Wednesday, June 26, 2013

The Next Step


So I graduated in May from Johnson County Community College with an Associates in Animation, Entertainment and Game Art.  Now that's a mouthful.

Looking for a job in any of those industries in the Kansas City area, is similar to trying to become an actor or singer.  You really have to work hard to stand out among the rest. In doing that, I will be remaking my entire demo reel.  In fact I might have to make more than one, with varying focus, one on 3D animation, another on gaming, and maybe another on 2D art.

In the meantime, unless a miracle is so gracious to befall me, I will have to return to engineering to support my family.  I hope for this to only be a temporary situation, and to eventually "break" into a more creative field.  At least I have already started a Game Company, and we are making our first game, but we have yet to turn a profit.

Even though I really dread going back to an occupation I dislike, I really need to remember that not very many people have been graced with the support and the chance to restart their lives.  Most people either don't even consider it, are content just to continue to do what they are doing or are really just worried about surviving each day.  I think most people never get the chance to sit back and analyze their life, to evaluate the life they have lived, asking the question "Am I joyful about what I am doing with my life?"

I have spent over 25 years in non-creative occupations.  In those years I provided for my family and I paid the bills.  But as for myself, I felt trapped and inevitably doomed to a career that was unimaginative and unfulfilled.  Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful wife and kids, but I need to be honest, I have always had this nagging restlessness to want to do something different, something creative and wonderful, a dream, a wish to publish a book, make a movie or to develop a game.  Passing that major milestone in May brought me closer to realizing those dreams.

So where I am now is the Next Step.  I have obtained a degree and training in what I really have a passion for.  The training I have received will allow me to develop art work for games, my novel series.  I can develop digital models, animations and videos centered around my interests, I also have developed my skills in texturing, animation and modeling, all things that will contribute positively to the goals I wish to achieve in my life.

One of my biggest fears in my life was that all the work I had completed on my novels, my worlds, would only be known by those closest to me, and they would never been seen or enjoyed by the wider public.  I know have the tools to make those dreams become a reality.  It has been a long 3 1/2 year, of hard work, of determination, of overcoming fears and worries.  That restlessness and passion has been sated just a bit more, and now I must prepare to go to the next level, to take that Next Step.