We were lucky to catch up with Isaac Orloff recently and have shared our conversation below.
Isaac, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
When I was a new artist, I relied heavily on the guidance from others. I reached out to artists that I admired to get feedback on my work or tips on how to break into the industry. Sometimes even the smallest bit of feedback would breath new life and motivation into my creative process and give me an opportunity to leap forward faster than i would have if I went it alone. It’s important to develop your skill level and your work ethic, but ultimately all of us need an opportunity to get our foot in the door. Finding someone who is willing to out stretch a hand to give you an opportunity or provide guidance on how to find those opportunities, is integral to anyone’s success. Without this first opportunity many extremely talented people would be stuck on the first rung of their professional ladder. Even though my career has taken off and I have accomplished many of my goals, there is a part of me that will always remember how it feels to struggle to get that first chance to succeed. I always try to take time out of my day whenever someone reaches out to me for guidance or in need of that same leg up that was once given to me. Paying that opportunity forward has been just as rewarding as any other achievement in my field.
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 am a Visual Development Artist for featyre and television animation. What that means is I design the environments characters lighting for animation. I come from a family of talented artists and thought it took me a few detours to discover my specific calling, I have always known I was destined for a career in the arts. I originally spent a lot of time pursuing street art, which was a major passion of mine in college. However, once i discovered the world of entertainment art I was hooked instantly. I originally discovered the work of the artists at Avalanche Software, Sam Nielson, Ryan Wood, and others were huge inspirations to me and the exaggeration and color in their work grabbed my attention instantly as graffiti shared a lot of those same proportions and energy. This is what draws me to animation and continues to inspire me to this day. Different artists have such unique vision and expression in the way they push shapes and color, it infuses such personality into everyday things. I am always impressed with how artists can push the boundaries of reality to the breaking point, creating imagery that oozes with style and personality.I absolutely love it! Although I love what I do i also try to be an advocate for healthy work life balance. I don’t think anyone should feel solely defined by their career or job title. There’s so much more to who we are and we aren’t always in the job that we want. So it’s important to share a bit of who we are beyond the title. When I am not working I am an avid cyclist and outdoor explorer. I love to climb mountains and go on long road trips. I love landscape photography and basically all vehicles on wheels. Being a new dad I look forward to sharing all of these passions with my son and encouraging him to get every last drop he can out of life.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities that I found to be helpful on my journey are Optimism, Confidence and Persistence. Optimism because life is had, and filled with speed bumps. Every challenge can feel like step back ward instead of an opportunity for growth Being optimistic helps me to see the silver lining and take speed bumps in stride instead of being discouraged. Confidence, is the second helpful quality, and is just as important as if you don’t feel confident in yourself then it is hard to convince others to feel confident in you as well. In order to succeed we have to believe we are capable of achieving our goals, even if you have to fake it to you make it, feigning that confidence will eventually lead to the real deal. Lastly persistence, because success requires patience. Small steps over long periods of time is the way to achieve your goals, especially in moments when you feel like you’re stuck in the mud. Having that drive to keep going and get up after a set back will always lead you to success.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
This is an age old dilemma. Specialization vs generalist is a very common issue in our industry. There are highly skilled concept artists who have very specific styles and there are artists who have strong fundamentals without the boundary pushing concept work. Both artists need each other to succeed. If you are a concept artist who has a very specific style, you will find yourself in very high demand when your style is popular, but if your style falls out of favor with the industry then you may find yourself struggling to find work. It’s always a good idea to be able to adapt and work in multiple styles to avoid the danger of becoming to niche. On the other hand, a generalists skills will always be needed to adapt the stylized work into the final output. You may get paid less, and have less flashy output, but you are more likely to have steady employment as your skills are always valuable on any project It is up to the individual to see which career path best suits their personality and proceed with that in mind.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.isaacorloff.com
- Instagram: @isaacorloff
- Twitter: @isaacorloff
