This blog question is pretty interesting. When I first started art I wanted to be an animator. I wanted to make the 2d cartoons that I was watching on tv at the time. I soon came to understand that if I really wanted to work on shows like that and get into the real meat and potatoes of it, I would have to become a storyboard artist. So with that career path I wanted to inspire a large number of people and teach good values to kids. but now that my path has changed I am not to sure what I want now. Working with a large company that is stable sound very ideal but also working for a small start up where I can get really close to my teammates sound way more full filling. So I think that my current aim, I want to end up working with a small team for a specific audience. Something that has to do with product design for climbing, video games, or even animation.
So the positives for a small audience, are not having to appeal to everyone. Another positive is the small specific audience becoming a large specific audience. Lets choose climbing for example, there are very few big name companies for climbing but they are all very recognizable. So recognizable in fact that you don’t see many ads for them. Climbers are the ads themselves. Showing off their gear and clothes. Ask any climber and they will recommend you their favorite pants to climb in or their favorite down turn shoes. Climbing is now so popular I am sure your cousin if not brother loves to boulder on the weekends.
Another positive is being more intimate with your work. Bigger companies have to pump stuff out very quietly to keep appealing to more people and many corners can be cut or not a lot of love is into mass production. I am sure you still have to meet deadlines and what not but being able to work with a video game for many years and making it the best it can be sounds very nice. That being said a lot video games have corners cut all the time.
A down side of working for a small specific audience is that audience is one too specific or two just simply goes away after a few years. I feel like it is a lot like stocks, you start small and want it to grow. Investing doesn’t always pan out and that’s sad but it happens. So that a down side, your audience being too weak or not growing. also maybe not a ton of pay to start out with. Also not having your band name to back you up yet. You have to get out there with a lot of work and the can be fruitful but also can’t be.
As long as I can find something I am passionate about or something leads me to that I am happy. At the end of the day I want to be proud of the things I do and be able to have a good work life balance, work hard, play harder.