[ambelamba]

It doesn't take a degree in transportation design to get to design a truck.
You just sleep with the rigHt person.
The moral of the story? Life is unfair.

But guess what, I am proud of myself because I really started from rock bottom and now I am about to go into the next phase.

I did a couple of projects of large numbers of various sketches(kinda detailed)which could have paid me, ACCORDING TO MR. MIKE BUTKUS(the industry professional), millions of dollars if done for a major studio. How much did I get paid? A thousand bucks for 2 projects.

I did a storyboarding for an entire movie that normally could have paid me 16,000 USD. How much did I get paid? Nothing. I was promised to get paid paltry 500 bucks but got totally screwed.

There's someone out there who got the fat job for a major automotive company manufactures a new SUT by banging the right person. I don't know virtually anybody in the industry. I started from the rock bottom. But guess what? I will make my career path much more meaningful.

And someday I will proudly proclaim that I deserve every single Benjamin I earn. I will.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[cheney]

Not sure if this will count as inspiration, but......

My little brother has dedicated his life, time, and assets to automotive mechanical design. After years of tweaking engines and design specifications for better fual efficiencty, compression, or speed he has finally invented a new air conditioning technology. He is writing up his patent application as we speak and hoping to sell it to a major automotive company. If his technology proves to have zero impact on fuel usage and not use any sort of coolant or other environmental hazard then he should have a winning product backed by street tests on different vehicles. If he is able to sell it for wads of cash he will have nobody to thank but himself. Nobody helped him along as he has spent all his own money made from bartending time and time again.
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http://prettydiff.com/

[ambelamba]

Still there's someone out there getting a high profile design career by sexual acrobatics. Heh... And I guess the future still seems quite bright for...well, you know.

I wandered around for 6 years to get to this stage. You know, once I am fully on the agency's roster, I will not take any break for next 10 years, just to compensate the lost 6 years. I just want to utilize my full potential in art to make a living and have my own family. A loving wife and children.

One thing I am really hoping for the next 10 years is that I would have a chance to proclaim that I am a living proof that American dream is real and still alive. I don't know virtually anybody in the industry. Now I am just putting my toes into the vast ocean.

Even if I was a beautiful woman who's just as hot as say....Kathy Ireland, sleeping with some influential guy to get a high profile job is completely unthinkable. I wanna go through the honest route. And the reward will be more fulfilling....I guess.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[cheney]

I suppose the moral of the story is found in the end goal and where you stand in your journy. Let me demonstrate with two points of view.

A matter of dependancy is the slate that washes cleaner for you. A person who does get a job by sleeping with somebody has their job due to a dependant circumstance rather than a portfolio. As such they can never reapply to another job without sleeping with somebody else or using their original boss to give them a recommendation. If you can get to this spot yourself based upon your merit you are a free person instead of an indentured servent. You can leave at your will if your portfolio got you the job, because it will likely get you other jobs as well.

Perspective is a comparitive circumstance. Don't worry about what the next person is doing. If you are so very busy keeping up with your neighbor then you are a slave to an institution of bondage established by following the career goals of another. Try as you might and do as you are capable. If you cannot get a job to feed yourself than that is tragic but now look at yourself without the comparitive analysis. The more you concentrate on your art and your asperations the more unique skills you will create. You may still be poor, but look where your art is headed and what it might give you if you push it into a new direction or new use. MC Escher was not popular until late into his career when he started teaching. He did not grow up an academic so who would have thought he would ever become a teacher.

My advice is forget the other person who gets the job. Concentrate on your art and your business skills. Don't give up. One day it will happen if you keep trying or you will die.
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http://prettydiff.com/

[Drunken Monkey]

you got to stand up for yourself man,.,

where you the guy who continued doing storyboarding for no money just to get experience? Even though it was costing you? Sharks will eat you if you show weakness. Gotta be strong. Feng and Mullins get payed a pretty penny. How do they manage it?
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[cheney]

feng does it by seeking stable employment with large production shops. He is probably union since he has moved from games to movies.
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http://prettydiff.com/

[Drunken Monkey]

i thought he ran his own studio..
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"A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity" - Sigmund Freud

[matter]

one thing that's certain, even if you're a fine artist like me struggling to speak your own message, for all that we've come to believe about the importance of "good" art in this world, a revolutionary masterpiece of the century wouldn't _matter_ to anyone unless its artist was already *up there* in galleries. an artist's background/position in life appears important as the art and reputation determines whether people r gonna believe u or not, cuz no one really knows what anyone else is talking about till long after they're dead - especially critics imho! who really wants to be a van goh - i dont think he enjoyed his fruitless struggle much himself, even.

to me, i create a masterpiece every time i set down to work. no reason to believe otherwise. the only question then asked is why should _i_ bother to start another piece? but if u want other people to appreciate u as a freelance, then its not just about the work. its bout networking, making connections, finding people, being persistent with opening communication and building your own bridges and insisting on your rights as an artist to gain respect in a pretty saturated industry. but thats the way of the times for everybody - making [healthy] connections. my dad makes 6 figures a year doing just that with businesses of all kinds, large and small who need dependable people in high places.
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Sorry! for any digressive, pompous, or just plain off-topic rants.

