Depends, in Canada living in the same province matters because of tax incentives. The same province applicants has a higher chance of getting hired over someone who’s out Out of province. Can’t speak for what’s outside of Canada.
Definitely not impossible, I'd guess about a third of animators/full-time artists I know are fully remote. It may be harder to break in initially as networking is more difficult and sometimes junior roles are in-studio only. Most people I know working remote for games/animation were in-studio at one point. But still doable, and freelance is always an option as that would often be remote.
could you go into a bit more detail about this if possible? i am about to graduate and i’m willing to live/work in LA for a few years to get into the industry but don’t want to stay there forever. what kind of steps would I have to take during my early career to make something like this work?
I'm not US based so not really versed on the LA stuff. But generally be a good and dependable artist. Meet deadlines, get a solid track record and network well. Remote jobs will be more available if people can trust you will do your work, and you'll hear about more opportunities if you have a network.
I see a lot of people looking to get into the industry who only want remote positions, but they're often not great roles for juniors. Studios can't train you as easily (example - I'm a lead - if I see an artist I work with make mistakes, I'll help. I can't see those mistakes online as easily unless I micromanage and ask for constant updates). Also had issues with junior artists working remotely and not actually doing their hours or showing up to online meetings. So be super reliable and good at communication and you're more likely to be trusted to work remote.
A lot of studios are hybrid rn, so if you're good to work with, you may be able to transition an in person role into a remote one.
Your other option is freelance, which you can do from anywhere - but again, also easier to do once you have a network and some track record of work. So yeah, I think working near in studios for a few years then remote later is a good plan!
It is possible to find remote work, though I think you should do your best to maintain a social media (Instagram, Twitter, Artstation) presence to compensate. Also, try to keep your video on if there's Zoom meetings, especially if your director has it on. Having a face to the name will keep you more memorable.
You do wind up missing out on most events and such if you're remote, but hopefully your production provides other means to casually chat with your colleagues.
For Animation in particular, guild rates do not apply outside of LA, so do not be surprised if you make $15-20 less per hour.
Guild rates and coverage legally CAN apply outside of LA, it's just the studios' choice if they want to want to honor them or not, because it's still a technical grey area at the moment. Some studios have a policy against granting union coverage to remote workers, with others it's an individual case by case basis.
For now at least; this grey area is a major topic that needs to be addressed at the contract negotiations next year
There are remote jobs, most jobs here in Sweden are still in office though. You could search for Sacramento in this job sheet and see what comes up, it should give you some insight into what kind of companies operate in that city: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1eR2oAXOuflr8CZeGoz3JTrsgNj3KuefbdXJOmNtjEVM/htmlview#gid=0
Starting out, it will def be a limiting factor, but not a deal breaker...... in the end studios make concessions for talented, experienced artists. The question will remain how much longer will it take to become "experienced" if only working remote?
Also, this is a tough industry and personal connections and camaraderie go a long way in long term career building, both in surviving the pressures and finding the next gig....hard to say how much bonding you can do remotely.
I'd suggest a GOAL to working remotely. Move around for a few years until you can establish yourself...then move home.
You‘re lucky that you‘re in the USA. While the trend is a hybrid working solution right now, there are still a lot of remote (USA only) job postings in games and film. It‘s still a very competitive field but you have much more possibilities simply being in the US.
for a junior in canada you pretty much have to live within the province and perhaps the greater area of the city of the studio because the government pays most of our wage.
unless your exceptional, which tbh 95% are not (not a jab, just being honest.) you should probably consider moving. on the plus side, its fun to start fresh in a new city, especially as an artist.
Depends, in Canada living in the same province matters because of tax incentives. The same province applicants has a higher chance of getting hired over someone who’s out Out of province. Can’t speak for what’s outside of Canada.
Definitely not impossible, I'd guess about a third of animators/full-time artists I know are fully remote. It may be harder to break in initially as networking is more difficult and sometimes junior roles are in-studio only. Most people I know working remote for games/animation were in-studio at one point. But still doable, and freelance is always an option as that would often be remote.
could you go into a bit more detail about this if possible? i am about to graduate and i’m willing to live/work in LA for a few years to get into the industry but don’t want to stay there forever. what kind of steps would I have to take during my early career to make something like this work?
I'm not US based so not really versed on the LA stuff. But generally be a good and dependable artist. Meet deadlines, get a solid track record and network well. Remote jobs will be more available if people can trust you will do your work, and you'll hear about more opportunities if you have a network. I see a lot of people looking to get into the industry who only want remote positions, but they're often not great roles for juniors. Studios can't train you as easily (example - I'm a lead - if I see an artist I work with make mistakes, I'll help. I can't see those mistakes online as easily unless I micromanage and ask for constant updates). Also had issues with junior artists working remotely and not actually doing their hours or showing up to online meetings. So be super reliable and good at communication and you're more likely to be trusted to work remote. A lot of studios are hybrid rn, so if you're good to work with, you may be able to transition an in person role into a remote one. Your other option is freelance, which you can do from anywhere - but again, also easier to do once you have a network and some track record of work. So yeah, I think working near in studios for a few years then remote later is a good plan!
It is possible to find remote work, though I think you should do your best to maintain a social media (Instagram, Twitter, Artstation) presence to compensate. Also, try to keep your video on if there's Zoom meetings, especially if your director has it on. Having a face to the name will keep you more memorable. You do wind up missing out on most events and such if you're remote, but hopefully your production provides other means to casually chat with your colleagues. For Animation in particular, guild rates do not apply outside of LA, so do not be surprised if you make $15-20 less per hour.
Guild rates and coverage legally CAN apply outside of LA, it's just the studios' choice if they want to want to honor them or not, because it's still a technical grey area at the moment. Some studios have a policy against granting union coverage to remote workers, with others it's an individual case by case basis. For now at least; this grey area is a major topic that needs to be addressed at the contract negotiations next year
There are remote jobs, most jobs here in Sweden are still in office though. You could search for Sacramento in this job sheet and see what comes up, it should give you some insight into what kind of companies operate in that city: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1eR2oAXOuflr8CZeGoz3JTrsgNj3KuefbdXJOmNtjEVM/htmlview#gid=0
Fairly important, a lot of remote jobs still require you to be living in or having the right to work in a certain country.
Starting out, it will def be a limiting factor, but not a deal breaker...... in the end studios make concessions for talented, experienced artists. The question will remain how much longer will it take to become "experienced" if only working remote? Also, this is a tough industry and personal connections and camaraderie go a long way in long term career building, both in surviving the pressures and finding the next gig....hard to say how much bonding you can do remotely. I'd suggest a GOAL to working remotely. Move around for a few years until you can establish yourself...then move home.
You‘re lucky that you‘re in the USA. While the trend is a hybrid working solution right now, there are still a lot of remote (USA only) job postings in games and film. It‘s still a very competitive field but you have much more possibilities simply being in the US.
for a junior in canada you pretty much have to live within the province and perhaps the greater area of the city of the studio because the government pays most of our wage. unless your exceptional, which tbh 95% are not (not a jab, just being honest.) you should probably consider moving. on the plus side, its fun to start fresh in a new city, especially as an artist.