A few months ago, I attended an ASIFA-East panel discussion on the state of the New York City Animation Industry. During this discussion, a producer unfamiliar with the scene here, asked the audience why so many artists did not have web sites to feature their work. His recruitment efforts for projects were being hindered by the difficulty of finding artist’s reels and portfolio’s online. The audience seemed to take offense and suggested that the reason lay in the nature of the local industry. Finding work relies heavily on word of mouth, and animators are often recommended to projects based on a colleague’s prior work history and personal relationship with them. The animation industry in New York City is very small, and the tight knit, friendly community of animators know the value of networking in such a competitive business. Because jobs are largely a referral business, websites were deemed unnecessary.

While many aspects of this argument are true, I, and much of the audience, did agree that web sites were an important way of showcasing your work, and make contact quick and easy. I have had a web site for many years now, and a few friends asked me if I had ever received unsolicited work through my web site. While I often get inquiries from well meaning but well-under-funded creators looking for animators to complete their first pilot, work still most often comes through referrals. But because I am easily found online and my reel readily accessible, producers have little problems judging whether my skill set is right for the specific project. I invested in a number of web design classes last year, and the skills I’ve learned have been invaluable. I now freelance in web design and really enjoy the medium.

Having a web site is an important part of how I conduct business in this industry. I would urge all artists to design a web site and keep it up to date. If you don’t know how to design a web site, you can use a blog service instead, such as Blogger or Wordpress. Blogs are useful in that they allow for a free, fast, and easy upload of content and many artists use them to exhibit recent work they’ve completed. Customizing the look and layout of the blog takes more technical expertise and can require service fees. One drawback of blogs is that your posts tend to get buried as new posts are uploaded, and unless you tag and link your posts properly, finding specific pieces of work can take longer than with a regular web site.

In addition to simple blogs, Wordpress goes a step further and allows you to download their software to your server. This publishing platform allows for a fully customizable site, and many companies actually use the software not as a blog but as a content management system to design their site. The software is free to use, and there is a wealth of tutorials and documentation on Wordpress’s site and on the web regarding its use.

If you don’t have the time to learn web design, you can also ask a friend or get a company to design the site for you. Your site can be as comprehensive as you want it to be. At a bare minimum, it should feature your reel and/or artwork, your resume, a short bio, and a contact form. It can also contain a news section, and a links page featuring favorite web sites and other useful information. Use your site as yet another means of promoting your films and your background. Study up on search engine optimization techniques, so that your site will appear at the top of Google search results. You can also make use of newsletters and ask your readership to subscribe to the email blasts.

This isn’t the right forum to discuss actual web site design, but if you do not have one already, I would urge to do some research and take that plunge. It definitely goes a long way to getting your work out there and noticed. I would love to hear more about how having a web site has helped you and what your experience as an animator has been with them. It would also be interesting to hear from producers as well. Do you find it helpful in finding artists? Hope you all are well. Happy designing!