Ellen Su - Artistic Recruiter for Titmouse Animation | AW 22
/We’ve heard quite a lot of inspiring stories from VO actors and actresses throughout the show, but I think it’s time for a little change of pace, don’t you think? This week we go behind the scenes, and I mean way behind the scenes of animation with our special guest this week, Ellen Su! Ellen is currently the artistic recruiter for Titmouse Studios.
She is in charge of scouting the people behind our favorite animations. She interviews hundreds of applicants, from directors to storyboard artists. But that is only one part of her many talents. She is also quite the artist. You need to listen to her story to know everything this amazing woman is capable of!
Show Notes:
[2:05] Ellen as the co-lead of Women In Animation.
[8:41] Ellen’s background in art and design.
[16:56] How Ellen became the artistic recruiter for Titmouse.
[22:19] A day in the life of Ellen Su.
[27:26] Ellen’s personal talents and passions.
[35:17] Q&A with Ellen during the IgTV live.
Instagram: @Alicyn
TikTok: @alicynpackard
YouTube: Alicyn Packard
Twitter: @Alicyn
Transcript
Intro
Welcome to Alicyn's Wonderland. I'm your host, Alicyn Packard. Join us as we journey through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole into the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games.
Hey, do a girl a favor, and please subscribe to this podcast and go on iTunes and leave us a good review. If you like the show, please help spread the word it really helps us to get heard by more people. Thanks so much.
Alicyn
Welcome to Alicyn's Wonderland. I am so glad that you're here with me. Can't you see I'm improvising this song and I don't know why it's going so long. Hi guys, you know, actually, my musical improv skills have really got in the toilet. Hey, what's up Jeffrey, Cody. Hey, thanks for sending a request. I'm going live as part of Alicyn's Wonderland right now with the one and only Ellen Su. So we're going to set that up right now. So we're just waiting for Ellen to rejoin the live. And hopefully we'll be able to just jump right into the interview. Do I have a cameo page? Yes, I do have a cameo page. I've been doing some really awesome videos, a couple birthday videos lately. And some other things so you can always find me there through cameo. Glitches are far. Let's see. Ellen's not back yet. Hey, you guys. Carlos. Alazraqui is on the live. Carlos was my special guest a couple of weeks ago. He is one of the most amazing voice actors of all time. So go ahead and give Carlos a follow. I'm sure you guys are probably already following him though. I'm going to go ahead and invite Ellen again. And hopefully it'll go off without a hitch. Fingers crossed. It's so good to see you.
Ellen
Good to see you too. Sorry for that hiccup.
Alicyn
Oh, my goodness, no worries. First off, thank you so much for coming on. And spending your Wednesday evening with us. You're in New York. Right?
Ellen
I'm actually working from Michigan right now, in outer Detroit. Visiting some family. So, yeah.
Alicyn
Well, we appreciate you taking your travel time to chat with us. I know it took some time to set up for a little while. And I'm so glad we could finally make it happen. Thank you so much. So you are the New York City co-lead of Women In Animation. Is that true?
Ellen
Yes. Yeah. I've been volunteering with them for a couple of years now. Started in event managements, you know, coordinating presentations and panels and just recently, maybe like a year ago, join co-lead, leadership of the chapter. Very exciting.
Alicyn
Yes. It's so funny because you hosted a panel, I think it was probably about a year ago. And I think it might have even been one of your first panels. Is that right? Do you remember?
Ellen
Which one was that? I've done a lot of them at this point.
Alicyn
It was Bubble Guppies.
Ellen
Yes, with Nickelodeon.
Alicyn
That was, it was super informative. I remember, I was just gonna tune in for like, 30 minutes. And then I was gonna go, I had to go to an audition or had it go somewhere. And I remember just needing to keep the interview on in my car and, you know, continue on my path and listening because it was so informative.
Ellen
Yeah, I'm so glad to hear that. Yeah, I love to do very specific, very informative presentations, you know? I think, yeah. And on top of hearing, you know, somebody's journey and adventure, it's just like, getting those specifics on how I could think to use other people's wisdom and incorporate it into my own life. I feel like it's really, really useful.
Alicyn
100% and also getting to feel someone's energy and getting, you know, obviously Mary Harrington, you know, in development, Nickelodeon, we've heard her name, some of the best work in animation. She's definitely been somebody that I've admired for a long time. But that was the first time I've seen her and gotten the chance to hear her speak. So that was awesome.
Ellen
Yeah. Glad you were able to tune in.
Alicyn
Yeah. For those of our viewers that might not know about Women In Animation, can you tell us a little bit about the organization?
