This 12-Minute Video Is Loaded With Constructive Advice For Out-Of-Work Animation Artists

Storyboard artist Meridian Gray Culpepper has posted a new video ruminating on lessons learned over the past 11 months as an unemployed animation artist in L.A.

At the height of the pandemic, Culpepper served as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios and later worked on the series WondLa at Skydance Animation. She also regularly teaches animation and storyboarding techniques on her Youtube channel. Her latest video, while still educational, is far more personal than the kind of content she usually puts out.

According to Culpepper, “The personal, difficult stuff about being an artist is just as relevant as the educational stuff.”

Culpepper’s (Extremely Relatable) Situation

Explaining the current state of affairs in her own work life, Culpepper says that she has been without animation work for just about 11 months now. She says that although she was diligent about saving while gainfully employed, regularly putting away around 30% of her income, her rainy day funds …