Uncategorizable gianormous update

Wow. Alright, so it has been forever since I've updated my blog.
I can't believe I haven't posted since Ice Age 3 was released!
It was such a surreal moment sitting next to my family in the exact same theater I use to work at... I can't even describe it. All the memories of sweeping up popcorn or dealing with customer service issues and longing to be making the films instead.. all of those feelings came rushing back.. Watching my name go by in the credits along with all of my friend's names in the first feature film I've worked on was crazy exciting.

Definitely a moment I will never ever forget as long as I live.
I've been dreaming of working on feature films my whole entire life and never did I expect to reach my goal so quickly. (especially one that is doing so remarkable.. now, the 22nd top grossing film worldwide..ever! That is insane). I had done my research on the industry and was fully prepared for the long hard struggle to get my foot in the door. I know I put in a lot of hard work and did as much as I possibly could, but I still feel like I owe a lot of it to just being in the right place at the right time and getting an extremely lucky break. I've looked to this quote for some time now and never has it rang so true...

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity"

It feels incredibly odd to achieve my life goal before I turned 21. In a way I feel like the fish in the bags at the end of Finding Nemo "now what?" Although, it's not so much a question of "what?" as it is "how?" or "when?"
I know that this is only the beginning and I know I want to continue animating on films for audiences to enjoy. I'm now in the long hard struggle to try to keep my foot in the door and prove that I really want this.
hehe, I now have a more realistic experience of the job hunt... but I'm ready for it! It's really about time I probably pay my dues :)
Anyways, I've applied to a bunch of studios and had some dead ends as well as some possibly good leads. I'm still short experience wise, which is frustrating at times, but then I remind myself that I'm young and experience will come with time. :)
I've been continuing to animate in the meantime to keep learning and push myself forward. I'm planning on taking a refresher course at Animation Mentor until I find another job. I may have achieved my goal of working on a feature film, but I never want to stop learning and I hope to animate on many more. I figured continuing my education in a more formal setting is probably one of the best ways to keep moving forward.

One thing I miss most from Blue Sky are the people. Animator's are such amazing people and I miss all of the friends I made. It's the same withdrawal I feel after I get back from Animation Mentor get-togethers, such as the BBQ/Grad/or Siggraph. All of which I attended again this summer and had an incredible time. Siggraph was in New Orleans this year and was fantastic! I can't believe I'm going to wrap up BBQ/Grad/and Siggraph with 2 or 3 generic sentences about them being amazing! However, I cannot possibly cover all of their amazingness details right here. There is just too much... so I'm going to move on to some other news...

I finally bought myself a domain name... and switched the template on my website.
I now officially have my own .com for a year.
www.teresanord.com
I have updated it with my new resume and reel breakdown (including the shots I worked on in Ice Age).. but I still want to double check with the studio before I upload my new demo reel with Ice Age 3 material. I promise it's coming soon!

I also heard this really cool quote the other day and included it on the banner of my site mostly to remind myself...and I just sorta wanted to explain it.
(anyone who knows me knows I love motivational quotes, anyways here it goes)

"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence." -Walt Disney

I really liked this because I know my greatest weakness is confidence. I've learned a whole lot about myself lately and know that it is something I need to work on. Going through Animation Mentor I was told that as an animator you need to have a thick skin so you can handle feedback. At the time I was convinced that I had thick skin.. I wanted my mentor's and fellow classmates to tear my work apart, because I knew it would only make me stronger. I loved a good thorough critique. I thought that was the whole definition of thick skin, being able to accept constructive criticism and being willing to take direction. I was great at that, I had it down. I know now, however, that I didn't understand the whole definition and wasn't as thick as I thought. Having thick skin means being able to separate yourself from your work. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it.. but being able to accept critiques is one thing and letting that effect your self confidence is another. I now understand and know what I have to work on. I'm prepared now to make that separation and I honestly think that is one of the most valuable revelations I had during my first work experience. I guess what I mean is, separate your critiques from your self confidence. You will be in a much better place emotionally. If you don't it can really start to drag you down... Just remember that you were hired for a reason. They saw talent in you and you do know what you're doing. Just believe in yourself... and yeah.. was that a little too sappy? I don't mean it to be.. but jumping into crunch time on a major feature film is a positively frightening experience when it's your first job, trust me. It feels like trial by fire. Even if it's the best experience ever and the people are incredibly nice and helpful.. it can be downright overwhelming.. and just going through that process I discovered lots of things. This being one of them. Anyways, it feels like the biggest accomplishment to come out at the end and say that "yeah, I did that and I made it through... and I learned a lot." There are lots of ups and downs in animation.. but I think having self confidence is definitely important. (lol, not too much self confidence that you're arrogant and have too much attitude or anything.. but don't have too little self confidence where you never stand behind an idea of yours or beat yourself up over everything). Anyways, there you have it.. one of the biggest most valuable lessons I've learned recently. :)