Ellen
Yeah, so it is a nonprofit organization, everyone on the board, everyone running the chapters, we're all volunteers. And the overall goal is to promote and support women in the industry, including those that, trans women as well. And I mean, you don't have to be a woman to join. We do support, you know, everyone, in order to reach equality and 50-50 gender representation, you know, you need both sides. So definitely, it is an inclusive organization, we do, two of the major things that we do is a scholarship every year. So money as well as the software sponsorships and mentorship circles was huge. We have industry professionals from directors, executives, agents, animators, all of them taking on mentors, showing you an inside look of the industry and I will actually be doing a circle this fall as well. So those are major things. On top of all the very informative panels and presentations that we do.
Alicyn
You'll be the mentor?
Ellen
I will be a mentor. I'm taking on mentees. My circle is specifically focused on like a recruiters guide to getting a job. And it's open to, you know, juniors and seniors, because artists of all experience levels, I think, from my side of the table, have experienced trouble getting the job, because of some really basic things like your resume, your portfolio, your websites set up and how accessible everything is. So just from what I've experienced as a recruiter and helping people, yeah.
Alicyn
That's so interesting, what made you want to get involved with Women In Animation?
Ellen
At first, I mean, I like helping, I've always kind of been involved in activism and stuff. But I also saw Women In Animation as an opportunity to learn about things I wouldn't have access to, which I feel like you're also doing with your Ig Live, you know, like, you're interested in somebody's story, you invite them to talk about it, and you learn such a valuable information when you speak with these people. And so that was like my draw to volunteering for the panels and presentations, you know, so like, I was like, I want to learn from people like Mary Harrington, you know, like, I have all these questions and specific things. And it gave me an opportunity to do that.
Alicyn
Yeah, yeah, I've been a member of Women In Animation for a long time. I think my membership may have lasted a year, but it was one of the first organizations I found moving to Los Angeles and wanting to get more active in animation. And it's also so cool to be at an animation event and have it be predominantly women. Because as you know, the numbers are not quite 50-50. Yet, do you have the data on approximately what the breakdown is between males and females working in the animation industry?
Ellen
I think that the statistics I last saw on our website, we were maybe at 25 to 75. The thing, though, is that it is quite limited in like, the data is coming from the Animation Guild. So that doesn't, you know, accommodate or take into account people outside of the Guild, but I am happy to report that Titmouse Vancouver hit 50-50, like three years ago, you know? And we are, yeah, we are working actively in New York and LA to get that going as well. But I honestly believe it's just a matter of time.
Alicyn
For sure. What do you think is the most satisfying part of working for an organization like that?
Ellen
I mean, my approach to stuff like this, to be a nonprofit and mentorship is like, you know, I grew up kind of not really having mentors or parental guidance, and, you know, people to really give me the answers when I was young. And most people when they're in that experience, they either go like two ways. Like they go, like, ah, luck it and then like, you know, they gotta figure it out on their own, or they go like, I never want anybody else to like suffer the way I have. And they're really, really open about, you know, like helping others and sharing their knowledge. I think most people are like that, you know, and it's really satisfying to be able to help others. I think that kind of stuff kind of led into recruiting as well, because I was so active and helping people connect and network. And you know, say like, Hey, you should apply for this job. I think you'd be really good at it. And that just kind of linked into like recruiting, I'm able to do that for people. Yeah.
Alicyn
Now, I was curious, when you started to get bit by the artist bug. Were you doing art at a very young age?
Ellen
I was. Yes, I was coming home from school, watching Toonami, I think the biggest influence was Sailor Moon, but I watched like all of it, DBZ and you know, Rurouni Kenshin and whatever. So I was really big on that. And I would come right home, open this pink sketchbook that I had and just draw everything I was seeing on TV. So like other people maybe went outside and played. I was like at home watching TV and drawing pictures.
Alicyn
Where did you grow up? Where was home?
Ellen
New York. So Queens, New York. Yeah. And that was like elementary school and it just kept going. So never really put it down.
Alicyn
And so from there, did you choose, did you go to college? Did you go to an art school, or?
Ellen
I went to, it was a high school called LaGuardia High and it's the same school. Yes. So I went there and I did major in art there then went to school of visual arts, which was amazing. And it was a great experience. I actually went into 3D animation. I studied 3D animation because my dad was like, if you're going to go into art and you need to make a living, you have to go into 3D. That's the future. And he's not wrong. And I do, I did enjoy 3D for a while, I like got an internship at Pixar, you know? But shortly after graduating and our film doing really well, I realized that I wasn't happy kind of doing the technical problem solving necessary to 3D. And I was just getting frustrated, I realized, like, what I was really passionate about was drawing in Photoshop. And that was when I kind of revamped my portfolio, started over, you know, building my networks and went into 2D animation and 2D design. And for five years very quickly kind of landed in a directing position, I guess I was able to kind of, you know, that aspect of recruiting talent, bringing people together, seeing where they fit and putting a project together, kind of all ties in with directing too. Yeah, and I directed commercials for like, five years. Before joining Titmouse.
