It doesn't happen often..but sometimes Twitter upsets me...

I'm scrolling through my twitter feed and that video (up above) shows up (LINK HERE).

And it's fine, nothing upsetting you'd think.
It shows a 24-year old Craig McCracken working on his short for pitching Powerpuff Girls back in 1995.

I have really fond memories of this time on Cartoon Network when it was new. Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Samurai Jack and more were coming out. Lots of original characters and stories in unique styles.

Reminded me of when Batman The Animated Series was out along with the old school Disney Afternoon of cartoons (Darkwing Duck, Ducktales, Rescue Rangers, Gummy Bears, etc). 

And I loved all that, BUT THEN...

I started seeing the responses. 

Like these (I anonymized them).

First of all...I understand their concerns.

There's a lot of turmoil out there in professional art fields. Between economic, political and technological (ai...blech) I believe we should have concerns.

BUT!

You also live in a time of insane opportunity.

It almost doesn't matter where you live or your level of experience or age or whatever.

For context, in 1995 Cartoon Network was new. The internet was something barely anyone used. Certainly no Social Media at all. No cellphones. 

Cartoon Network needed original IP and people like Craig stood up, pitched and delivered new content. 

If you think it's hard to get noticed today, think about it back then. 

You probably had to know someone who knew someone who knew someone else to even get your work looked at.

In my area of BFA training, Illustrators had to go to New York and drop their physical portfolios off with art directors. Often full of original works in a finely crafted custom portfolio boxes to get gigs. Computers were very very expensive. And no one used email yet.

Hollywood and animation were even more challenging than that.

Fewer opportunities and fewer doors and fewer publishers.

So...if you think Craig had it easier. I can guarantee you he didn't. 

The attitudes up above bother me because they represent the innate resentment contained in the slave side of the Master-Slave Morality that Nietzsche described. 

The simple version is...

Masters make things happen through their will. They are dominant noble warriors.

Slaves depend on others to make things happen for them. They are also full of resentment for those that make the world go 'round. They sit around complaining about what they don't have.

Pessimism and cynicism are their calling cards.

I see that in those tweets. People who had opportunities for formal education waiting for others to make things happen for them.

Here's the thing though...and you'll hear me on live streams going on about this all the time...

While it is true there are many problems, HOWEVER we live in a time of real opportunity.

The effective cost of production is ZERO. 

The effective cost of distribution is ZERO. 

You have access through a variety of platforms to a worldwide audience who is actively looking for the next exciting thing.

You also have major entertainment platforms faceplanting with the IPs they've acquired (Disney Star Wars anyone?).

My question for all of these people (and there were dozens more I saw)...

Given Craig's opportunity...

What would you pitch?

What story do you have to tell?

(I can guarantee that they don't have one, or it's really bland)

And I'm not 24 anymore...not for 23 years now...

BUT!...

I have one I'm working on.

Working title BREACH! (a BR-13R tale).

It's a comic and I've never done one. I'm working on the pitch and the pages and coloring and lettering and formatting all by myself.

The software I'm assembling it in is Affinity.

It's free and I'd pay for it.

(They want you to buy a Canva AI sub...I don't want one).

My social media access is FREE.

Submitting it to publishers is FREE.

Launching a crowdfund (which I may do) is FREE.

Creating an email list is FREE.

And all of this is true for you.

What would you create? Who is it for? Why should anyone pay attention to you? 

Craig had those answers to those questions lined up in story he wanted to tell. And even if you don't know his name, you know is IP.

That's all I have to say...

Do Epic Things! Get Epic results.

And I'll talk to you later.

Professor Peter Sakievich.

PS. I'm going to start posting these opinion pieces periodically as I see things happen. My opinions often buck the trend of self-congratulatory speech. These are the types of extra things I speak to my students about in class at my university and I think they're helpful for them and it helps me clarify my thinking. I think there's more stuff to do for me people than ever and the trends we see today will pass (an maybe return), but I can't do anything about them. I can make my own Epic stuff though. And that's what I'll do! You should too!

PPS: I added a member access Discord to the site recently. So whether you paid to enroll or are registered in the free course, there's access levels for you at no added cost! (Paid people do get extra access to some areas). There's also an area that is JUST for my former university students to help them network. Come join in the discussion and share your work! Access is in the Free Course page or in the Course Launchpad (and in the account access pages). See you there!