Become a Production-Ready Artist
Hey Past-Me 👋
In a few years, someone gives you a shot at helping make some cool cartoons that kids will grow up on.
It is equally awesome as it is terrifying
...because you're not quite sure you can keep up.
And you're right.
It's tough to keep up, cause you don't even know where to start or what being 'good at your job' actually means.
So, here's a tip:
You need to become a Power Ranger.
(ya, you heard me)
Today's heads up:
The Production Artist Game:
Consistently creating clear and compelling artwork on time and to spec.
Key steps on how to become "Production-Ready"
Here's the game,
To become a Production-Ready Artist you gotta be able to pull this off:
Consistently create clear and compelling artwork on time and in style.
That's how you win!
And these are your rewards:
A command of your craft
A solid working reputation
And (ideally) NOT BEING BROKE 💸
The ability to make cool things and have fun doing it, is always at the forefront, but you gotta know there's a way to facilitate that process and create your own luck.
🧠 Design your character
You gotta know what your goals are. Second, you gotta believe you can pull it off.
Becoming Production-Ready means being able to turn on your artist super powers to get the job done whenever you need to.
You're a professional. This is what you do for a living.
And you have to be trusted to take care of it, because you're playing just one part in this crazy game. In the end you're all trying to make something greater than what you could have done yourselves.
Having a growth mindset (vs a fixed one) is like having a DOUBLE XP BUFF.
It gives you the benefit of seeing challenges as chances to learn, not roadblocks, creating an environment for rapid growth.
To get started, make a list of the types of projects you want to be doing, the skills needed to get there, and work backwards. Start painting backgrounds, designing characters, fantasy, scifi, preschool, whatever.
Practice, fail, learn, share, repeat. You'll level up and leave a trail of awesome art behind you.
Eventually, you'll know what you're capable of, what's expected of you, and can perform whether you feel like it or not.
This gives you the momentum to succeed.
📚 Know your sh*t.
Artists with twice the experience as us have preached the same thing.
"I'll work with anyone, as long as they know their sh*t."
It's about respect for your craft and understanding the role you play on the team.
That includes knowing the ins and outs of what you're expected to create as final artwork and if you don't know, you gotta be willing to learn as fast as possible.
Wide Shot with color key sequence - Responsible for paint only.
The mistake I made was thinking I had to learn everything all at once but you don’t! If you do, it could just lead to burnout and keep you at Level 1, when you coulda been Level 10 if you just focused on one at a time.
For example: if you're a painter, you could focus first on building a 2D Background Portfolio, including paintings in a graphic comic book style, color scripts, establishing shots, and hook-ups. Then build another project in a different style, something even more stylized, maybe without linework and simple shapes only. Continue doing a series of projects in different styles to broaden your range. Rinse and repeat.
Start by studying projects you love and the art they create, down to every pixel, file naming, and layer organization. Then do it for yourself, and create all the art you wish you could be seeing out in the wild.
In order to "know your sh*t" you gotta start somewhere and build a body of work that proves it.
So how do we make that process easy?
🍳 Hone your creative process.
Imagine you run a 5-star food truck with lines going down the block.
If you don't have a way to make those street-sushi-pizza-taco-burgers taste amazing every single time, for every single person in that line, then you'll be outta business.
In our case, making cartoons, if you don't have a reliable process, good luck keeping a job.
So, to get that delicious art out, you need to practice a way of doing things that gets you the results you want day in and day out.
(this is when you discover better ways to do things and you've got a lot to learn.)
You probably have a morning routine you enjoy right?
Wake up
Pick your nose
Brush your teeth
Make breakfast
Don't brush your teeth
Flick the booger
Go to school/work/daycare
That process gets you to where you wanna go.
When you make art, you gotta have a process that works. Luckily it's pretty intuitive, it just helps when you turn it into a simple checklist.
Here's one that never lets me down:
Capture ideas and inspiration
Design a plan
Execute the plan
Reflect on what worked and what didn’t
Revise what didn’t work
So try this at every level.
Develop personal projects to practice them deeply and become a master of your craft. Who doesn't wanna be good at what they do?
Or you could just start with a blank page and hope whatever comes out gets approved.
(plz don't)
Develop a creative habit and your process will turn into muscle memory and intuition. And if there's anything else you'd want installed in your brain, it's the production pipeline.
🚰 Know the pipeline and your role in it.
Not every pipeline is the same, but you can mostly count on a variation of this:
Pre-Production: developing the idea
Production: making the idea
Post-Production: finalizing the idea
With different departments playing a key roles in shipping the final product. Some can work independtly of one another, while others completely dependant on another.
Don't make the mistake of never knowing how the sausage is made or risk becoming the weakest link.(👻)
For us, working on the design side of things, Background Painter, Vis Dev Artist, Designer, etc, we're in the pre-production phase.
It's our job to help solve the visual problems of the story and if no one knows what anything looks like, it'll be really hard to tell a story clearly, which is why our work is usually done as early as possible.
So talk to your crew, talk about the pipeline specifics and all roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
Get on the same page and everyone's primed to win.
📢 Communicate clearly and often.
"I need help."
