Check Out Andrea Adams’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Adams.

Hi Andrea, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Well, the last time I had the pleasure of doing a profile for VoyageLA, we were smack in the middle of the pandemic. My career as a teacher had taken an interesting turn, as was the case for many. I felt and still feel incredibly privileged to be able to work online in this new landscape we all have to continue to navigate. I never would have predicted this to be the way I work with other artists. I think there’s a delicate balance that has to be achieved because it can be a really distracting way to learn, but I also think there are benefits to having a more freeing educational environment. It’s taken over a decade and a half of teaching to really understand how to provide different kinds of learning to different kinds of students, and I think I’ve finally gotten that balance as close as I can to where I want it and where it works.

Teaching was never my goal, actually. As a visual artist, I assumed the only way to get inspiration out there was to have my work out there, but over time I realized I was underestimating the impact of being a good teacher had on both my own approach to art AND how I could help others. I still freelance but my main career is as a professor at the Art Center College of Design, my alma mater, and teaching design there in the concept design department feels like coming full circle.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Again, I feel monumentally lucky as a professor. I taught at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects for 14 years before moving to Art Center. Both schools gave me the freedom to teach in ways I could keep exciting and engaging, and when we had to move online, I felt even more privileged that the schools supported this methodology. At this point, most pictures of me are from the perspective of my laptop camera, wearing some kind of ludicrous combination of slovenly loungewear, with at least one of my cats photobombing. This is now how I teach, haha, and I find the challenge of keeping students involved and inspired continually invigorating.

The biggest challenge really was getting past some impostor syndrome because I didn’t set out to do this job and often couldn’t quite believe I was responsible for guiding lives into their careers. Every class session I teach offers up new challenges and new problems I have to solve, for the benefit of the students. I try to teach class online as though I was in the classroom, so there’s some jumping up and down and general tomfoolery rather than just sitting there with my face shoved into the camera. You have to be able to pivot fast and with assurance, which is part of the fun.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I teach a storyboarding and story development course, an animal anatomy course, and an advanced style design in cinema course. Staying on top of research, staying current with everything from paleontological discoveries to new game titles, and staying energized in the face of Zoom fatigue presents challenges that appeal to me. On top of that I get to bring students out to my barn, the Shadow Hills Equestrian Center, to be schooled in animal anatomy and behavior by my horse and my co-teacher Chantal Zuniga, which is such a fun way to provide knowledge. I get to bring special guests in to teach software and design, I get to bring students to animal rescues, and I get to talk about whatever awesome thing we’re all watching or playing and get everyone else talking about it too.

Contact Info:

• Website: andreaadamswriter.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/andrea.lesley.adams