Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jeffrey Pickett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jeffrey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I am often asked what I do and how I learned to do it. I typically reply that I am an artist and animator with a lot of experience doing something I love. But in reality, it is much deeper than that. It involves some pain, luck, persistence, and humility. Fortunately for me, I have always had artistic leanings that were not always understood, but certainly appreciated. I liked to draw and create things for people to look at, and I found that they genuinely liked it. It didn’t take me long to realize that people were willing to pay for artwork and creative ideas. Oddly enough, there were people out there that claimed they didn’t have a creative bone in their body; which almost always resulted in an appreciation for those that do. So, I touted my skills and fancied myself a commercial artist, picking-up jobs every now and then and taking every art class that I could. Now, keep in mind that this was before computer graphics, when working as an artist required some talent to work in the industry. Did I just say that?
After spending a lot of time growing up, I got serious about my future, went to college and started taking graphic design and arts courses. I learned about printing and took business classes with the idea that one day I would have my own business doing something I loved. I took advantage of every opportunity I could to develop my skills and my portfolio. Some people argue that you don’t need a BFA or MFA to succeed, and that may be true. But if you want to be all you can be, get an MFA, if for nothing else but to teach. One thing you can count on is change, and after graduating from college, the creative world was about to change forever.
When I first saw 3d computer animation, I tried to figure out how they were doing it. Was it stop motion? Did they use rigs? It was mind blowing. I knew I had to get in on that, so I took a job in Chicago to learn computer graphics, and made slides for a/v shows. Then I took another job working as a paintbox artist. Next was learning 2d and 3d animation along with video production and post production. After nine years of working for large companies with some of the top talent in the business, I was ready. My biggest regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.Owning your own business takes hard work and perseverance. You have to be smart and remain humble, because you’re going to make mistakes. Before you know it, you have employees and payroll, benefits, personalities, questions you have to find answers for, responsibilities, and a fair amount of stress. For your health and sanity, you have to find a work/life balance. Work smarter, manage your time, and pick your battles. Learning to be a good leader and manager is never easy, but is a skill you must master. Your employees and business depend on it.
A couple mistakes I wish I could take back include not hiring sales people, and not selling out at the height of my profitability. Sales is the lifeblood of your business, and while you can reach 1-2 million a year in gross sales, getting to 5+ will be a challenge. At some point you have to consider the end game and how you want that to play out. It’s hard to know when to sell and walk away, but know that there is a point of no return where you will lose value. In hindsight, I would have sold earlier and started something new.
Technology is always changing, and you have to embrace that change and change with it. Being first to market is a blessing and a curse. Being on the bleeding edge has its advantages, but comes with significant risk. When do you move to 8k? What about leveraging Augmented and Virtual Reality? Where is Ai going to take us? Your employees want it, your competitors have it, and your clients will demand it. Stay current and nimble so you don’t carry unused equipment that you’re still paying for.
Finding money for anything other than operating expenses can be difficult, but by not investing in training, marketing, sales, and trusted advisors, you may find yourself working too hard for too little money. Working with clients that don’t appreciate your value will force you to fall back on things you’ve done before instead of trying new things. Know when it’s time to cut bait and run.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As my video and animation business grew, I found I didn’t have time to handle the business end and work on the creative. I was somewhat forced to handle the business side and took to directing and producing. After selling my business in 2017, I decided to get back to my roots and learned Adobe CC. Now I’m using Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects on projects for clients. I specialize in creative direction, graphic design, 2d animation and motion graphics. I have recently gotten into Ai art and am obsessed with it. From concepts to finished art, it’s a game changer.
Besides working out of my home studio and doing Ai art mostly for fun, I’ve been teaching Image and Motion at Mesa University. The teaching and research helps me stay current, and working with the students keeps my hand on the pulse of the next generation of artists and animators. I’m proud to say I am giving back and teaching fundamentals that they will have for a lifetime.
My website is redlandscreative.com and you can see samples of my work in multiple artistic categories. If you want to see my latest Ai creations, follow me on Insta @redlandsusa
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
Do NFTs have value? Why not? I personally sell Ai art as NFTs, but have yet to crack the code in marketing it. At some point soon I will take it seriously and see if I can make some digital coin from it. I think the biggest topic of the day is the legitimacy of Ai art. People feel like it’s not real art, that it’s stealing, not original and not copyrightable. For me, it is art. You have to create it, tweak it, fix it, massage it. What’s cool about it is you get to be the artist, director and curator. The work that I’ve seen from around the world is incredible, and like it or not, it’s here to stay. Personally, I embrace it just like I did computer art when traditional artists frowned on it and said it was cheating and unoriginal. Well here we are.
Is there a mission driving your creative journey?
I love art and creating art. Whether it’s video, animation or illustrations, the process excites me. I personally don’t really have one particular style that I champion. My work is varied, as are my styles, and I love to explore new techniques. I’m just as good as I once was, and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. You see, it’s a way of life, not just a job. I’m trying to learn to do art for fun, and Ai is helping with that.
Contact Info:
- Website: redlandscreative.com
- Instagram: @redlandsusa
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063665317451
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pickettusa/
Image Credits
All of the images I created.