Meet the Creator III

Pt. 3 - Travis the Animator

Growing up as an artist, I was always asked if I wanted to work for Disney.  I guess, sure, if it pays the bills.  You could say it was not my dream job to draw for Disney.  Disney seemed to make sense as an artist interested in film and telling stories, but it was never a drive for me. Looking back, I think it’s because I was always fascinated with my own stories. 

I didn’t want to be a part of something, I wanted to start something.

My stories were cool, they were filled with action and heroism. As great and innovative as Disney was, I just didn’t’ connect with their style. I wanted things to feel real, authentic.  I had this vague dream that I would create the most detailed animated movie ever, and it would be filled with monsters, creatures, warriors and dragons.  It would be epic!  

But as you may have read in my previous stories, I began to drift away from those dreams.  I ended up perusing Illustration and Film going into College.  I figured I could use illustration to make a living, and film to tell my stories.  

Then one day, I happened to be looking for a class to fill a time slot and a friend of mine suggested I join them for a class they were adding.  It was a class about Maya and 3D animation. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, it seemed all technical, but after a few days, my mind began to wrap around exactly what I was dealing with.  

I was like a kid with a crisp twenty, and a candy store of limitless selections.

Suddenly animation wasn’t just about princesses and musicals, animation could be anything!  It could be real, it could be stylized, it could take the form of whatever my imagination could dream up.  That was an offer my brain could not refuse. It was the perfect combination of my illustrative mind and the storytelling outlet of film.  I suppose I was meant for animation.  

But alas, I did not get that dream job out of college.  Pixar and DreamWorks were just going to have to wait.  I had too many odd jobs that barely paid the bills to give them the time of day.  

So yeah, this was the time in my life where I like to say I “diversified my portfolio”.  

I was not only writing more, but I continued to pursue anything I could in animation.  I began doing more and more work in Flash (don’t make fun, I made some cool stuff in Flash!).  The more I worked in Flash; my mind began to see what was possible with interactivity.  I did eventually begin my career making interactive and animated shorts for an educational company.  I accepted that as the career path I would travel down. 

Then after a lovely summer of being let go from my job, I was forced to reboot.  I eventually got a job doing graphic design in a highly conservative and corporate environment.  Nothing boosts the moral like going form making animations to designing posters and DVD covers.  I refused to give up.  This company would also make inspirational videos, so I saw my opportunity to get back into animation, but it was like a one in a million chance.

Sooooo…. you’re saying I have a chance!

I set out to bring animation to this crazy conservative and corporate environment.  I continued to knock out some rad designs, but I also used that job to evolve.  I learned After Effects and began to expand my animation skill set.  I began looking for opportunities to get involved with some of the film and video projects, so I was more connected with the storytellers of our group vs. the designers.  It worked. 

With the advancement in social media, they were looking for more short form media and I was part of the team to head that up. Now one step closer, I finally saw my opportunity to pitch a short story animation.  It was well received, but there was considerable sticker shock.  In an effort to justify animation as a viable medium, we were pitching the idea that once you create an animation, you have a collection of illustration assets to be used in other mediums.  Once you build your animation, you not only have a video, but you can create print materials, or illustrations to go with a longer text version of the story. You could even create an interactive book at an extremely low cost since the assets are already created.

Video, print, and interactive.  My mind began to churn

At first it was an effort to make animation cost effective.  But I suddenly saw some new possibilities.  If I could take one story and use different forms of media to make it cost effective, why couldn’t I take one story and tell different perspectives through different media. Then considering the use of interactivity greatly amplified the idea. This concept captivated me. My mind then applied this concept to the novel I was currently writing.

The idea of immersive media publishing began to expand.

Media is changing, evolving.  The way we consume our stories is changing.  Why in the world are we not using technology and interactivity to fill story worlds with discovery?  My eyes opened to this new possibility.  We all want to be entertained, we want to read stories that move us, we want to discover characters we connect with, and through the use of media and technology, I could create an interactive environment that told a story, but gave readers options to dig deeper, connect better with the characters and discover a new world.

That’s what has brought me to this moment.  

I believe that books can embrace technology without losing what made us fall in love with books to begin with.  I believe we can tell stories with endless possibilities; I believe the best stories are the ones we discover, and I truly believe there is story everywhere.

That is why this is just the beginning.  This art book, Theo’s sketchbook, is only in print form.  But it’s the first step to lay the foundation for much greater things to come.  

Onward and Upward!