"It is not only a job; it is my life!"

The crisis in the animation and VFX industry is a personal affair.

As children, we are asked:

"What do you want to do when you grow up?

Our answer usually starts with: "I want to BE...

• ...a nurse
• ... a lawyer
• ... an animator"

It is funny to see how we were asked what we wanted to DO, and the answer was who we wanted to BE. Since childhood, our future job has already been part of our identity. In light of the latest state of the animation and VFX industry, it is not, in fact, these industries that suffer but the people who are a part of them. So, the statement, " It is only a job," is false when we consider the perspective of anyone committed to their career and craft for years and decades.

It is not only a job; it is my life!

This mindset is noble.

But can it also be part of the pain we suffer collectively as animation and VFX professionals?

Do I do a better job because I associate my identity with my career?

Or is my clinging to my professional identity a source of anxiety?

I don't have the answer to this short post. However, we must collectively act to diversify our identities so we are not "just" animators. Having our entire identity rely on the state of an industry we do not control might be a losing bet; we must diversify.

Even if it is a job I care for and love, it is still a job.

I support movements like #StandWithAnimation, but let's not miss the point: The people I stand with are the people of animation and VFX. The animation and VFX industry don't need saving; it's the people who compose it who need help. Let's combine our best ideas to save ourselves so we can increase our sources of income, learn new skills, and find safety and happiness in activities other than our professional lives.

The industry of tomorrow will be a by-product of our success.

*Click HERE to listen to our podcast episode with Virginie Lavallée and Tini Wider, who discuss navigating the fluctuations of the industry*