The Creative Career (Girls Unlimited April 2015 Keynote)

THE CREATIVE CAREER

Cheryl Platz Designer, Actress, Artist

Twitter, Instagram, Vine: @MuppetAphrodite

Facebook:

http://facebook.com/TheCherylPlatz

Blog: http://blog.cherylplatz.com

LOVE YOUR ART, LOVE YOUR LIFE.

YOU ARE MORE EMPOWERED TO

CREATE THAN ANY PRIOR GENERATION.

Internet, cheap materials, gender equality, freedom of self-‐determination….

The End of the Single

Career Era

Are you an artist? An architect? A sculptor? A performer? A writer?

The End of the Single

Career Era

Are you an artist? An architect? A sculptor? A performer? A writer?

…It doesn’t matter.

You’re a creative person, and all of these modes of expression can be tools in your toolbox. Whenever you choose.

MY STORY: ART, TECHNOLOGY,

AND A WINDING PATH

Youth & Choices

A Tale of Two Majors

I almost applied to art schools instead of technology schools, but couldn’t deny the seduction of the tech boom.

I found a school that let me do both – Carnegie Mellon had a technology program that also let me study visual design and art, along with a strong student-‐run theatre program. I did everything from hacking museum exhibits to 3D anmimated shorts and occasionally drawing comics. And TONS of theater.

The Art in Gaming

4 years in the video game industry

as a producer and designer

Lots of creativity: storytelling and

writing, level and system design,

etc.

Interaction Design: Creative Problem

Solving

On a daily basis at Amazon, I may be

drawing storyboards, sketching ideas,

designing screens and flows, designing

voice user interfaces, writing voice UI

scripts, producing videos, or programming

hardware prototypes. Past jobs have let me

design everything from phone interfaces to

cars and huge server systems.

Getting Started in Seattle

Theater

My first “break” out here came in the form

of Daphne from Scooby-‐Doo.

Launched several years of working with Jet

City Improv and various scripted theater

companies.

I took voice lessons for 2 years to break into

musical theater in the area.

Unexpected Productions

My theatrical home of 7 years: improvised

comedy and drama on a weekly basis

Redmond-‐based teaching artist for

introductory improv classes

Daytime gigs including video work and

corporate performances

http://unexpectedproductions.org

NERDprov

Improv comedy group born out of a mutual

love for geeky things and a desire to

perform at conventions.

Performed at Bumbershoot 2012 and 2013,

GeekGirlCon 2012 and 2013, Emerald City

ComicCon 2010 – 2014, The Dammit Liz

Holiday Special, and independent shows

around the state.

Seattle Experimental

Theater All-‐female staff!

Productions include “Where No Man Has

Gone Before”, “The Journal”, The Doctor”,

“The Wolf and the Witch”, and “Wedding

Horror Stories”

We have been in the black every year, and

pay everyone on our shows.

http://seattleexperimentaltheater.com

What keeps me going?

•  Like-‐minded friends and peers

•  The feeling of bringing joy to others

•  The childlike joy of playing with friends

•  The bewitching thrill of storytelling

•  Curiosity about new experiences

•  The satisfaction of teaching others

•  Knowing I’m always learning and improving

But no one ever told me I could do all of these things.

I just did. I saw opportunities and seized them unapologetically, without concern for whether it was “right” or “too much” or “good timing”.

1. DON’T WAIT FOR THE PERFECT

MOMENT… OR PERMISSION.

The morals of my story?

2. YOUR PATH WON’T LOOK LIKE ANYONE

ELSE’S PATH. BE INSPIRED, NOT

INTIMIDATED.


3. KNOW YOUR VALUE. DON’T GIVE YOUR WORK AWAY WITHOUT A GOOD

REASON.


LOOKING FOR ANOTHER STORY?

Celene Ramadan

(Leeni / Prom Queen)

“Get out of your own way and do the best work you can. Realize that while art is important it is not the end-‐all-‐be-‐all. The most important part of art is that it’s truthful.

Choosing art is choosing honesty, a certain level of openness, a very humble life and finding joy and celebrating in the immediate.”

-‐ From Crosscut magazine, April 17 2015

Local musician

Creator of “Midnight Veil” music video

movie (funded on Kickstarter)

Christa Charter

“There is nothing to prevent you from holding your own book in your hands, whether it’s digital or in paper form. There is not a damn thing to stop you. You just have to decide to make it happen and do a little bit every day until you get to the end.

It’s not easy. Sometimes it’s the worst thing ever. But the payoff will be the greatest feeling you’ll ever have.”

