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Animation/Caught between the arts and engineering

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Expert: - 1/1/2011


Question

Dear Friends
Mr. Hickman,

My name is Eric Hsu, and I am a first year ME in UCLA's school of engineering.  After my first, difficult quarter (earning a somewhat average, not-so-great B to B- ranged grade overall) I'm starting to feel as though I should have picked a major that I could actually really enjoy: to compliment my passion for arts and animation.  In high school, I had taken some beginning animation and drawing/painting classes.  At the time, however, I considered them more hobbies than possible careers.  This belief I can only attribute to my upbringing; having come from a family of scientists and engineers, my parents were quick to suggest (what they considered to be) more stable, science based careers.  As such, seeing as I didn't completely HATE math or physics (in fact, I had gotten straight A's in my AP classes in high school), I decided to try the path of MechE, because from my knowledge it seemed to be the broadest field of engineering, and I liked the idea of creating tangible, mechanical systems as opposed to writing intangible programs.
Currently I am getting back into drawing, and teaching myself to use photoshop as a medium for artwork that I wish to include in my portfolio to submit as I attempt to switch into the major of Design and Media Arts. It is my belief that it may help build a more artistic foundation should I choose to pursue an education in animation or some other field in the film industry afterward.  Unfortunately, switching from UCLA's school of engineering to the school of arts is not particularly easy.  I did notice that you too started out in mechanical engineering.  Would you consider this major to have given you a useful foundation for what you ultimately decided you wanted to pursue?  I noticed that many students who asked similar questions were in computer science.  Switching from MechE to CompSci is another option available to me, and although I do not particularly like the idea of coding, do you believe computer science would ultimately provide a more useful foundation for animation in the entertainment industry than MechE would?  Of course, I also did consider another choice - Disney Imagineering - which after discovering I did convince myself that engineering didn't have to be such a limiting choice.  I understand that no matter what major I choose, I will be building for myself a strong foundation for the future.  But drawing from your own experiences, which path do you think has the most potential for a career in the animation, film, or (even broader) the entertainment industry?  I apologize for the long question, I had hoped it would give you a better idea of who I am, where I am coming from, and where my goals are.  In addition, I've added a photorealism that I entered in Southern California's Color-it-orange competition two years back to give you an idea of what kind of artwork I did in high school. I truly appreciate your time and your advice to everyone.  Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,
Eric Hsu

Answer
Man, this is something that we could talk about for hours! We have VERY similar roads that we have travelled, including the AP courses, family telling you that to be successful in life that you should focus on the sciences, etc.

Honestly I would say (depending on how far you are in your degree) finish the MechE.  There are tons of things that I learned as an engineer that I incorporate into my design, from my understanding of physics and materials, to my design process, workflow and methods. I also learned "how to learn" which gives me a competitive edge and ablility to pick up using programs in a fraction of the time that it takes most people to use successfully.

If you love graphic design, I definitely wouldn't steer you the CompSci route, because Graphic Design and Animation on the front end are more creative tech than they are computer technical. It's the difference in knowing how to use Photoshop as a skilled artist, and how to build a photo-editing program (which I don't think that you are going for). That's not to say that you won't need to do any script coding or anything.  You will definitely do well to understanding algorithms, and that will give you the ability to translate coding knowledge to a variety of necessary applications.  

If I could do it all over again, I would may have started doing graphic design, but I would have also missed out on the richness of my understanding of the things that graphic design tries to simulate, and I believe that that understanding gives you an edge in your development. Don't overlook the things that you are learning on your journey, because those are the things that will make you who you are and good at what you do when you get to the destination.

I never went back to school for motion graphics, etc.  but I rather spent years training myself.  I now work as a professional freelancer doing compositing in one of the largest studios in the Southeast. You can learn anything that you have a passion for.  I've written often about this in other answers of mine, so feel free to browse my past questions.  Also feel free to ask anything, and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Go with your heart, but use wisdom in getting there!

Cheers,
Andre

Andre Hickman

Expertise

3d Studio Max beginner to expert levels...After Effects complex compositing techniques...Photoshop expert level...Illustrator intermediate level. I can also answer questions for general animation, motion graphics design, and video editing/composition.

Experience

Logo and simple character animation, motion graphics, video composition in After Effects, as well as Photoshop, and Illustrator techniques, and the use of all of the above in a workflow, to achieve a final design element or production.

Organizations
Freelancer--Turner Studios, Atlanta, GA Owner--Andre Hickman Creative, LLC

Education/Credentials
Turner Studios Govenor's Protege/Mentor Program Georgia Institute of Technology--B.S. Mechanical Engineering Morehouse College--B.S. General Science

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