Takeover Tuesday with Rachel Reid
Q&A with Rachel Reid: a freelance 2D and 3D character animator, living in Detroit, MI.
Q&A with Rachel Reid
Read time: 10min
Madison Caprara:
What’s up, Rachel?
So, let’s start from the beginning. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your upbringing!
Rachel Reid:
Hello! My name is Rachel Reid and I am a freelance character animator. I was born in Detroit, Michigan, and attended the College for Creative Studies with a BA in Animation.
Growing up, I loved to draw and play video games with my twin brother. Drawing was really the only thing I wanted to do both at school and at home. My father encouraged my brother and me to learn Toon Boom Harmony, Blender, and Maya from a very early age. We spent so much of our time creating our own animations and making fun 8-bit video games. My brother would create a flip-book with stick-figure animations on sticky notes while I’d create my own comic books and watch cartoons. I grew up very fortunate to be surrounded by a loving and supportive family who encouraged me to learn and grow artistically.
Madison Caprara:
So, how exactly did you get into drawing and animation career-wise? When did you know that it was something you wanted to pursue?
“Miles” — Created by Rachel Reid.
Rachel Reid:
I loved watching animated films. Growing up, I was always interested in understanding how they were made. More than the movies themselves, I enjoyed watching the “behind the scenes” footage of some of my favorite Disney or Miyazaki films. Strangely, pursuing animation never felt like something I decided to do. It simply felt like a natural response to my growing need to find my purpose in life!
While the interest was always there, my father especially encouraged me to dive into the medium. His support was crucial in my pursuit as he provided me with a computer and always had the animation software equipped and ready to go. I remember the day he begged me to start exploring Autodesk Maya. I’ve never stopped using Maya since!
Madison Caprara:
That unwavering support is so crucial. Despite that, was there ever any hesitancy or doubt when deciding to pursue this career path?
“it wasn’t until I realized that there weren’t many women and BIPOCs in the industry, that the doubts came rolling in.”
Rachel Reid:
I’m very blessed to have parents who encouraged me to pursue my artistic goals from a young age. I realize not many young artists have parents who support their endeavors, as it seems much more secure to pursue something more practical. Because of the support from my parents, I had no reservations as I began studying and pursuing animation for my career. It wasn’t until I realized that there weren’t many women and BIPOCs in the industry that the doubts came rolling in. However, nothing felt more divine than my pursuit of animation; so my doubts were completely drowned out as I began learning the 12 principles!
Madison Caprara:
So, going from pursuing an education to actually delving into the professional world, how did you end up at Gunner? What was your experience like there?
Rachel Reid:
A month or so after graduating from The College for Creative Studies, I landed an internship at Gunner (which was a start-up studio at the time). I didn’t know much about Gunner or how popular they would become later down the line. I was just happy to have landed a job more than anything.
Gunner turned out to be a great experience though! My skills improved so much during my time there. Because my work was heavily relied on by my peers, I had to shift my focus from nitpicking to just getting the job done. Modifying my thinking in that way helped me focus on making the next project better than the last, and that's when the growth came. The best thing about working for Gunner was collaborating with the freelancers and networking with talented artists throughout the industry. If I had spent less than the five years I did at Gunner, my jump into freelance work would not have been as seamless during the pandemic; I was meeting new people in the industry up until the very last day I was employed at Gunner, and I’m super thankful for that.
Madison Caprara:
Sweet!
So personally, I’m pretty sensitive to the environment I’m in and the things going on around me. How do you allow the going-ons of everyday life to influence your works?
“Knandu Apparatus” — By Rachel Reid.
Rachel Reid:
This is a tricky question for me. I think the biggest challenge I’ve had since working professionally is having a life outside of work so that I can stay motivated and inspired.
It was easy to work on my own projects while in college, but it’s been a long time since I have created, designed, storyboarded, and animated my own ideas. That’s a muscle I have to stretch a little more. When I finally take time off from work, that's when I become more observant and try to stow away the interesting things I see - and experience - into my memory for future projects. I’d like to get back into the habit of carrying a notebook with me so I can write down any ideas that come to me.
Madison Caprara:
Pivoting off of that, what is your favorite subject matter to play off of? Why?
Rachel Reid:
My favorite subject matter is history! When I’m learning about the history of any country or culture, I feel like I’m in a time capsule! It’s interesting to learn how people, societies, cultures, and traditions evolve over time. History is the best explanation as to why things are the way they are today and is a good indicator of how far we’ve come as a society.
Madison Caprara:
Or how far we haven’t come.
Fun speed round! Critique one well-known animation. This can be on any scale. What do you like? Dislike? What would you change?
Rachel Reid:
I really love J’ai Perdu Mon Corps by Jérémy Clapin. I love this film because it's very adult and a much more thought-provoking film than it is action-packed. As far as the style of the film, it doesn’t go out of its way to be too impressive. The heart of the film lies within the narrative, the story is a bit existential with a lot of symbolism. In every scene, I feel close to the characters and the story gives us - the audience - room to sit with them and feel what they feel, in both the silence and the noise.
There’s a sequence about a quarter of the way through the film where the main character and a young woman have a meaningful conversation through an apartment intercom. It’s my favorite scene because you can actually feel the thread connecting these two strangers in an intimate way, even though they can’t see each other. Their personalities are conveyed clearly through their tone of voice, body language, and reactions rather than recited to us by some outside character. If I could be a part of an animated film that is just as thought-provoking and cinematic as J’ai Perdu Mon Corps, then that would be a dream come true.
