What to do about A.I.?

I’ve heard so much about A.I. in the last few months and I often get questions about it from students and parents.  Mainly something along the lines of ‘How do I see it affecting the animation industry?  Will it take away jobs?’  But now I have started to get asked the question, ‘Can I use A.I. in my assignment?’  To be fair, in all of these cases the student was asking if they could use it for a voice that they would animate to.  But I’m sure it won’t take long for the question to come ‘Can I use A.I. to create my animation assignment?’  And it might not even be a question.  They may just do it.  So, what are we to do next?

Here, in no particular order, are my thoughts about A.I.

1)       I’ve been told two other times in my career that the computer was going to take my job away from me.  In both cases, (the development of CG animation, and the development of Motion capture technology) the computer didn’t erase my job, but it did change it, and I had to adapt.  I learned how to animate  on the computer, and I learned how to work with motion capture.  Many of my friends and co-workers changed their focus to character design or story.  But the reality is that with those new technologies there are now more animation jobs, and the industry is larger than at any point in my 35 year career.  My guess is that it will be similar with A.I., that artists will have to adapt, but they will still be necessary. 

2)      I do think that A.I. will take over a number of assistant and entry level jobs.  It will probably do these jobs very well.  I’ve found that I love working with my ‘computer assistant’ as a CG animator.  My thought on this is that it will be more important than ever to really develop yourself as an artist.  It’s been my experience that there are never enough truly dynamic artists.  Those who have honed their skills and can paint, draw, design and understand light, texture, and composition.  And even more importantly, they can apply those in creative and unique ways that no one has ever thought of before.  In  my opinion those artists will be, as they have always been, in high demand.

3)      For the future student who might be thinking of using A.I. to create imagery.  I ask the question, ‘Why would you want to?’  The time put into developing your craft, including the frustration and irritation when you can’t do it the way you want, that is what brings the satisfaction when you see yourself get better and develop.  Why would you want to rob yourself of the process of your own growth?  Animation and art are extremely hard mediums to master, but trust me, it’s worth it!

I don’t really know what the future will bring, but I like to think that a human mind and a simple pencil still have more creative power than a massive supercomputer that can only mix up and ‘re-create’ what has already been created before.  Keep drawing!  Keep animating!  Keep telling stories!  I think it will be worth it.

Do I Miss the Studios?

People ask me all the time; “Do you miss the studios?  Do you miss working on a big movie?”  There are of course things I miss, being a part of the team, launching a film for an audience to see, getting excited as the film gets some recognition.  All of those things are fun and energizing.  And I still get to do them, but now instead of a team of professionals, I get a team of students. 

In our Continued Animation Training class (C.A.T. for short), one of the things that we do is to work on a single collaborative film with a ‘crew’ of students.  Each student fills a different role, just like in the studios.  It’s a long process, but with a lot of time and hard work, we eventually finish the film and launch it.  Just last year, we finished the film Life Isn’t Fair, a fun little back and forth between a grandfather and granddaughter about the kinds of things they think are unfair about life.  About 30 former and current students created this film, and it’s been a joy to enter the film into film festivals around the world! 

The film has been screened at WonderCon in Los Angeles, in New York City where it won Best 3D Animation at the New York Short Animation Festival, and in Illinois at the Anim8 Student Film Festival where it won an Award of Excellence.  There are other festivals too, and in each of these festivals it competed with college student work.  I’m extremely proud of what these students have achieved! 

Click here to Watch Life Isn’t Fair

But there’s another reason I’m enjoying being away from the studios, and it’s one that I didn’t see coming.

Over the course of my career, I’ve had many short film ideas, and I would use some of these in class.  When the students figured this out, they encouraged me to start finishing them.  The idea kind of hit me upside the head that if my students wanted to see these shorts, then maybe others would too.  So, I began chipping away, mainly because I could use the work I did for learning opportunities, but also because I got to work on ‘my own stuff’ and just have fun and fulfillment animating in different styles and at a high level.  It had been a decade and a half since I truly animated with paper and pencil, and I loved doing it again. 

I’m still working on many shorts in many styles, but I finished one tiny little film with pencil and paper.  It’s been in some festivals, and won a couple of awards too.

I won Best Character Design at the New York Short Animation Festival, an Award of Excellence at the Best Shorts Competition, and the Golden Pencil Award at the Drawtastic Animation Festival.

Click here to watch Who Do We Appreciate?

So, with all of this going on, plus classes and a new grandson, there isn’t much time to miss the studios.  Well, maybe a little…..Nah!