Happy first year anniversary, Brigadoon FC members! Well it's a month late, but.... meh. Here's my gift-- a wall of text!!! go ahead, make yourself a cup of coffee before you start.
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Do you have a dream?
Long ago, I had a dream too. It was stupid.
You see, I dreamed of becoming an animator. And not just any animator... I dreamed of becoming as famous as Walt Disney or Ozamu Tezuka.
But I kind of discouraged myself before I could even do anything about my ambition. I had no formal training in Fine Arts, and was a mediocre artist besides. Besides, I lived in the Philippines, where animation is virtually a cottage industry. To help my family, I needed to get a "real" job-- you know, the kind that paid the bills and put food on the table. I felt like an African tribesman in the middle of the Sahara Desert dreaming of becoming an astronaut.
So I put my dream away on a shelf and kinda forgot all about it.
Ten years passed.
Some people's lives change when they win the lottery, or get married, or lose a loved one.
My life was changed by... a music video.
A Brigadoon music video, to be exact. It was
's "Kiss the Girl". And the kissing scene at the end convinced me to watch the entire series. I did, and afterwards I was never the same.
I've seen a lot of anime shows before, but nothing inspired me the way Brigadoon did. Until now, I don't know why it did. I felt that Brigadoon needed a part 2. And for some reason, I wanted to be the one to do it. I wanted to be an animator. I NEEDED to be an animator.
How exactly do you become an animator? I had no idea either. But I knew that I had to do something with my weaknesses first. What I lacked in formal training in the Arts, I made up for by reading books. I bought myself a pen and a tablet and FORCED myself to study Photoshop. I revived my dead deviantArt account and tried to submit artwork on a regular basis. Finally, I quit my job as a call center quality analyst.
I wish I could say that I became an animator the next day, but I didn't. I was still jobless bum half a year later, and although I was becoming a little more adept at drawing with a digital pen, I felt I wasn't really moving any closer to my dream.
Then I saw a job posting from an animation company.
They were looking for animators. I read through the list of requirements, and whatever hope I felt was snuffed out with every line I read.... each one like a wall being put up between me and my dream.
-- Graduate of Fine Arts or equivalent
-- Knowledge in human anatomy and basic draftsmanship
-- must be knowledgeable in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash or mainstream graphics software
I don't meet any of these, I thought grimly. I'm not that good at human anatomy and I've only been using Photoshop for barely a year. But I felt I had to give it a try. It wouldn't hurt to try. After all, what's the worst that could happen? Not being accepted? Big deal, I'd live through that.
When I took the qualifying exam, there were three other applicants there. They were armed with these huge T-square things, and oversized drafting notebooks, and bags of drawing materials. They chatted loudly, as if they weren't just about to have the biggest, life-changing exam of their lives, laughing with a confidence that could've only been earned by studying Fine Arts for years. I wanted to run to the nearest toilet and cry.
The examiner came in. We were asked to draw the entire male and female body in three different positions, several male and female facial expressions, and the human body in three dynamic positions. In three hours.
I'll never forget how sore my arms were afterwards-- I have NEVER held a pencil that long, or that tightly, in my entire life. I don't remember having messed up so bad at anything either. I was sure I blew it, and I remember wanting to cry as I rode the bus home.
A week later, I received a text message from an unknown number telling me that I was accepted.
That was four months ago. I just finished training a couple of weeks ago, and I am now, officially, a fucking animator. And the three examinees I came in with are now one of my bestest friends in the office. Of course, I still have a long way to go, but a journey of a thousand miles always begins with that one, small step.
What's the point of all this?
Nothing, I just wanted to see how long you'd last reading through a blog post.
Kidding. Since this is an anniversary post, I wanted to post something meaningful for a change.
"Do you know why it's called a 'dream'? Because it's so hard to achieve." -- Yaiba
That basically sums up what ambitions are all about. They are, by nature, difficult to reach. Otherwise, it won't be a dream at all.
But no matter how difficult, dreams can always come true. I remember a book saying that it's ALWAYS a 50/50 thing: 50% chance to fulfill it, and 50% chance not to. Nobody can say it's 100% guaranteed to fail, and more importantly, nobody can guarantee a 0% chance of success. it's up to you how to tip the scale in your favor, to find that little "push" to make it a reality, that first, small step that will start you on your journey.
That "push" can be anything, really. It can be that little voice in your head telling you to start taking up cooking classes this summer, or to try aerobics on your free time so you can finally slim down, or your friend's casual remark that your drawings look good enough to sell. It can be an anime series just begging for a part 2, a blue robot with a spikey helmet, or a music video.
Or a blog post.
. 
is a plus. 
and 
uploaded the artbook. 
Deviants
[link]
this series could always have more fans! ^_^
Point commissions are OPEN: 