Alicyn
And so, well, first I want to just know, was high school amazing?
Ellen
High School was pretty amazing.
Alicyn
Always singing in the hallways? Was it, I mean.
Ellen
They were always singing in the hallways, there was dancing in the hallways, there was there was that famous Halloween parade where we just like, take up the whole block. And everybody was so creative with their costumes, of course, art school. Yeah. And it was really interesting, you know, like, to be in an environment that it was like, sports and cheerleading was not the like, top tier, you know, like, everyone just had their like passion. And it was such an amazing environment.
Alicyn
Yeah, it's like when the arts are normalized, as you know, worthy and relevant, as opposed to, you know, so many public schools are cutting arts programs. And so those are sometimes the first thing to go, and then you're in this environment where everybody is creating and feeding off each other's energy. I feel like that just must be such an inspiring way to grow up.
Ellen
Yeah, yeah, I'm so grateful that I was able to go to a place like that.
Alicyn
So I love, love, love, love, love, love, love your artwork, we get to work together someday. I just, I mean, I followed you, I remember from the Women In Animation, and then just seeing your vision. I mean, there's something, it wasn't too feminine about it. But I don't know, it's just your style really appeals to me. So I was wondering, did it take you a long time to kind of and I've seen you have different, a variety of different styles as well, but sort of some of the more personal work that you post here on Instagram, did it take you a long time to evolve?
Ellen
Yeah, I mean, you know, as I said, as a kid, I didn't really do much else besides live in front of a computer, which might not be the healthiest. But like one thing that was really, I learned greatly from when I was very young was, my father used to be a fine artist in China. And he came over and he had to do that thing with pay the bills, got to find a job, and he couldn't keep up the fine arts. So he went into printing. So like they, he joined a company that did like, you know, advertising posters and stuff like that graphic design, and they had to learn Photoshop. So when I was in middle school, my dad set me up with the one of the cheapest tablets, you could get, digital drawing tablets, and a bootleg version of Photoshop. And I was able to practice since middle school. So like, by the time I hit high school, I was pretty advanced. By the time I was in, you know, college, I was also very, very advanced. And the things I did for fun online as a kid was like, hit these online forums like Gaia online or whatnot and sell commissions. And so I would just like draw people's characters and stuff like that, and kind of like that, that built, yeah, the foundation.
Alicyn
Wow, that's amazing. You like a little Photoshop wizard.
Ellen
Yeah, it's, it takes a long time. I think for a lot of digital artists and a lot of artists that are like, you know, starting out now, you know, we're so passionate about diversity and inclusion and helping groups get into the industry. And unfortunately, one of the things is mastering digital artwork takes time. And if you're just starting out, it's going to take some time to develop a good clean line on the tablet, but just keep practicing.
Alicyn
Yeah, that's so true. Funnily enough when I was in school, my major was new media. So media production and design and I bounced around, I was very interested in radio and visual media arts and I ended up landing on new media which is funny because I guess it all kind of is what comes together through the podcast and content creation and stuff. So I guess I did end up using my degree although, I'm a voice actor. But I loved learning all those programs and just being able to use, create, to have the freedom once you got the skills to then be able to create that way. And I certainly don't have that skill anymore. But you're right, it does, it takes a lot of digging in. And it takes this technical thing that, you know, I didn't have a computer growing up. And when I first started at school, I was like, I don't really like computers. And then I got stuck randomly on the digital culture floor with like a bunch of amazing people who became my lifelong friends that were total computer nerds. And I was like, oh, create, this is just another tool for creativity, once you learn the technical aspect. So yeah, I mean, do you, did you ever find that, I guess, because you started so young, that was probably not so much of an issue. But do you find some artists have a tough time making that transition?
Ellen
Yeah, well, I mean, that was me with 3D. You know, like, while I, in my mind, and in Photoshop, and in drawing, I have that artistic sensibility to create a pretty picture, and I can get to it, using the 3D software, I think, you know, certain things that just not my forte, and not my interest. And if you do run into that, that's something to think about, you know, like, always, like to really excel at something, you have to have that passion to push through all those, that technical difficulty of learning the program, some people are like super motivated, and super interested in picking it up, you know, and some people's strengths are elsewhere. So I definitely get it, like the struggle of like, oh, no learning a new program. Yeah.
Alicyn
It also seems like you're really a people person, too.
Ellen
I don't know how that happened. I do love talking to people and meeting new people and like hearing everybody's story, you can learn so much, you know?
Alicyn
Yeah. And do you think that that has informed your choice then to take on this position as artistic recruiter?
