How do I get a job at a union shop?

The smart-aleck answer is: "Get yourself hired." But that's also the accurate answer. There are minimal hurdles an artist must jump over to become an employee of one of our contract studios. If you can show that you have the talents and skills a studio needs, you'll have more than a leg up over a majority of job applicants.

Make sure you know what kind of an animation position you're looking for -- telling them you'll take any job they have available is like taping a "tyro" sign to your forehead. If you don't know what kind of a screen cartooning job would be best suited to your talents, you might consider the Introduction To The Art and Industry and Basic Animation Mechanics seminars offered at the American Animation Institute.

An artist lives and dies by her (or his) portfolio. Start with a list of the companies with which Local 839 has contracts. Read the most recent issues of our monthly newsletter, The Peg-Board, to find out where the "hot" shops are. Contact these companies directly and ask them to send you copies of their portfolio requirements.

Few if any animation studios offer internships, and those that do are usually limited to students in a college program. Nor are we aware of job opportunities for teenagers seeking summer jobs, but we can recommend some training resources for high-schoolers in southern California. Although studios do not specifically require college degrees as a prerequisite for employment in creative categories, virtually all new hires are at least eighteen years old and have had some post-high-school training in fine art and/or film production.

Employers tell us the most common mistake job applicants make is failing to follow the portfolio requirements as closely as possible. For example, many applicants overload their portfolios with comic art, or examples of the studio's characters. We know of one major employer that won't even look at any portfolio that has their own characters in it.

The skill that employers most prize in job applicants is life drawing. Don't be misled into thinking that you can coast on your hotshot CGI skills if you can't show basic drawing ability. Fortunately the AAI offers drawing classes, both in the evenings and on weekdays.

When you think your portfolio is ready, start making phone calls. Good luck!