[ambelamba]

Sometimes it's good to be a woman if you wanna advance your career. Hope you guys get what I mean.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[balistic]

[gLitterbug]

I don�t know how much of what you wrote is influenced by a current wave of frustration, but reading through all this makes me wonder.

You state those projects on which you could have earned a small fortune but instead got nothing. Go on about how proud you are that you would not take the easy route of just fucking your way up even if you could. It took you 6 years to get where you are now. Where ARE you now? Even more important is where do you want to be. Your posts sound alot like you are simply jealous of the ones that are already there and did "nothing" for it. Blaming others for where they are and you are not and blaming life won�t get you anywhere.

Where am I? Certainly not where I want to be. Why not? Did someone else get there first and steal my place by using a cheat? No. There�s only one reason. Myself. I know what I did not do. I am probably my own worst enemy. But realizing that and stopping to blame others is a good step towards your goal.

This post is not meant to put you down or play mr. wiseguy. But maybe it is the mirror one needs from time to time.

Life is unfair?

Life is what you make of it.

[Mikko K]

It's quite funny that you think people get their jobs by sleeping with their bosses.. so the people in charge must be women 'cuz the artists seem to be mostly men

edit: seriously man, get a website, get your work out there.

[ambelamba]

I got picked up by a storyboard agency in LA and am waiting for my first gig. Seems like other artists in the agency work as much as they WANT.

If that's the case, I hope I can picked up by guys who would work for 12~14 hours a day 7 days a week, and pay me accordingly. And I hope that happens for next 10 years.

One comp artist I know had to do 600 small comp sketches in 48 hours. Of course he got paid what he deserved. I hope that kind of thing can happen to me as often as possible.

Until I die of fatigue, sleep deprivation and exhaustion.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[Mikko K]

[Returner]

Amen cheney!
We all compare ourselves to others, but we can't let that be the base which we act from, it should solely be inspirational. Concentrate on YOU, don't sucumber to the dark side of the force, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, hehe.

[ambelamba]

Well, let me clear one thing. Mr. Butkus often exaggerate numbers, so I guess he meant I would have gotten paid well if I worked as a production artist for a major motion picture. What I did was not really storyboards, but elaborate drawings that are equal to conceptual drawings will all the background environments in so that would be somewhat different from storyboards.

Yeah, come to think of it Mr. Butkus definitely exaggerated the figure. He does that all the time.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[ambelamba]

Eh, by the way...how do I post my pictures?

Quite honestly my drawing skill is kinda mediocre. Please don't laugh at me when I post my pics.
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[Anthony]

Skills and credentials bring the $$$. Simple as that.
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-Anthony
Carpe Carpem
http://www.anthonyfransella.com

[Jimmyjimjim]

I think I heard "Glory, Hallelluiah" int the background while reading your post.

More often than not, the person that brings the most talent and drive to the table will get the job, not the one who's banging the right person.

Besides, would you want to work for someone willing to give employment to some idiot for a shag?

[sweetums]

Ooooh, this little tale of whining and intrigue is NOW starting to get REAL interesting!

From "I did a couple of projects of large numbers of various sketches(kinda detailed)" and "I did a storyboarding for an entire movie," to "what I did was not really storyboards, but elaborate drawings that are equal to conceptual drawings will all the background environments in."
The scope of all this "hard work for nothing" cry is now starting to diminish in size, like a souffle in the oven starting to collapse. Funniest part in this sad tale is that not ONCE was there any written contract detailing who is doing what for whom at what price, just "I was promised..." Yeah. Real professional on both sides, there.

Now we get the pathetic excuse "quite honestly my drawing skill is kinda mediocre. Please don't laugh at me when I post my pics."
HooBoy! Not only are we now NOT necessarily worth all those millions of dollars we were cheated out of, and forced to back off of these claims before we post any examples of our unappreciated talent, but we reveal that more than likely, we are basically blowing it out our hat.

Okay, kid. Time to put up or shut up.
HERE is how you upload an image. Read the terms of Service, then click the Browse button and go to where you have your drawing .jpeg stored on your computer, and upload it. Then post the thumbnail link for Forums, or the direct link for forums in your reply, and we will see what all this fuss is about, now won't we?

You're SO convinced that people get jobs YOU lose out on because they sleep their way into them...Uh-huh...let's see this art of yours that is being overshadowed by the lure of a pretty woman's thighs...
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Life is short. Expect nothing, enjoy everything.
That which does not kill you should make you wiser...

[sweetums]

[ambelamba]

Man I should just crawl in bed, suck my thumb and listen to Sinead O'connor songs. -_-;
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Human mind is the battlefield of good and evil.

[Jimmyjimjim]

[ambelamba]

[henrik]

Read Alain de Bottons "Status Anxiety", that'll do you good.
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http://www.somniostudios.com