Lynn is a Keyframe Illustrator and Visual Development Artist with experience in Feature Animation, who specializes in solving backstories, heartfelt moments and world logic for any animation studio that aims to reach the excellence in their industry and that believes deeply in their story. We sat down with her and reminisced about the good times we shared.
You've been coming to THU for a long time. What makes you keep coming back?
At other festivals, I felt alone, but at THU, a whole family helped me build my career.
The first festival I went to before THU was VERY intimidating to me. At that festival, I was like an alien in a world of bombastic people who were uninterested in me. I was made to feel, very harshly, that I was not part of their world (yet).
Then… Day 1 at THU: Literally 2 minutes into the festival, someone came to me and introduced me to his friends. At THU, everyone, including the speakers, gave me the feeling of being part of the animation world for the first time. Ryan Lang looked at my portfolio at my first THU!!!
When I return to THU, I see many people who are sincerely happy to see me again. People smile at me and hug me. This is a beautiful feeling.
THU is a warm, healthy place. The THU team puts a lot of effort into making me feel welcome. I need this safe space to ask people for help in this crazy career in the animation industry. That's why I keep coming back :)
Can you share a favorite moment from a previous Main Event edition that you believe embodies the essence of THU events for you?
Yes. And those were not the talks. It was the mentorships that offered the most to me.
(You should totally see the talks, too, though!).
To be part of those mentorships, you must apply on the THU website around a month before the festival. (You'll know). You can spend 2 hours with your favorite professional in small groups of 10 people.
My personal highlight sessions were: Emily Dean – director of a beautiful Love Death and Robots episode. She's a role model for me by being a visionary and an assertive woman director in a male-dominated domain. (which I find remarkable and inspiring!); and Borja Montoro, an animator and character designer on many Disney movies. He looked at my portfolio and saw something in my work that inspired him. This made me believe that I had something to share with the world.
I always try to get into these mentorships so that I'm able to talk face-to-face with my heroes and learn from their direct feedback.
What advice would you give someone attending their first THU event?
I'd ask them to allow themselves to be bad and to get better.
I'll tell you why: I struggled a lot, wishing to be better at art than I was. I was afraid people would judge me and that they would never hire me. But that mindset just made me struggle way longer and slower.
Instead, this is what I recommend thinking: Everyone attending THU has been where you are at some point. It's not that you suck or they sucked. You still need to get over some issues that they have already solved. The good thing is they can help you solve yours way faster!
The more I show people how bad I am at something, the faster those people can help me get where I want to be! :)
Any funny stories throughout your THU years?
I will never forget how one night, 300 adults, professional people (also Knights!!) sang and danced passionately to Let it go of Frozen. :D
That night… THU organized a kararoke/dance party for everyone.
The funniest thing was that all those people at THU, in my eyes, have to be very smart, diligent, and professional people. That's why they are there! At the same time, all those smart people, in this moment, TOTALLY LOST IT! Everybody was totally making a fool of themselves. But it was also beautiful: After all that struggle trying to explain our jobs to our grandmas, we were together, knowing that we all deeply understood each other's passion and struggles. We were all in the same boat together. That was so special AND FUNNY!
Do some of you guys still remember? :)
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