THE SIMPSONS NEWS/VIDEO – How, not listening to Han Solo, caused me to lose my job.

Great kid! Don’t get cocky!

Non-Simpsons Quote:

Great Kid! Don’t get cocky! – Han Solo

In 2002, about 10 years ago, I got laid off from The Simpsons.

Back then I had been working on the show for about 9 years. I had worked my way up in reputation so I was one of the more preferred layout artists on the show.

People WANTED me on their crew. I knew it, and I LIKED that status. Because of this I started getting more and more cocky.

Click on the video below to hear me tell this story. It’s the first video I’ve ever done for this blog. I hope you like it.

If you’d rather read it, I’ve provided transcript of sorts below. It’s the same story. The text version is a bit more cleaned up and more to the point. Whichever way you choose is up to you:

The Problem with Being Cocky

Being cocky made me very very comfortable.

In this industry, being comfortable, is the worst thing that can happen to you because what ends up happening is exactly what happened to me. I started getting lethargic. I thought anything I drew was going to be awesome.

I started phoning it in. I started doing whatever I wanted. I just, drew whatever, said to myself, “That will be good,” and just turned it in. It my work really wasn’t all that good.

Since I was, “one of the best guys,” or “more preferred guys,”…well…what could happen, right?

Of course, bad quality work, equals people not wanting to work with you.  What ended up happening was that I went from working on a lot of permanent crews, to becoming a “Floater”.

The Problem with Floating

A “Floater” was a layout artist that wasn’t assigned to a permanent crew. Their job was to come and help any crew that was in trouble during revisions. It’s a position you didn’t want to be in.

Most of the time, being in revisions is very very stressful and time consuming. BUT if you where a “Floater” you would get in at the last minute, like two weeks before shipping.

This means the deadlines where harder, the work had to be done faster and this doesn’t help the quality of your work.

To make things worse, if burns you out.

So after I’d been helping out two or three shows this way, I was so burned out, the quality of my work was sooo bad…there really was no way for me to get out of that hole. I was just on a downward spiral from that point on.

There was nothing I could do about it. People just didn’t want me on their permanent crew after that.

I don’t think anybody actually knew this was happening.  This just didn’t want me on their crew.

The Review

There came a point where one of the directors I was working for, gave me a review.  It wasn’t a very good review. It was an, “okay” review.  But at that point they were looking to lay people off.

So when the season ended, they told me that I’d be back next season.

Between seasons, we have a hiatus. This usually last about one, two or three Months depending on the quality of artist or how much in demand you are or what position you’re in.

Well, my hiatus went from, one Month, to two Months, to three Months…and that’s when I started getting worried.

I had a friend at the time, on the show, who was a background guy. He called me up on the phone,

“I heard through grapevine, that you ain’t coming back,” and I was like,

“…oh man…”

I  called the show and talked to the producer and she said,

“Yeah, we’ll call you when we find out what’s going on,” but she never did. That was it.

It was a soft layoff, but it was a layoff.

So for an entire season, I didn’t work on the show.

The Best Worst Thing, That Ever Happened to me.

This was the best possible thing that ever happened to me.  It was a life altering experience.

Sometimes things like this are the best thing that happened to you and it definitely was the best thing that could’ve happened to me.

I found myself.  I found what I wanted to do. I met my wife during that time. I mean…it…wasn’t so bad.

What happened during that year is a story for another time. For now, lets just say, that circumstances came about that caused me to call the show again one year later.

Surprise Amnesia

So I’m on the phone with the producer and she’s like,

“Oh yeah, come back. You can start on this date!” and it was like,

“What?” It was as if  they had forgotten why they didn’t want me.

“Yeah come back!”

“Wha…?!” It was crazy.

When I showed up to the studio people where like,

“It’s about time you came back,” that’s when I realized they’d forgotten that I totally blew it that last season I was there. Or perhaps no one really knew but a small group of people who no longer worked there anymore.

Well, I wasn’t going to say anything about it. I just decided that I was going to do the best work I’d ever done EVER.

Ever since then I’ve been dotting my “i”s and crossing my “t”s, making sure everything I do is always the best I could possibly do.

I’m never going to get cocky ever again.

So that’s the story.

The Moral

So if you’re in the animation industry or any kind of  art industry, learn from my mistake. Listen to Han Solo.

“Don’t get cocky kid!”

The moment you think you know, is the moment you stop learning.

Comment

When has being cocky bitten you in the butt? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

Some Behind the Scenes Goofiness

In this week’s e-mail, I’ve sent five examples of artwork my co-workers have done of me.

They were done to show how dignified and respected I am at work.

Here’s a sample of what these love letters are like. These is a little comic my friend Erick drew of his experience when I would look over his cubicle wall:

Yes, I have more of these indignities…uh…I mean dignities in this week’s e-mail.

If you haven’t opted in to receive my e-mails and you too want to see the madness and tom foolery that animators get into in their spare time, feel free to opt in below.

If you do so before next Thursday, I’ll resend this e-mail to you.

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