Ellen
Yeah, yeah, it was a couple of things in terms of going into artistic recruiting. It was testing out something that I was curious about in what recruiting would be like, and how to help productions in that way, in that capacity, and also being able to, like meet so many new people, like I'm interviewing directors and board artists and artists that have worked on the shows that I grew up on. And that's just freakin amazing, you know? So like, it's pretty awesome.
Alicyn
So for those that might just be joining in, my name is Alicyn, this is Alicyn's Wonderland, we're weekly podcast where we interview people that work in animation and video games, and we're live today with Ellen Su. And Ellen is a digital artist, as well as the director as well as the artistic recruiter for Titmouse Studios. Can you talk a little bit about Titmouse, and what they're best known for, some of the projects that you guys are currently working on?
Ellen
Yeah. So Titmouse has so many projects. And Hi, Casey. Nice to see you. Casey is one of our very, very talented storyboard artists on the show Legend of Vox Machina. Yeah, I think what's amazing about Titmouse is we do shows from all over we do like pre-k shows, kids shows, adult comedy shows, adult drama shows like so we're all over the genre spectrum, which is kind of rare. You know, sometimes a lot of animation studios just do one like we only do kids shows, you know?
Alicyn
Arlo, did you guys do Arlo the Alligator Boy?
Ellen
We did. Yeah. So some of the projects Arlo, definitely, Big Mouth, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Metalocalypse, Archer, yeah, so many different shows. Baby Shark, we're animating on. And yeah, Legend of Vox, which is a huge dungeon and dragons series. Yeah.
Alicyn
Do you want to talk a little bit about that? Because that is just one of the most amazing stories that I've heard in animation the past couple years,
Ellen
I will say that I am not an expert, but
Alicyn
We got to get someone on.
Ellen
Yeah. But I would just say that it is amazing. At this point. You know, there are so many great storytellers out there that might traditionally you know, hollywood might not take a chance on them. And it's just great that we have a venue or avenue to get funding in that way. Because it costs so much money to make a cartoon series. So much money. And yeah, I'm so excited that that was a success. And there's no better place for it because Chris Prynoski, our owner, is a huge D&D fan, so.
Alicyn
Oh, that's so perfect.
Ellen
Yeah.
Alicyn
And so what was it that made you decide to seek out or, you know, or accept that position? Was there something that a changing point for you?
Ellen
I think after five years in directing commercials, I was just kind of feeling my growth plateauing, and I was kind of tired of burning myself out for commercials, which, you know, it's a commercial, it's not gonna change the world. Man, I think stories are so important, you know? Like the stories I grew up with, the shows I grew up with that kind of informed who I am as a person today. And that's where I wanted to get into. But I had no idea about the industry about what the roles were like, my experience in commercials don't translate directly into recruiting, and I don't, I didn't even know like, where I would be happy, where I would fit. So after applying to a couple of gigs, like character design and whatnot, this recruiter position came off, and I just stumbled across it on LinkedIn, my qualifications all matched perfectly, and that like, actually have experience in animation that I have an artistic eye. And I was really good at public speaking and all that good stuff. Yeah, yeah. And you know, and all of the work I was doing in my free time connecting people for volunteer work, I realized that I could do that for my paid work. Like that could be my daytime job. And then I could save my hours outside of work for my own creative project. So I have a moment to recharge from being burnt out. And I get to use that time for myself, I get to connect and network with people and just see where I might be best in a year or two. Yeah, it was just a great like, two birds with one stone in that it just worked out. It seems really, it really, you know, fit for what I was looking for at the time.
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Alicyn
Now titmouse is primarily based in Hollywood, is that right? Or with the pandemic, have we spread out all over the place?
Ellen
So yeah, so we have three offices, we have LA, we have Vancouver, and we have New York, and all of those locations are thriving and doing so many projects. But you know, everyone's working from home right now, occasionally, you might have an editor run into the office to do a session but mostly working from home.
Alicyn
And so what is your day to day routine look like?
Ellen
It is, you know, it kind of varies. I mean, my main priority is of course, finding talent for productions, I try to focus my time for high priority candidates first. So you know, directors, supervising directors, art directors, finding those candidates, interviewing them, lots of spreadsheets, because I'm working with over 25 producers, I think and their various needs at all the you know, whenever every day putting together names, reviewing lots of portfolios, lots and lots of portfolios. And then when I'm not just recruiting for artists, sending emails, reviewing portfolios, I'm also you know, building our internal database, making sure that our own staff artists have projects to work on and move on to and if there are, you know, career goals, like I'd love to be a director. Alright, well, let's see how we can make that happen. Let's see what project we can place you in, where you have that stepping stone to move on up. Yeah, so it's kind of like recruiting in a little talent management.