Former Xbox Producer

Turned her experiences into a successful

self-‐published series of video game mystery

novels, in addition to other series

Twitter: @trixie360

http://trixie360.com

(caution: some adult content)

Daisy Church

http://Daisychurch.com

Animator for Adult Swim and casual games

Now works as an artist and illustrator in San

Francisco. Does original 2D art for

conventions and galleries

HOW DO YOU MAKE A LIVING AS AN ARTIST?

Choose Your Own

Adventure

Find an audience that will fund you. Now is a very exciting time to be an indie artist:

Kickstarter (reward-‐oriented pledging)

IndieGoGo (open-‐ended project funding)

Patreon (monthly artist patronage)

YouTube, Vimeo (earn advertising revenue)

Comic Conventions (direct sales to fans)

You’ll end up wearing many hats: creator, CEO, marketer, HR, producer, secretary, accountant, saleswoman.

Build an Avocation

The classic “day job, night job” dichotomy.

Pursuing your passion in your “free time”:

-‐  Refreshes your mind for your primary work

-‐  Gives you a source of money for supplies and food

-‐  Provides inspiration and social engagement

-‐  Is totally acceptable and not “selling out”

But it also:

-‐  Really complicates your taxes

-‐  Requires really strong time management skills

-‐  May always make you wonder “what if”

Find an Employer

Working for a company as an artist or designer lets you focus on the work.

You’ll get:

-‐  Valuable experience and bigger exposure more quickly

-‐  Mentors and training

-‐  Tools, supplies, and space

-‐  Someone to handle the parts you don’t like

But you’ll sacrifice:

-‐  Creative control

-‐  The ability to choose your projects

-‐  Ownership of your work

THESE PATHS AREN’T MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. BE

CREATIVE IN SEEKING CREATIVE OUTLETS.

While You’re Here

Remember: don’t compare yourself to these women; be inspired by them. There is no timeline or single recipe for success.

Find other women your age who are inspired by the same things you are. Exchange contact information. Creative people frequently collaborate; start now.

If you get an idea for a project, WRITE IT DOWN! Don’t let that moment get away.

YOUR CREATIVE CHALLENGE

Closing Thoughts

#1: Find your joy.

Art is subjective – to be healthy and successful, you need to find joy in the process of creating that art.

What part of the process makes you happiest? What tools? What types of projects?

Chase the joy, not the accolades.

#2: Start your

notebook.

Ideas will fly through your head for a fleeting moment. Have a system for capturing them before they’re gone. A notebook, voice notes on your phone, even text messages to yourself. Don’t let inspiration pass without noticing it. If you’re a visual artist, sketch like there’s no tomorrow.

#3: Cross-train.

Is there another branch of art or creativity you’ve always been curious about?

Learning a new process can unlock new insights about what you already know.

Try writing if you’re an painter. Singing if you’re a writer. Dancing if you’re a designer. Painting if you’re a composer.

Or stay closer to home, and try a new medium, technique, or software program.

#4: Find new

inspiration.

Browse a community of creators – like Kindle, Etsy, Behance, or YouTube – until you find a new artist you appreciate.

It’s easy to get stuck – develop your method of seeking new inspiration, so you can fall back on it in tough times.

Inspiration doesn’t have to be creative, either – see a marketing technique you like? A great website? Take note.

#5 Embrace technology.

Ask yourself how technology can make your artistic life better or easier.

Faster creation of pieces? A new creative medium? Broader inspiration? Or is technology helping you on the business side – Marketing? Budgeting?

#6 Find your Desert

Island Creativity.

Say you’re trapped on a desert island, with only a pencil and paper or a music player. How do you keep your ideas flowing?

Developing a connection with a bare-‐bones approach to creativity will help you in those off moments, on subways and in waiting rooms. Don’t let environmental conditions prevent you from expressing yourself.

A last thought

about working in

the arts from Amy

Poehler

“You have to care about your work but not the end result.

You have to care about how good you are

and how good you feel,

but not about

how good people think you are

or how good people think you look.”

GOOD LUCK. LOVE YOUR ART, LOVE YOUR LIFE.

Cheryl Platz ([email protected]) Senior User Experience Designer, Amazon Performer & Instructor, Unexpected Productions Performer & Digital Media Manager, Seattle Experimental Theater Performer & Cofounder, NERDprov

Twitter, Instagram, Vine: @MuppetAphrodite

Facebook:

http://facebook.com/TheCherylPlatz

Blog: http://blog.cherylplatz.com