We recently connected with Anya Butler and have shared our conversation below.
Anya, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I found my purpose by looking at what I wanted from the world and filling in the gaps!!
As a young professional in the animation industry, I felt like there was a lack of guidance for artists that were serious about pursuing this career. As a result, I vowed to support people who are essentially past versions of me!! My YouTube channel has been a place where I offer practical advice to artists, ranging from novice to professional, from the perspective of someone who’s still “figuring it out themselves.”
As silly as it sounds, one of the more odd but direct examples is the dorm tour I did upon moving to CalArts. Prior to attending CSSSA (a precollege program that takes place at CalArts), I had no idea what the dorms looked like, how much room I’d have etc. There was very little info available online and it was rather frustrating. Now, four years after uploading my dorm tour video, I still get plenty of kind messages from new students, thanking me for showing them information that wouldn’t have otherwise been available.
Aside from the YouTube thing, I follow the same principles in my art-making and storytelling. I create work that I wish there was more of in the world. I want to tell stories that I haven’t seen yet that’d make me feel seen and heard. I want more live action mixed with animation and a deeper dive into the blurry line between fiction and reality. So that’s the art I make! If fulfills me and hopefully, it fulfills others too!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m an artist and storyteller – primarily working as a freelance character designer for animation! Eventually, I aim to end up on the writer/producer/director side of things. I’ve worked in both TV and commercials. It’s a lot of fun.
To some, the world of commercials may sound daunting: It’s not exactly glamorous to try and sell the masses a product, I get it. That being said, I only ever take on projects I believe in and have been fortunate enough to work with the likes of Kroger and Air Canada. The artistic benefit to working in commercials is you can hop from project to project without being tethered to one particular visual or narrative style. As storytellers, we get to play with the added challenge of extreme runtime limits and squeezing in brand recognizability. All together, ads are a wonderful way for newer professionals to try a bunch of hats on in a short time, better equipping us for personal and future work. Ads aren’t going away anytime soon: A hyper-consumerist economy is forever in need of marketing materials so if you can’t beat them, join them. These gigs pay well and I get to at least try to provide some thought-provoking stories within these product displays. Two recent examples are these ads I worked on!! The 2023 holiday campaigns for Air Canada and Kroger tell some touching stories using pretty art styles.
Air Canada: Once Upon a Tree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo4JimllM4A
Kroger: Magic Happens When we Bring Happiness to the Table https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQPdl3v_3iE
The other, arguably more interesting side to my career, is my social media presence!! Most of my fulfillment comes from maintaining my YouTube channel where I upload edutainment-style content designed for young artists keen to also enter the animation world. One of my goals in life is to empower and inspire people. Through my art and videos, I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve already been able to do that!!
As part of my art-making, I have a merch store where I sell all kinds of pieces ranging from apparel to prints to accessories. I’m currently dipping my toes into clothing and knitwear – looking to create unique clothes that I haven’t yet seen in the world. It’s a whole new adventure for me and I’m having a blast! If you’d like to see what I have on offer, then head to https://www.meppity.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Great question!! Here’s my three biggest pieces of advice that have helped me find my success early in my career:
SPECIFICITY:
Ok, ironically, this is one of the broader answers but I promise this is incredibly important. From artwork to personality and presentation, this keyword has been vital in my life. Essentially, it’s all about setting intentions and doing everything with purpose.
From an artistic standpoint, this means having a reason for each aspect of your designs. Specificity can elevate artwork from something generic to something nuanced, considered and most importantly, memorable.
From a personal standpoint, specificity means being direct and intentional with your words and actions. How can what you do form stronger bonds and better connections? I’m all about compliments and being generous with them BUT I make sure to ONLY ever say things I mean. I love to compliment people’s choices with things like outfits, accessories, jokes, artwork etc. It’s a genuine way of making people feel seen whilst strengthening your bond with these people. I could say so much more about this topic… In fact, I already have!! If you’re curious to know more how specificity can INSTANTLY improve your artwork, Here’s a video I made about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMh1v7iYWXA
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!
Luckily for me, I’m a big ol’ extrovert and I love connecting with people, but even if socialization is the scariest thing in the world to you, I still suggest you push yourself and make an effort. Much of my success has come from collaborating with peers, reaching out to professionals and being present both online and at in-person events (where possible).
Even if socializing is scary, it’s absolutely worth DMing/emailing studios, recruiters and professionals out there. You’d be surprised by who responds! Putting in that little bit of extra effort really makes you stand out whilst also getting your name out there and lodged into people’s brains. What do you email? Depends! Maybe you want portfolio advice, maybe you want to meet for coffee to ask an individual about their personal career journey, maybe you’re just submitting work to studios with an open call. Even if you don’t initially hear anything back, it’s ok, these things build up over time. It’s like planting a seed – the flower may take a long time to blossom but it wouldn’t have happened if the seed wasn’t there in the first place.