You didn't say it enough, bud. Say it sooner.
Not just asking for help, but being simple, clear, and direct.
We all have a job to do and no one wants to f*ck it up. We all need to eat the next day, so we do our best.
Communicating not only your needs, but your ideas, is crucial for everyone to imagine the same movie they all see in their heads and agree on how to make it a reality.
Since we can't read each other's minds, we all figure out the best way to communicate our ideas to each other the best way we can with the tools we have available to us at any given time, with words/pictures.
Make it easy for yourself:
Be clear on your assignments, what's required, and how you're going to approach it
Speak up when you have questions and do whatever you can to get answers
Let your leads know if you need an extension for whatever reason
Let someone know if
Read your email/messages/requests thoroughly
Be available and reliably responsive
So yeah, don't make stuff in a box alone. We're all in the box together 🙃
And since we're all in it together, the last thing we wanna do is waste each other's time.
⏰ Design your time.
"Oh shit, it's due tomorrow?" (said by Michelangelo while painting the Sistine Chapel)
Time is our most valuable, non-renewable resource.
Use it wisely.
I used to just go with the flow and wing it, until I got the dreaded, "Oh, you're still working on that?". In a production environment, you're on borrowed time. So don't let your time go to waste.
If you wanna never have to say "Oh shit, it's due tomorrow", then make sure you know yourself well enough to get things done on time.
Start here:
Pick a calendar app
Create blocks for different tasks you need to complete (given how long you can/like to focus that's productive)
Stick to the schedule
See how well you did at the end of the day
An actual mock-up of my kind of schedule
Break up your tasks throughout the day, give them a time and place, considering the context of each project and do your best to stick with the schedule.
And whether or not you can pull it off and still look good will let you know if you're a good guesser.
🪵 Manage your resources.
Optimize your process and your resources and you'll become a creative dynamo.
You'll find there are definitely things about your process you'd wish you could automate. (Painters: Like masking.)
If there's a way to save time, money, and energy...do it. The first step is being aware of how much you use.
Don't waste anything 😠
(Growing up from immigrant scarcity mentality gives you +10 advantage here)
The biggest mistake that aspiring artists make is assuming that they have unlimited resources, leading to poor time management and overworking themselves.
Then comes the dreaded 🔥 BURN OUT 🔥
No energy, no will, no art, no money, no food, ☠️. (so we fear)
Instead, have a way to know where these are at: Time, Money, Energy, Skills, Knowledge, Connections, (and whatever other resource you have available)
Having a grasp on how much cash you got left to skirt a job drought, or how much time before your deadline, or whether or not you've been sleeping the past few weeks, or if you got up out of your desk at all today...
Knowing where you're at can help keep you cool.
Here's how I do it:
Make sure you have a budget and an emergency fund setup
Know your skills and what tools and techniques are available
Be mindful of your energy throughout the day and take breaks
Make real connections with your teammates
Eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep
Make plans and stick to them for as long as you can
And if you keep it up, you start becoming someone people want around. And if people want you around, you'll be able to stockpile your resources for a rainy day.
But, speaking of people you want around...
🏴☠️ Find your crew.
Here's a simple truth you'll come across in your career.
Projects can be boring/suck, but if the people are great, it's worth it.
So find people you like working with and do your best to keep working together. Bonus points if you share a similar creative vision and want to create projects that aren't boring and don't suck.
Over time, you'll jump from project to project, meeting artists you vibe with. You'll dig how they do things or you just like being around them. You might have the same ideas or similar styles of working.
DON'T LET THESE PEOPLE BE STRANGERS.
So here's what you do:
Share contact information
HANG OUT AND BE FRIENDS
Refer each other for jobs
It's that simple.
Just don't be a jerk and make good work.
The industry is small, everyone knows each other, and chances are you're gonna run into the same people over and over.
It's so much better working with friends.
✅ Show up and show your worth.
Being Production-Ready means you don't back down from the challenge.
You stand out because you're reliable.
You show up. You put in the work. You solve problems.
And you're cool.
We all bring a specific value to the team. Make sure you live up to it.
It's not just your portfolio that sets you apart, but your character. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your areas of expertise.
You might be a vet with decades of experience, with a clear cut process that gets the job done every time.
Or you're the rookie who's rough around the edges but HUNGRY and eager to learn, with fresh ideas daily.
Say you're a character designer, known for making epic giant robots, with a strong understanding of engineering. You think you're gonna be more valuable on a show like Transformers or Dora the Explorer? On top of that, you know your sh*t, you're reliable, and you're just cool to work with?
By understanding the value you bring to a team, you can double down on your strengths and stand out.
But consistency is key.
It's the simplest and toughest thing to do.
Show up.
TL;DR
9 Steps to Become a Production-Ready Artist
Design your character
Know your sh*t
Hone your creative process
Know the pipeline and your role in it
Communicate clearly and often
Design your time
Manage your resources
Find your crew
Show up and show your worth
So how ready do you think you are?
Right now I'm on a quest to become the hero I needed when I was younger.
I didn't know where or how to start my career.
This letter is one of those things I wish I knew.
Hope it helps you.
