Today we’d like to introduce you to Jackie Lee.
Jackie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I’m sure like many professional artists, I wanted to make drawing my career ever since I could pick up a pencil. However, I mostly stuck to drawing Naruto and Pokemon fanart throughout my teen years. I liked having fun and society told me only moody sad weirdos do art for a living. Only until late into high school did I realize there are actual art jobs in this godforsaken world, and you can work your way towards one if you know how! I didn’t know how.
I was told about the animation industry and animation colleges through my good friend Tumblr. I started researching more and more and decided that I wanted to aim to work in this animation industry. I love cartoons and drawing silly faces, so there was my criteria. It was difficult, I felt so behind already. I took life drawing classes and drew everyday. Once the school day was over, I would spend the rest of the day drawing and working on a portfolio.
Okay, I’m gonna try to condense it as much as possible from this point on: I applied to CSSSA (the CalArts summer program for high school students) and got rejected. The pain and anger from that rejection fueled me even further (after I pity ate some KFC while crying into my mashed potatoes). I improved over a few months, in fact I improved so much I got accepted to CalArts (my dream school). CalArts was fun but had its problems and was also a gajillion dollars to attend. It’s fine I try not to think about it. I did some cool films, made great friends, cried a lot, stress ate. My senior year was pretty good, I won the Peer’s Pick award which is still one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me (my fellow peers were so kind, definitely the best part of school). I graduate, I don’t get full-time work immediately which makes me feel bad. I do freelance but my loan repayment is kicking in. I get a job at BuzzFeed which is cool for a little bit until it isn’t cool and I’m not satisfied drawing stolen memes for Instagram everyday. I am trying very hard to leave. I do about 15 tests throughout the course of a year and at this point rejection simply leaves a dull smile on my face. A lucky break! Centaurworld at Netflix gives me a chance! I am so happy. My first animation union job. My first storyboard revisionist position. My time at Centaurworld is amazing, but good things have to come to an end. I am worried I won’t find work fast enough after my end date, especially with the pandemic. I see a tweet about how a new show at Nick needs revisionists. I DM and don’t expect anything. I get emailed, get more info, something happens yadda yadda I GET A NEW JOB. Now I’m a storyboard revisionist at Nick and I love this crew as well. Middlemost Post is a very wonderful show. My story is incomplete, I hope to continue to improve and grow as a person and die with no regrets.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It wasn’t smooth at all!!! I feel extremely privileged and comfortable where I am currently, but getting to this point felt so impossible back then.
Apparently, getting into college wasn’t even the hardest part. Once the question of “How will I pay tuition?” came around, things got even more complicated. I don’t wanna get into it too much, but it “worked out” in the end. Worked out meaning I was able to commit an obscene amount of money to go to a nice, well-known college but now I’m going to pay loans until I am a wrinkly prune. During school, I was always playing catch-up. I knew so little about animation. I often felt overlooked compared to my peers. I wasn’t bitter because my peers are amazing and deserved the praise, but it was hard always feeling like I was never good enough.
I guess it’s not all bad, though. School introduced me to the best group of friends I know as well as many amazing teachers and industry professionals. These connections have really helped me when it came to job hunting. It still wasn’t a cakewalk, though…
Many of my fellow classmates left school early, and many times it was because they were offered jobs. Many students who graduate my school find work quite quickly. It gave me a false sense of how difficult it would really be to find work in animation. I tested during school (all while I was doing all my schoolwork and doing a part-time job…. I can’t believe I survived) and after graduation. There were no bites until nearly two years after I graduated. It doesn’t seem like a long time on paper, but living through it felt agonizing! Every rejection just felt so dismissive, but I did my best not to become cynical. After all, the industry is competitive. I tried to focus on improving my own work and paying rent.
Thinking back on it, I’m really proud of myself for staying positive. But it was rough! Many days of stress crying and feeling extremely inadequate. It’s okay now. I still stress cry though!!!
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Oh my god, everyone in my life.
My family, who loves and supports me endlessly. We grew up a poor Korean family and faced many financial struggles. It was a huge risk to let me go to such an expensive school in such a turbulent field. But they wanted me to do what made me happy. I am so grateful to them.
My friends, who make me laugh and inspire me everyday. Seriously, my friends make the coolest art and are always supporting me. We stuck together during our post-graduation unemployment period, giving each other encouragement and love. I would be nowhere without them.
My teachers/mentors who never gave up on me. Especially my many Film Workshop teachers. I was very lucky and had very sweet, loving, understanding Film Workshop teachers throughout my college life.
And God, big dude in the sky who I imagine is watching my life like its a funny livestream.
Seriously, I could NOT have gotten to where I am alone. I’m so grateful to everyone in my life who are behind me.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.itsjackielee.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_itsjackielee/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_itsjackielee
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