Alicyn
And do you feel, how many employees does Titmouse have about?
Ellen
Last I heard we have over 1000.
Alicyn
Wow, that's a lot. Do you feel like you are familiar with most of those people, or?
Ellen
I do not know all of them. But I do try to make myself very available. And you know, when they reach out to me, eventually I start recognizing names and stuff like that. So yeah, I would say like, if you're in a company with a lot of people, make sure you introduce yourself, you know, like and if you have desires and you know, career goals, try to be, you know, say it out loud. So somebody knows and, and even if you just said it out loud to one person, maybe a couple other people too, you know, you never know who's gonna have that opportunity for you.
Alicyn
Interesting. Yeah. And so do you have like, I'm curious, also, aside from work, do you have a morning routine? A way that you get yourself ready for the day? I mean, the pandemic has certainly put a damper on you know, desire to wait.
Ellen
Embarrassingly, I do not have a morning routine. I think pandemic has been wonderful for me because I'm the kind of person that like rolls out of bed and then like, sits down at the computer, and I'll get right to it and then I kind of come alive at night. So I'm a night owl. But yeah, I think I always in terms of staying organized with so many tasks right before bed. I always Check my calendar, check meetings, make sure that you know, I do keep my list of like, these projects are starting this week, next week, you know, so making sure I stay on top of it.
Alicyn
And so it seems like you're recruiting, I think I maybe have an idea that was mostly storyboard artists, or, you know, animators, but it seems like you're really helping to recruit the whole team. Is that right?
Ellen
Yes. Well, my title is artistic recruiting. And so designers, storyboard artists, it also goes into some other technical roles like compositors, animators, of course, occasionally, I get into editing, editors as well. But yeah, we unfortunately, I know, you're voice actress. I don't generally hire voice talents, or keep a database of voice talent. I think, you know, usually the network comes with that, or when we hire casting directors, yeah.
Alicyn
Do you also hire animation directors?
Ellen
Yeah, yeah, animation directors, art directors.
Alicyn
Production coordinator. So you must have to have a very broad sense of everybody's role within the project. And yeah, what what you're looking for. Is that something that comes from you? Or you you sit down with Chris or other people in the team? The producers?
Ellen
Yeah, it depends, it depends on the project. I think, definitely, if I'm at the very beginning and setting up a project, you know, we'd sit down with the producers with the supervising director, or showrunner, I have access to like scripts and pitch decks and just get a sense of like, what the goal and style of the project is. Further in the production, like, Oh, we need this artist to takeover, starting next month, or whatnot, I generally like to ask, you know, who's a supervisor I have to talk with that is reviewing this portfolio, it's going to be, you know, this person's gonna be working under, and what is their golden standard. I want to know what they think is the ideal candidate. And so I can match those portfolios to that. And also, you know, like, it's so important for me to see visual styles too, because we all describe things differently. So like, one person's epic is different from another person's epic. So show me the pictures, you know?
Alicyn
It's cute. My style is cute. It's cute.
Ellen
Right. Exactly. Yeah. So I need to know the specific kind of cute. Yeah.
Alicyn
Tasker says, sounds like you do a lot. And I was thinking that too. It does sound like you do a lot. How do you find time to fuel your creative, your personal projects and your personal creativity?
Ellen
Yeah, I think, you know, like, seeing all those super, super talented people working at Titmouse is actually pretty good fuel. And, you know, it's inspiring me to, and I talk about my personal project with colleagues and friends in the industry as well. And, you know, their interest and support in it is also like motivating me to do it. And it's really nice, because, yeah, like, after so many years of this idea bouncing around in my head, it's really freeing to put it down on paper. And it's just, you know, when you're developing a show, and developing idea, it just takes time. And you're just going to have to, like continuously work on it, edit it, throw out an idea, one of these days, think about it and just revise you know, so.
Alicyn
Yeah. And so is that, like, do you carve out specific niche time? Or do you more work when inspiration hits you?
Ellen
I think at this moment, it's a little bit of both. It's like generally work when inspiration hits me. But also, I do have a personal deadline for myself. So in terms of creating the assets to hit said deadline of when I'm premiering the animatic. Yeah. And also like, working with my colleagues schedules and availabilities. RokuStar says your super talent. Hey, how are you doing? Thank you.
Alicyn
Guys. I so appreciate everybody that's tuning in live. If you guys have questions for Ellen, we're gonna save a few minutes at the end for questions. So go ahead and drop them in the box down at the bottom. So Ellen, a couple people were asking sort of are, is Titmouse currently seeking artists and how does somebody put in an application?
