15 Tips To Get A Job In Animation

Are you struggling to break into the animation industry? Netflix art director Drew Hartel has advice on surviving the “waiting room”…

- Drew Hartel

2020 was a tough year for everybody, but along with the difficulty we faced together, there were some hidden blessings too.

As well as enjoying spending more time with my family, one of the unexpected blessings this year was getting to start a mentorship programme on Patreon to help people in all different walks of their journey either break into the industry or strengthen their skillset. There’s nothing more rewarding than helping someone get their first job and although everybody is a different case and some may take longer to get in than others, they’ll get in as long as they don’t give up.

The idea for this mentorship came from my own personal experiences. I remember being so frustrated when trying to figure out how to get into the industry. Do I need to go to college, do I need a mentor, or is it like a contest and if I get an internship then I’m the lucky guy who gets to be trained to work in the industry? I ended up taking out more loans than most doctors to get through art school and provide for my family. Yet once I got there I realised that this could have been a lot easier had somebody stepped up and helped me as a mentor and charged a fair price.