I have a plan. It’s the early stages of a plan (more like a ‘pla’) but it’s getting there! The plan is about my future; my career mainly. After 5 years in my current role at SCEE I’ve realised there’s nothing else there for me. The promotion prospects in my current role just don’t interest me in the slightest. I’m not a management person. If I had to command a group of people I’d more than likely crack. I’m like origami, I fold under pressure. No, I’m more a free spirit when it comes to work which is why I want to do something in the art field. Art is freedom. You should always do what makes you happy, especially when it comes to work. The way I see it, work is there for you to make money to spend on the things you enjoy, because at the end of the day we all end up in the ground baby.
I’ve decided I’m leaving SCEE next year to finally enrol on the art course I’ve promised myself for so long. I want to be in that environment, learn new techniques and build my portfolio. I’m not going to do that waking up at 3pm ever day, going to work for 7 hours and then going home to bed. Repeat. Repeat. No way. I need to pull my finger out and just leave the place before I become a piece of the furniture. Hell, I get my 5 year glass plaque in February! I don’t know whether to display it or hide it under the floorboards for eternity, hoping that no one will ever realise I spent the best part of my young life sitting in an office playing video games (there’s a bit more to it than that, but people just don’t get it). Besides, I need the course like a hole in the head if I ever want to realistically get the jobs I want.
A few days ago I typed ‘concept artist’ into Google to see what jobs were available, and what qualifications were needed. This was just out of curiosity mind, I have no delusions about becoming a concept artist any time soon. One of the first links I spotted kinda changed my entire outlook on my life at the moment. It was Lucas Arts. Lucas Arts man! George Lucas’ empire, offering jobs to the arty. I eagerly clicked the link and realised that this was what I wanted to do. I had all the qualifications they wanted, except for one…2 + years in art. Damn! But there’s more to it than simply wanting to work for George. George has links to ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), the Godfather of modern day CGI in movies. ILM has links to Stan Winston studios, the Godfather of modern day makeup and animatronics (and responsible for bringing almost every iconic monster to the screen in the past 25 years, from Terminator to Alien). This company above all is where I want to end up. And this is where my 7 year plan comes into play:
…
4 years in University
2 year in Lucas Arts
1 Year in ILM
…
This is what I want to do and I’m pretty hyper about it at the moment. I think it will only really sink in that I’m making these potentially life-altering changes when I hand my notice into Sony, sometime in May/June 2010. And from there? Who knows. It could go well and I may one day have that house in the hills of Hollywood. Or it might go wrong, and I’ll end up playing a harmonica on the streets of Liverpool. Either way, change happens and it needs to happen. You don’t get much in life without trying.
