The Biz

"Are you an animator?" "Ehh. . . I hope to be? One day? Sort of?"
"Either you are, or you aren't." Oh crap, "Yes, yes I am."
This question continues to stump me. In truth, I really just fell into animation. It was not my dream to be an animator when I was growing up. It didn't even cross my mind. My sister was the artist of the family. . and my mum. . . and my grandpa. Well, whoever it was, it was not me. I was going to be a teacher, or a uhhh, I was keeping my options open. Honestly I love animating but I still can't consider myself an artist or an animator when I am sitting next to people who have already made a career out of it. It is more my dream to get into the technical side of animation. I think this fits with my track record. I tried to whole acting thing, and after being cast as an exotic bird in Peter Pan my freshman year in high school (yes, this role was CREATED for me and 3 other fortunate girls; we wore bright unitards, tutus, wings, feathery Vegas head pieces, boas, and lots of sparkles), I decided that it wasn't my scene. Then I discovered the world of backstage and I haven't been able to leave it since. Maybe I am just more comfortable behind the scenes, but I would love to be a Technical Director. Then again going with what is comfortable does not always turn out to be the most rewarding.
Along those lines, last night, after consuming a large pancake for dinner at the Coral, I sat back and listened to some truly interesting/amazing stories. Some of them were amusing, some frightening, but all gave me a better insight into the life of an animator. It seems to be a life filled with long hours and battles with companies who take the rights to your cartoons so that you can get it on television. It is not an easy life, and certainly not one filled with a lot of dollars. So why choose animation? They draw simply for the love of drawing. This is my conclusion. I like this answer because it leaves the romance in the picture. I am still young and I still have those "stars in my eyes." I think I will keep those stars around as long as possible.