everything you do. Artists have a very deep bond with everything we create and it destroys us to see it get taken apart or turned down by other people. This industry is brutal and it will challenge us as artists. Not everything we create is worth what we think it is. Its a very good idea to detach ourselves from the projects we do, very good advice and warning.

The last thing that I really will remember Ryan talking about is how we really need to recognize when something interesting or big happens to us. We need to dig deep into those feelings or that moment and actually create something out of it. Its what we do as artists, visualize important moving emotions for others.