Ellen
Yes, we are definitely seeking artists. I mean, I'll always say check out our official jobs website, which is you know, Titmouse.net careers and all the active postings are there. Those include lots of editors, we are seeking lots of lots of editors, Vancouver is seeking animators, compositors, after Effects compositors, there are a couple of design positions open as well, background painters, character designers, although we might be set for that. Yeah, the thing with the design positions like background and character those fill with so many, like one listing has 700, over 700 applicants right now. Yeah. So it's like I can say that there's a character design position, but I guarantee you like, we'll probably go through 50 and already find a candidate. Yeah, it's competition is steep.
Alicyn
Wow. And are these, the candidates, I mean, it probably runs the range. But are these generally people that went to school for art or artists? Are these people that have already worked in the business or looking at breaking in?
Ellen
I mean, yeah, all over the place, there are people that have been working, just started working, students, it's anywhere, it depends on the position. Generally, like, I would say, it's not a supervisor role. It's like skill, the relevant artwork is enough to get you a job. And you don't have to go to art school to get that skill, right? We hire people from all over the country and all over the world that never went to art school, never went to college. And it was just something that they practice in their own time developed in their own time, and got to that skill level that makes them a hireable artist. And so you do not have to pay crazy expensive tuition fees to gain the skill. Guaranteed.
Alicyn
Thanks YouTube.
Ellen
Yeah, I mean, YouTube has been crazy, like so much information out there, so much information on the internet. So, yeah.
Alicyn
That's amazing. So then, what types of, what does an artist portfolio look like?
Ellen
Yeah, so generally, you know, like, if you want to do character design, for example, definitely have some character designs on your portfolio. I like to recommend like, what is your dream show your dream job, right? And this applies to any kind of artist including voice actors, and actresses, I would say like dream show, Dream kind of voice or whatever, or design style and do some personal projects inspired by it. So let's say I want to work on Steven Universe, design some characters that feel like they fit in that world, you know? And, and those personal projects can really help you get your foot in the door.
Alicyn
Yeah. And there is so much opportunity, I think, just with the way communities are building online, to be supported and find your people and share your work. Whether it's instagram or Tiktok or Deviant Art. How do you see people are sharing and building community now in the artist space?
Ellen
Yeah, so I think Discord really took off. Yeah, discord really took off. Like, especially with the pandemic before it was already pretty great, but I'm seeing colleges and students kind of creating their own little Discord and like, they'll share notes, they'll work together. There are other communities like we have a Discord server where we're sharing job postings that we find, giving portfolio advice, and reviewing you know each other's art sharing each other's art. There are huge conferences, art conferences like Lightbox Expo, they have their own Discord. So check out Discord, there's, if you're interested in something there's a community for it on discord, I guarantee you.
Alicyn
I'm on Discord, but I hadn't realized that the communities were public, that there were any public communities.
Ellen
Yeah, yeah, like Lightboxes public. I mean, you might have to like go to an organization or group site to get the link. And then there are also some public groups on Discord that you can search up as well.
Alicyn
Ah, gosh, so tiring to keep up sometimes. That's amazing. Do you have any other hobbies, things that light you up, things that you like to do?
Ellen
Yes, things I like to do. I love listening to audiobooks. So yes, voice talents, amazing, you know, that, like audio book is so great to just wind down and also consume a lot of media that inspires future ideas. You know, like, I think if you want to tell stories, you're going to have to listen and read and watch a lot of stories. And then actually, I liked to, for a little bit, I started a jewelry company and I was designing my own jewelry. And that was really, really cool.
Alicyn
Tell us more about that.
Ellen
Oh, yeah. So I think on my Instagram, there is a link if like it was called PixiuNYC and I love like, I love fashion. I love jewelry and that creative bit of like, I want it exactly the way I want it and nobody's doing it, so let me just make my own. And you know, with my experience in 3D as well, I was able to like model the jewelry that I wanted in 3d, get it 3D printed cast and set with stones. And it was just thrilling, because I'm working in a digital space and then suddenly I have a tactile actual like thing that I can like, take home with me or like wear and it was awesome. Yeah, I got too busy and I couldn't keep it up and keep up with orders anymore. So I kind of just do it for myself now.
Alicyn
Okay, so there's, it's not online or available at this point?
Ellen
It's online, if you see something on my Instagram that you really want, you can send me a message. But, yeah.
Alicyn
Wow, that's so cool. I feel like I wish you lived in LA cuz we would just totally hit it off. We'd be like crafting in the backyard, see movies together and like talking about art and stuff.
Ellen
Yeah, well, maybe. Maybe one day I'll be in LA.
Alicyn
Yeah, you know, it's warm here. Gosh, we've covered so much. This is really a super interesting interview, I always love getting to know somebody and hearing more about, about you and your story. Why don't we go ahead and throw it to the audience and see if they have some specific questions. Let's see. Got a couple in the box. That's the wrong box. All right, here we go. Great. So the first question is, what do you like most about working for Titmouse?
