ALEX DAVY - [Artist Talk]

Alex Davy is a storyboard artist from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne who previously studied the same course that I'm studying now. She has worked on a range of animations for a range of studios such as BlueZoo and Arcus. Alex came into the university to give us a talk on the industry, show us some of her work and explain the kind of qualities that any creator should have when entering into this field of work. Her talks always give me a great deal of insight into some of the inner workings of the industry, and she gives beneficial advice for considering where in the industry you'd like to be.

Some information I gathered during her talk:

• She always recommends gesture drawing - a good place to take gesture drawing classes is from https://www.schoolism.com/lp/yearly/gesture-drawing-alex-woo/

• Try to be working on personal projects outside of university work - this helps build up your portfolio

• Plan everything in a schedule - plan what you will work on and when, plan when you will see family, plans trips etc. - the more detailed, the better

• RESPECT the pipelines - always appreciate everyone's work in the different stages of production when working with others or in a studio

• Use shorthand for story boarding - minimal detail on the characters so boards can be produced faster

• Writing a speculative email for a job - email will begin like a cover letter, add lots of personal works with screenshots for evidence

Alex mentioned some questions you can ask yourself when thinking about where in the industry you'd like to work:

• What skills do I have?

• What skills do I need?

• What's important to me right now? e.g. travelling/family etc.

• Where do I want to work geographically?

• How much do I want to earn? - different creative industries earn different wages

• What can I do?

You can find Alex's work on her website: http://www.alexdavy.net/