“history is the best explanation as to why things are the way they are today, and is a good indicator of how far we’ve come as a society.”
“Nike Air” — Animation by Rachel Reid
Madison Caprara:
It sounds beautiful, for sure one I’ll be adding to my list.
How do you see the difference between making 2D animation, 3D animation, and more illustrative projects? Do you have a preference between the three?
Rachel Reid:
I don’t necessarily have a preference between 2D, 3D, and illustrative work. I feel like each requires me to work a different creative muscle. Though I find illustrative projects to be very fun and a little less stressful than animation because they don’t require drawing thousands of frames, 2D and 3D animation are more my forte. It’s easier to lean on the 12 principles of animation and the rules of anatomy and body mechanics than it is to choose from literally thousands of different design decisions.
3D animation takes a little longer for me to execute because I’m dealing with so many controls in order to puppet a character. Also, did I mention that dealing with Z space can be a pain? Nevertheless, I love 3D animated projects because it gives my brain a rest from the tedious process of 2D animation. In my mind, animation is animation regardless of 2D or 3D. I’m still drawing from the same fundamentals and each medium is super fun to work with!
Madison Caprara:
You have some seriously amazing work!
How’s your work/life balance going? How do you find the time to step away and decompress a bit?
Rachel Reid:
Thanks so much for the compliment!
Work/Life balance is something that I’m still trying to figure out! It’s really tough. Usually, I NEVER take any time off, and that has made a huge negative impact on my health. Now that I’m freelance, it’s my primary focus to organize my schedule and take time off. So far, the best way for me to find time is to make sure I don’t overbook myself. When I first went freelance, I didn’t realize how intense each project would be. I would book the next job the very next day after my current project wrapped up. I even did some moonlighting.
Rachel Reid:
It’s tempting to say “yes” to every project, but that only leads to quick burnout and completely depleted motivation. I think taking a couple of days, or even a week, between bookings has really helped me reset my mind and give me the time to focus on other interests such as learning a language or an instrument. I realize without that time to catch up on life and gain new experiences, my enthusiasm for animation becomes non-existent. I say all of this to say, there’s nothing wrong with saying the word, “no”. If you want a life, you’ll have no choice but to say “no”.
Madison Caprara:
I’m sure burnout is an easy slope to go down when you’ve turned your passion into your career.
I am pretty new to the industry, you are one of the few BIPOC animators I have come across. The lack of diversity has surprised me. If you are comfortable, do you have any thoughts or experiences to share on the topic?
Rachel Reid:
Ah yes, BIPOC in animation. Yes, I have a lot to share. First and foremost, it is very disappointing that there aren’t many BIPOC in the animation industry across the board. That includes motion design, feature animation, TV Animation, and games. The very same black artists that inspired me when I first started studying animation 12 years ago are the same people who inspire me now. However, I have not come across many in-between that time.
While I’ve always wanted to pursue animation, I did feel hesitant at times. I had come to notice that I did not see any BIPOC artists in the “making of” footage of my favorite animated films. Because of this, there was a time when I didn’t understand the point of my pursuit. I truly thought I’d be rejected at first glance. So I made a point to work really hard. I wanted to be so good at animation that they’d have no choice but to hire me. While I’m still working on perfecting my skills, I do believe I’ve made it this far because of the ‘work to the bone’ mentality of my youth. But to be honest, I don’t like being one of the very few BIPOC animators in the industry. I don’t want to feel like that token black woman animator. In fact, a friend of mine referred me to a colleague describing me as a “black woman animator.”Just “animator” would have sufficed.
Rachel Reid:
I prefer a more diverse workplace where artists from all over the world can contribute their experiences and sensibilities to every project. Men are already outnumbering women in creative workplaces but the homogeneousness creates a feeling of all-encompassing isolation to POCs, no matter how fun and outgoing your colleagues are. I believe a diverse industry would create diverse projects that will no doubt be innovative and unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in animation. The biggest honor I could ever have is being an inspiration to a young black artist who’s ready to impact the world with their art.
“…there’s nothing wrong with saying the word, ‘no’. if you want a life, you’ll have no choice but to say, ‘no’.”
Madison Caprara:
Very, VERY well said. It’s sad how this issue transcends every industry I’ve come across.
Moving on to a lighter topic, where do you go for inspiration?
Rachel Reid:
Life gives me inspiration! Spending time with friends and family, listening to music, traveling, immersing myself in culture and history; All make a huge impact on my work as well as my motivation to continue in the animation industry.
Created by Rachel Reid.
“if there is anything that's equally important as staying on top of your craft, it's taking a break and having a life so that you can feed those experiences back into your work.”
Madison Caprara:
Nice! Well, do you have any closing advice or points you would like to share?
Rachel Reid:
For anyone looking for advice in regards to working in animation, I would say to stay passionate, but be realistic.
While it’s not always easy to break into the industry, the grass is not always greener once you’re working full time. Making your life’s passion your job can sometimes bring disappointment. Not every project is going to be fulfilling and finding the time to work on personal projects will be tough. This industry is very demanding. It requires a lot of crunch and over time, so understanding the importance of work/life balance is key if you’re looking to stay for the long haul.
Give yourself some time to work on your own projects. Collaborate with friends and give yourself time to learn new things. I feel very blessed to draw for a living, but that does not mean it’s stress-free. If there is anything that's equally important as staying on top of your craft, it's taking a break and having a life so that you can feed those experiences back into your work.