Ellen
Hmm, I think what's amazing about titmouse is like, even though we're so big, we've got like over 1000 employees, and it still feels like a small family like Chris, the owners, Chris and Shannon, they're still like really active, you know? They'll send like a weekly update, they'll host like this Friday raffle event. And like, just speak to all their artists, and they're really accessible. And so it's just pretty awesome. You know, and I feel like all the upper management, like genuinely cares. They're constantly trying to improve, you know, the situation for their artists. So that's just what I love to see in a company, you know, so it's, it's really nice to end up there.
Alicyn
And don't you guys have like a big smash party?
Ellen
You know? Yes, it is the infamous smash party.
Alicyn
Can you tell everybody what a smash party is? I don't know. Or is the thing about smash parties is you can't talk about smash?
Ellen
I've never been to one. Okay, so I can't wait until this pandemic ends and we can get back into the office. But there have been incidents of getting a bunch of stuff, like monitors and stuff and just smashing it.
Alicyn
And you smash it with like?
Ellen
Yeah, and it's just such an amazing, like, anger venting. I did it at new New York, and it was pretty great. We did, we hosted a virtual one, I think in like Second Life this year for our five second animation today. But you know, it's not the same of smashing like something physical.
Alicyn
It's not as gratifying. You're like, Oh, yeah. Oh, gosh, that's so funny. Okay, let's see, do you guys, does Titmouse have have interns? Especially now with the pandemic, how does that work?
Ellen
Yeah, in the past, we have, unfortunately, because of the pandemic and with a remote situation, it's been difficult for productions to figure out like the security stuff with interns. So it's been a little bit slow on restarting that, although, because I am able to, you know, take a workload and be responsible for whatever I'm taking in an intern this fall, yes. And it's going to be a recruiting internship. And I've never heard of another recruiting internship before. But essentially, you know, I've learned so much about the industry and about what position, you know, all the qualifications needed in each position. And I get to see what supervisors are saying about portfolios, right? I get to hear that feedback. And that's such valuable information. And you can learn so much from that. So that is an internship that I am hosting, you do have to be in a graduate or undergraduate program, a student in order to qualify, but there is so much great information and networking opportunity to be had with an recruiting internship.
Alicyn
Yeah, and I think that that is not just the Titmouse thing. But that is a government, that is from the federal government that you need to be a currently enrolled student or affiliated with a college to do an internship. But let's see, another, also I just wanted to say that Wonderland is just, we're just interviewing Ellen today and interviewing the guests. So just to clear that up, we're only going to go live the two of us every week, this show is just about really deep diving with a different guest. So I know you guys are super interested. I know. We don't interact as much on the timeline, because we take the audio and repurpose it as a podcast. But you guys are welcome to chat amongst yourselves. And I try to keep my eyes posted for any questions that might pop up. Like Jim Tasker had a really good question. And I'm going to broaden this up, personal work or work affiliated with Titmouse. But what project is your proudest accomplishment?
Ellen
Oh, I think with each project, you know, I learned something new and I develop a little bit better. So I mean, in terms of the last project, personally, that's public is the Nickelodeon introduction to their Feature Production. So essentially, we were hired to direct the little cinematic intro that plays in front of all Nickelodeon features now. And that was played in the newest SpongeBob movie. So that was really exciting. I got to work with some really amazing talent and like, flex some of my camera composition, layout skills, you know, and cinematography. And yeah, it was, it was really a great experience in terms of like stuff I can't show I'm so excited about this series I'm developing, which is, you know, about Asian American characters, and about Buddhism. And, you know, there's such so many great lessons you can learn from Buddhism, that's not really that much public knowledge. And I think, okay, just to leave with you, leave you guys with this one tidbit, which is compassion. And what does that mean? It's not just having empathy for somebody's situation, it's taking action to relieve them of suffering. So, you know, that applies to yourself as if you don't have compassion for yourself. And you're not forgiving yourself for mistakes or things you're seeing as failure or you don't have that, like, you know, kindness to yourself and understanding like you really stifle your own growth. And you prevent yourself from achieving things you want to or happiness or finding happiness. So yeah, it's one of the core lessons.
Alicyn
Oh, that's so beautiful. It's funny, I was just, and I have a bookshop, and I bought my son this book, and it was it's kids stories based around Buddhist practices and beliefs. And I just bought it, we haven't even started reading it yet, because we're finishing up another book, but that's just Kismet that you would bring that up as well. And it looks like really beautiful illustration. I mean, there are just so many great life lessons about mindfulness and breathwork, breath-body-soul-mind connection that come from Buddhist practice. So that would, I think that's something that the world needs. Definitely a way to uplift and inspire. But I feel like we should end there. But I do want to get to a couple, I just have a couple more audience questions. And I know people are really fixated on the answer, the Women In Animation mentor circle, do you take recent grad students? Because the recruiter guy for getting a job says the prerequisite is a senior student.
