Where are we? Where am I?

One of the things I really love about living in L.A. are all the animation panels put on every month. It keeps us bonded together and conversing about our art form-- praising its moments of good, and weeping over the bad. No matter what we talk about, the important thing is that we talk about it together-and hopefully our shared wisdom makes for a better experience down the line.

Last week I went to a panel titled "Where the Girls Aren't" put on by the Animation Guild and See Jane (an organization founded by Geena Davis to explore the portrayal and visibility of women in G-rated films). I can't pretend that I wasn't interested in this topic-- first as a woman in the industry, and second as someone who tries to enact positive change in myself and my surroundings. The panel included some of the best in the industry-- Jill Culton, Brenda Chapman, Dean DeBlois, and Jenny Lerew (all story artists/directors). Fred Seibert (exec. of Frederator Studios), Geena Davis (yes, really, the actress), and Kevin Koch (Animation Guild Pres.) rounded out the discussion.
Geena gave us an overview of the study See Jane funded. They found amongst the data that on average there's one female character for every three male, and women comprise 17 percent of crowd scenes. Now I understand there might be some discrepancies in live-action, say if they couldn't find enough extras that particular day to make the crowd dynamic a little more balanced. But in animation? We really don't have any excuse. It's not a question of the process being more difficult or time-consuming by adding women, it's just that the creator needs to be aware of what they're putting on the screen. I won't go into great length about the comments and debate from that night-- Jenny Lerew did an extremely good job wrapping it up in her blog.

The data didn't per se surprise me since there are just a whole lot more men in animation, and as artists we tend to draw what is most familiar to us. What did grab me, and shake me around in my seat a little was something Brenda Chapman said. Brenda just left Pixar and told us that while there, she was the only female story artist they had. Now that she's gone, there isn't even one. I distinctly remember being at the Academy of Art College in 1999, and having alumni Matthew Luhn talk about his experience at Pixar as a story artist. He finished off the panel pleading for more girls to become story artists, because they didn't even have one at that time (I believe the one they had, Jill Culton, had just left). This is now seven years later, and Brenda is telling us this is still the case?? Ahh!! I know female story artists working in feature are few and far between to begin with but you'd think the one studio that seems to have its finger on the pulse of animated films these days, would be doing better in that department.
This really struck home for me, thinking back to all that I've accomplished so far out here in L.A. since those years at the Academy. I'm proud of what I've made, and had a lot of fun creating the work with a smashingly great team, but my goal of becoming a story artist seems to be drifting further away. It's not that I haven't created boards for work, or that I'm losing interest in the form (heck, I run a storyboarding night every month). I've just become unfocused on my long term goal, with so many other short term ones I had to complete.
One question asked that night which keeps rattling around in my brain is where are all the next story artists? Brenda, Jill, and Jenny all agreed that they're not seeing any women following their path right now in feature. Is that because there aren't any? Or perhaps those interested women are finding it tough getting there alone? Studios these days don't have the time, money, or interest anymore to apprentice upcoming talent. Once out of school you're left bereft of support and contact with the professional world. Most studio art positions now are looking for years of studio experience. So, to get in a studio, you need to have worked in a studio. Er...does this seem wrong to anyone?
When I moved to L.A. in 2002, a lot of people said since there were no entry-level art positions anymore-- that I should try for p.a. work. Maybe I'd be "discovered" in the mail-room so to speak. But is this what helps nourish artistic talent? I don't disagree that learning the ins and outs of a production from an assistant level isn't useful. It's great to see where every job fits in a production pipeline. But on the flipside, p.a.s often work long hours learning how to finesse excel spreadsheets or resurrect dead copy machines. They're not left with much time to broaden artistic horizons, and particularly in the way they could be broadened with a mentor of the caliber of Dean, Jill, Jenny, or Brenda.

When we left the panel, my friend and artist Danielle and I conferred over this lack of mentorship in today's animtion industry. I mentioned to her that I've recently taken on mentoring students graduating from my alum AAC. The mentoring experience so far has been positive and I feel like i'm really helping someone out. Danielle said that what I was doing was great, but then she asked, "But who is mentoring you?" And she's right. If this is still my goal, becoming a feature story artist, am I still on the right path to get there? Where is the support I need to realize the dream?

Like the panel, this blog entry raises many questions, but doesn't necessarily answer them. I don't need the questions all answered now, however, what's important is my awareness that they exist.