The best place to meet people is conventions. Europe has “Playgrounds In Motion” and Los Angeles has “Lightbox” – I was fortunate enough to attend both events this year courtesy of Procreate and WOW!! I met so many phenomenal artists, connected with colleagues and attended enlightening lectures. If you have an art convention near you, you should absolutely look into attending (don’t forget to bring business cards!)
For those of you far from any animation hub, aka you don’t live in Los Angeles, fear not!! There’s many great organizations out there that regularly publish newsletters, host virtual events and provide mentorship etc. I suggest looking into the following:
– WIA (Women in Animation) any gender can sign up for their programs! https://womeninanimation.org/
– LXIA (LatinX in Animation) https://latinxinanimation.org/
– Rise Up Animation (BIPOC focused) https://www.riseupanimation.org/
LIVE LAUGH LOVE:
Ok but seriously, this is a BIG one!! In the famed words of Pixar giant Brad Bird, “Animation is about creating the illusion of life, and you can’t create it if you don’t have one.”
This one hit me hard in my earlier days at CalArts, there were periods where I didn’t leave campus for literal months, hardly even seeing the light of day after being stuck in windowless labs 24/7. It’s an unhealthy and unfulfilling way to live… And for what? For me to maybe get a couple likes here and there? Maybe, some film festivals if I’m lucky? I see my current peers being sucked in by projects. They look miserable and, to be completely frank, after all that time and effort, some students end up with films that simply… Don’t work. The stories feel like they’re based on what artists THINK the audience wants from them rather than coming from the heart. This leaves us with repetitive, shallow stories that only have a veneer of emotion. By drawing from a variety of experiences, stories instantly become more authentic and unique.
To add, I’m a disorganized mess. In my 4+ years at CalArts, I still haven’t finish a full film of my own. BUT even without that, I’ve been presented with incredible opportunities!! By balancing between living life in my early 20s and prioritizing only necessary artwork for my portfolio, I’ve managed to find success. If you truly enjoy working on a film for months/years at a time, awesome! Keep doing that! But don’t let it be at the expense of your health and creative intake.
Long story short: Touch grass.
I realize none of my three pointers focus on artistic skill. Sure, being good at drawing is useful and important to some degree but it’s worth nothing if you can’t advocate for yourself and market your work correctly. Being good at art is simply the entry barrier these days – in an oversaturated market, you have to do much more than just draw good to truly thrive.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
Wanting to do too many things at once but only being one person with 24hrs in a day!!
Many creatives are like me. Too many ideas, not enough time. It also doesn’t help that my craft, whether it’s drawing or video-making, is incredibly time-consuming. I’m also absolutely AWFUL at finishing things, so many projects never see the light of day because I gave up 80% of the way there. In fact, I have a t-shirt/tote bag available to celebrate (or rather, commiserate) this: https://meppity.shop/products/i-never-finish-anything-tee
To add to my self-imposed frustrations, I’m very stubborn and determined to figure things out for myself. I could get a friend to make music for me or create a 3D model for my film but surely learning Logic Pro X and Blender using time I don’t have is worth it? I don’t know! I’m also incredibly nervous about communication: when it comes to personal projects, they are constantly off-and-on again and I’m fearful of dragging people into these unreliable messes (I’m excellent and handling others’ projects though. Typical).
Even if I had all the time in the world, I’d likely still have a hard time: On a good day, even at my most motivated, I still struggle with task initiation. Getting out of bed can be hard. To make things worse, I have chronic fatigue that flares up every few months, leaving me bedridden. At my lowest, I end up sleeping for days, not even eating. It doesn’t matter how excited I am about a project, the task initiation or the fatigue has been a huge barrier for me over the last 7 years. As an example, it’s taken me two months to write this darn interview!!!
So what am I doing to tackle this? Recently, my hairdresser inadvertently reminded me that I’m still just a baby. I’m 22. I’m convinced I’m a big girl. I pay taxes, I have rent and bills etc but she’s right. I still have so much time to do the things I want to do so after her one off comment, I’ve been trying to embrace my youth: Not everything is a race!! I don’t have to rush to do one million things that then cause me to panic and shut down. I’m hoping to start 2024 by asking the public for help on my film that has been in limbo for 2+ years. This move will hopefully FINALLY lift a huge weight off my shoulders. I’ve been rushing around so much but I keep ignoring this behemoth, leaving me feeling uneasy, no matter how much else I achieve.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.meppity.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meppity
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/anyabutler
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@meppity
- SoundCloud: https://www.souncloud.com/meppity
- Other: Merch store: https://www.meppity.shop