Ellen
So, different circles have different requirements. I think most of them are open to anyone, you don't have to be in a school or go to a school. And so yeah, anyone can generally apply you just have to check the specific circle. I believe we have a little bit of an extension right now to sign up for mentorship circle. So there's still an opportunity to you just have to be a member, WEA member or member of organizations like Rise Up, Black N' Animated, stuff like, you know, those certain nonprofit groups.
Alicyn
I just did a voice actor panel with Rise Up animation on Saturday, actually.
Ellen
Nice.
Alicyn
I had Monica on the show a couple of months ago, it's great to learn about them. Natalie asks, who would I go to to pitch a show? And does Titmouse help with funding?
Ellen
Yeah, so Titmouse, you can pitch shows to Titmouse, I think it's generally for internal artists, you know? So any artists working at Titmouse can pitch your concept, we do have some development, money to help, you know, develop ideas. I think, from last I heard we are generally focused on Adult comedy ideas. But that might be different since I was told that. If you want to pitch a show, it's gonna be, I'm just gonna prepare you guys, it's gonna, it's hard. You know, like, and one of the struggles a lot of people run into is like, well, I don't have the art skills to create the graphics for it, you're gonna have to find the money for it. I don't have them. You know, like, it's just like, there's, if you don't have the skill, you need the money. If you don't have the money, you need the skill. So once you do have that, and you have an idea you can look into our literary reps and managers to see if they'd be interested in taking on your project and helping you pitch it to studios and networks and whatnot. But there's a guy called I think the YouTube channel Surviving Animation. Yes.
Alicyn
Yeah. You know, Eric, right? Eric.
Ellen
Calderon.
Alicyn
Calderon. Yes, he was on. When this show was like just an audio podcast, like four or five years ago. He was on the show. We have to have him back on. He's got a lot going on. But yeah, it's, his YouTube channel is so useful, guys. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off. But that was, I got all excited. And then, let's see one more question. Can you, what kind of poses do you feel are the strongest for model and turnaround sheets?
Ellen
Yeah. Okay. So for specifically for like 2D animation, you do want to generally neutral pose, you know front, quarter, and then side, and then side-quarter, and then back. Generally, if you want to do a character model sheet, and you have the ability, you can do it in like Photoshop, even when you're drawing it and just like, make a turnaround, like an animated turnaround, you can have your spreadsheet with all those poses, you know, as an image, but then also a GIF, an animated GIF for the turnaround. And I would say that if you're going to do that, make sure everything lines up, you know, like, it looks like a clean, almost 3d turnaround with those six poses, five or six poses because, like, if, when the character flips from front to side view, and their height changes, or their eyes don't line up in the same space like that showing a lack of skill or of you know, just carefulness. And so, yeah, very specific feedback.
Alicyn
Yes. Great. Well, this is funny. Hunter, can you both sing the theme song? Like Nick, Nick, Nick, big, big, big, big. I'll give you that mentor. Hopefully that was Yeah, I'll leave it to the professional. I just love Ellen's time. It has been so great getting to know you. I just have a million ideas flying through my head and like a million other interviews with other people. That would be great interviews. So yeah, I'm super inspired by your work. Everybody makes sure that you're following Ellen here. Her work is beautiful. And she shares a little bit about her journey. And is there anywhere else people can connect with you?
Ellen
I'm very active in posting job opportunities on Twitter, and you can follow me on LinkedIn as well. So, yeah.
Alicyn
Perfect. Well, thank you giving us the opportunity to chat with you.
Ellen
Thank you so much for having me.
Alicyn
You're welcome. And Women In Animation is wia.org, is it that simple?
Ellen
I think it's womeninanimation.org. Yeah. And anyone can join.
Alicyn
Anyone can join and they have a student account as well. So it's a great organization. I hope to get thrown out a lot, a lot of different opportunities and ways to get involved in workshops and seminars. So, well, thank you guys so much. If anyone's interested. I'm going to do a live over on Tik Tok at 7:15. We're going to go hang out there if you just want to hang out casually and I'll probably play some songs. So thanks again, Ellen. And we'll see you soon, okay?
Outro
Thanks for tuning in to Alicyn's Wonderland, where we explore the wild and wonderful world of animation and video games. Please remember to subscribe and leave us a review. For more episodes of Alicyn's Wonderland. Please visit us at www.AlicynPackard.com. See you next week.