Commit to your career in 2024 – make it a priority to continue taking the time to learn, improve, and develop your skills.
Happy 2024! What do you want from the new year? What are you willing to do to get it?
One of my coaching clients aspires to be a VFX artist. Currently in school, he completes his assignments as quickly as possible, gaining kudos from his instructor. But when haste is prioritized over quality, the result will not serve him well in the industry. He recently shared that he was bored and felt that the assignments were a waste of time. I wondered if he really wanted to be a visual effects artist.
Recently, this career coaching client underwent a change of heart and realized that in order to do better work, he had to learn to love the process, to take his time and to commit to improving his skillset. He understands that quality is as important as getting the job done quickly. It’s a big breakthrough for him. He knows now that if he wants to be a visual effects artist, he has to put in much more than the minimal effort. This is the first step toward becoming dedicated to the work he wants to do.
Artists who commit to the work, who take the time to learn, improve, develop their skills, and work at crafting something every day, are the real creators. Those who are compelled to do the work, are passionately obsessed, and love whatever it is they do, whether it is concept design, producing, or writing, are the ones who will excel in their fields of endeavor.
Whether or not they achieve financial or critical success is not as important as creating something new, enduring, or inspiring.
As a creative person, if you can’t imagine doing anything else, if you feel compelled to create landscape paintings, new game ideas, or design effects that mimic fog and lightning, or any other creative endeavor, follow that passion. Indulge in that obsession every day. When you commit to your art, your focus will shift, and your life will change. The world will help you in ways you can’t imagine. You’ll meet people and doors will open that will help you on your path. Once you are all in, you’ll find the time to build your portfolio, record your song, or make that pitch, and opportunities will come your way.
Make making art a priority, whether it’s practicing drawing storyboards every morning before going to work or when you return or working on gesture drawing during lunch breaks. Find a way to fit creating into your life every day and you’ll be creating a life as an artist. Creating is not a selfish act. As Steven Pressfield writes in The War of Art, “Creative work is... a gift to the world... Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”
As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote, “At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires to assist you.”
Commit to your career and get it in gear this year.
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As a creative career coach and recruiter, Pamela Kleibrink Thompson helps animators, visual effects artists, writers, and others in creative fields to design a life that they love. For personal one-on-one recruiting and to get your career in gear this year, contact her at PamRecruit87@gmail.com. Her brand-new website is at https://www.pamrecruit.com/ Her picture book, "The Horse Who Wanted to Fly," will be published by Firefly Books in fall 2024.
