We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tyree Morrow a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tyree, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The biggest risk for me was starting my own business and stepping outside my comfort zone to do so. It was something I’ve thought about for a while and in college some friends and I worked out ideas and spoke to out instructors about it, but was afraid to do so because I wasn’t confident in my skills at the time.
What made me finally decide to move on it was an interview a say with Ralph Bakshi. He was speaking to a room full of aspiring animators and was telling them how much it cost to make Fritz The Cat and how it was just him and a few of his friends. In short, he said you don’t have to work at a big studio or have a massive team to start a studio. That’s what made me move! So I got with my friends from college who I knew were like minded and boom! Creative Overdose Studios.
Tyree, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m originally from Springfiled MA and yes, it’s the same place where the Simpsons are from. I’ve always like to draw and was amazed with animation. I watched a lot of the old warner bros bugs bunny cartoons, Thundercats, Disney shorts, and Tom and Jerry. My mother would sit and draw with me but she said she stopped when my drawings started looking better than hers. lol! Thanks mom!
I always wanted to be an animator. I would draw all the time and I knew that animation is something I wanted to pursue so I spoke with a recruiter from SCAD and the Art Institute of Atlanta and ended up going to the Art Institute. While there I learned a lot and met so many creative people and life long friends. I’m actually in business with them now! Our Junior and Senior year my friends now business partners wanted to create our own animation studio and constantly would speak to our instructors about how we can get started.
Years after college, working jobs and a few creative jobs I really wanted to get this studio up and running. I met up with my friends and we decided to finally decided to step out and get it started. We still had all our information and plans we came up with while in college so we took a chance, came up with a few names for the studio and finally, like a year later we chose Creative Overdose Studios. Our goal was and still is to create jobs for aspiring artists and create our own content while also helping others bring their ideas and dreams to life.
Starting out was rough! There was so much we needed to learn. How to right contracts, invoice, what to charge, how to charge and just how to do business. We were all creatives so we knew the art side of things but not the business side. But we learned. We learned from our failures and our success and we didn’t quit!
One thing about us at Creative Overdose is that we like to include our clients in the projects we work on. We’re about building relationships. Some places will take on a projects the client won’t know anything until it’s done. With us the client is there every step of the way. A part of the team.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
Yes. I would say to the non creatives to be patient with creatives. Understand that art, cartoons, or any artform is not just for kids. Don’t downplay our skillset. Everything that people enjoy is created by an artist. from the clothes you wear, car you drive, to the shows love. All done by creatives.
From my experience, I’ve had clients ask how long and how much will an animation project cost. I let them know the price and how long and they literally said to me ” It’s only 5 mins! Why would it take so long?” I explained that a lot goes into animation. The shows you see on tv takes months even years to get them done and that’s with a bigger team and bigger budget. After educating them on the process they had a better understanding and we were able to proceed with the project.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Two books that helped in my thought process in my profession are “Empower Yourself: 7 steps to personal success” and ” The Go-Giver Influencer”. Great reads.
Also for artist, animators, illustrators etc. check out these guys if you haven’t already.
https://creatureartteacher.com
http://www.penciltestdepot.com
https://www.instagram.com/radsechrist
https://www.instagram.com/mohammedagbadi
Contact Info:
- Website: www.itscreativeoverdose.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariesmonk/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyree-morrow-575a657/
- Other: www,artstation.com/ariesmonk https://www.twitch.tv/ariesmonk
Image Credits
Zufu: A Tails Tale: Jason Lopez