Cai Willis Shares His Journey As A Nick Artist Program Finalist
Cai Willis Shares His Journey As A Nick Artist Program Finalist
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Cai Willis is a terrific artist that was recently accustomed into the Nick Artist Program from 2015.
Cai has a real talent for storyboarding which has been used for blitheness, games, and web comics. He applied to the Nickelodeon Storyboard Track and currently works on the network classic SpongeBob SquarePants.
He was nice enough to share info well-nigh his life, his creative journeying, and handy bits of advice for fellow artists.
To learn more cheque out his portfolio site to run into work samples and his bright web comic PekoPeko Cat Cafe.
Can you share a fiddling about yourself, your pedagogy, and personal interests?
My proper name is Cai Willis. I'm a storyboard artist living in Los Angeles, California. I graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2012 with a BFA in Animation, plus a few internships at Nickelodeon and DreamWorks under my belt.
I worked at Oddbot Inc for two years storyboarding a variety of pilots and projects. Everything from mobile games to Disney's Star Darlings!
Now I work at Nickelodeon on SpongeBob SquarePants. Wowie!
I honey creating silly content for kids. I also like cooking a skillful meal and playing video games.
What initially drew yous towards fine art, and what keeps you excited about art today(especially the art of storyboarding)?
I grew up in Texas making comics since I could concur a pencil.
My kickoff comic was virtually a boy and his little brother who were superheroes, simply they kept it a hush-hush from their parents. I started it the final twenty-four hours of tertiary grade. Wrote it all throughout the summer. It ended up being effectually xl full-page panels!
I've always loved telling stories to anyone who would heed. But in that location were times I wished I could've shown my audience exactly what I saw. Art was a natural reply.
That desire hasn't died nevertheless. And I hope it never does!
Forth with blitheness you also make comics. When did you lot beginning making comics and are y'all currently working on your own series?
I've ever made comics through grade school but nothing published.
I'd draw comics to make my friends laugh. I made comics to say sorry when I hurt someone's feelings, and I'd use comics in my assignments when the teacher would permit me.
I just recently only finished PekoPeko Cat Cafe, a comic about a mouse who dressed up equally a true cat in society to work at a cafe where mice are Not Allowed! It's based slightly on my time working at a cafe in college.
You can check out the full comic on my website.
Do you lot find any similarities betwixt making comics and making storyboards?
I call up comics and storyboards are pretty similar since they both use visual sequences to tell stories.
Storyboards, especially for a big animation studio, crave more construction since they're tools used to inform the blitheness.
Comics stand on their ain as finished pieces. They can be a little more experimental.
Both are really fun and both present unique challenges.
How did yous end up studying animation at SCAD? Do you experience schoolhouse taught you lot enough prerequisite cognition for a career in animation?
I saw a SCAD catalog in the old magazine bin in my high school art room. I cutting some stuff out of information technology for an art piece I was working on, and started reading information technology instead of working.
I met then many good friends there! I also had a few excellent instructors that actually built upward the foundation of my art cognition.
I recall ultimately I learned more during my time in the industry, though.
Looking dorsum it would accept been dainty to go to schoolhouse near Los Angeles to exist closer to the animation action.
Once out of college what was your first real job in the animation industry?
My start total-time job was at Oddbot Inc. I applied for a storyboard creative person position but didn't have enough experience.
Chris Hamilton, the Creative Managing director, was kind enough to give me a compositing task after seeing my moving picture E and West(which is furnishings-heavy).
I worked every bit a compositor for six months. But anytime Chris needed a quick storyboard revision he'd hand it to me every bit a freelance gig.
I worked hard at every opportunity! I fifty-fifty took a Concept Design Academy course with Tron Mai, where I made a whole new storyboard portfolio.
At the end of my contract I showed Chris my new portfolio and he hired me as a board artist.
Are there whatsoever major differences between storyboarding for animation vs. storyboarding for games like iOS applications?
They're similar for sure.
Both types of boards inform the placement of the concluding assets and actions.
Apps require you to remember about the user experience and place interactive elements accordingly, whereas in animation yous focus more on storytelling.
So congrats on getting picked in the 2022 Nick Artist Program!
Yes give thanks you!
What was your feel entering the program? What sort of piece of work did you submit and exercise you have whatsoever suggestions for others who might attempt to enter?
A lot of the art I used for submission is all on my website if you want to accept a gander!
I submitted three storyboard sequences and a few illustrations of the characters in each sequence.
A portfolio should be brusque and sweetness. Insert only your best piece of work! As well use your own characters and stories.
Try to board in a fashion where the audition can tell what'south going on without dialogue. Show your portfolio to friends and ask them for feedback on how clear your stories come across.
What was it similar joining the SpongeBob team at Nickelodeon? What type of work do you do in that location?
SpongeBob has an astonishing, difficult-working crew.
I actually had an internship with the SpongeBob team a few years dorsum and then I was familiar with the faces when I returned via the Nick Artist Program.
So far I've been revising boards and punching up gags.
In your personal opinion, which traits or behaviors make for a great storyboard artist?
Be good, fast, and overnice.
Some people say yous can but be ii of those 3 things.
I would endeavour for all iii!
Do you remember someone could teach themselves storyboarding or practise you lot call up information technology requires a teacher/mentor?
At that place are so many resource online, it'southward really incredible.
I retrieve you lot could definitely learn the technical aspects and terminology of storyboarding on your own.
Things like Storyboardart.org offering online classes taught by manufacture veterans. I had a course with Sam Hood (who works at Pixar) and he's great!
And at that place's some smashing podcasts out there too, like this and this.
However I think information technology'd be tough to learn storyboarding in a vacuum. Feedback is actually of import.
Stories are meant to be shared. Finding a community of similar-minded people, whether online or in a class, is central to becoming a cracking storyboard artist.
Lastly could you share any final bits of advice for anyone looking to be a professional person creative person, or for anyone that just wants to acquire art in general?
Grow a thick peel for criticism. Critique is important for whatsoever artist's development.
The most important thing, though, is making fine art.
This quote from Neil Gaiman hangs upward on my wall:
"Endeavor to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow abroad like dead leaves, with nothing to bear witness only time y'all spent non quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin… Make new things and evidence them to people who might savor them."
Special thanks to Cai for taking time out for this incredible Q&A. I hope his story offers advice and inspiration for every aspiring artist.
You can run into more work on his portfolio site or his Tumblr page. And you can find even more random art posted to his Instagram and on Twitter @caiwillis.
Source: https://conceptartempire.com/cai-willis-interview/
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