Mohammed Elsusi’s Post

When you hear Structures, Systems & Commitments, what comes to your mind? Does it sound abstract? I really will love to read your beautiful response in the comments, but just before you do that... Let me show you something In motion design, there's something called "Animation" In Animation, there's something called "KeyFrame" Key-frame is best described as the "Life" of Animation What that means is that, your object will remain in a state of rest, and will remain motionless, until key frame is added, Precisely, atleast 2 key frames need to be added In Physics, I think it's called "Inertia" Yeah, Key Frame is that External force that Inertia talks about in physics Let me make it make sense to you now... Structures, Systems, & Commitments are 3 different concepts, but they achieve similar results ↪️ They help to "Animate" (Give life to) your goals Your goals are weak, lifeless, and useless on its own It takes more than just writing them down to crush them It takes attaching those trio (Systems, Structures & Commitments) to give your goals, life That is what makes your goal realistic Yeah, so go and review your goals Ehn, I'm talking about those ones you set for February and this year Go and set Commitments and structures around the goals Because only then are you ready to crush your goals Picked anything from this piece? Let me know in the comment section –> I want to read from you 🥰 Stay Hungry 😇 PS: I'm open to Graphic design roles so I can start creating the Magic ✨️ you or your brand needs 📷✨️

Storytime with Dara: Splish splash...I hit a pothole. 'Twas a pleasure working with Jory Federighi, Brian LeGoo and Amanda Davis of Spruce on this Big O Tires commercial. This is the first time a studio took initiative to reach out to me, which means a great deal. I asked what prompted them to reach out. In addition to my work, it was my smile, answered Amanda. My smile grew three sizes that day 😁. My favorite story from this experience was submitting the final deliverable. Since, work was remote (far from my preferred style) we utilized cloud storage. However, this relies on a fast internet connection. I had all but not, that day. Cafes. Libraries. Internet connections without haste of a fading LA day. In contemplation of what to do, I thought "what would Dara do?" I transferred my work onto a USB, hopped on a bus, and travelled to the studio. I felt like an 80s programmer with a breakthrough rushing from garage to company, floppy disk in hand. There, I met Jory and Brian, in person for the first time. We hung out and chilled while the files transferred and had lunch the following day. I look forward to working with them again! Check out the awesome case study on the Spruce website: https://lnkd.in/gmNvJNxq Looking for a responsible, resourceful and driven individual that has a nice smile (hahaha) then look no further. I'm #opentowork and #readytowork. I'm actively applying for in-studio positions (i.e., film, series, commercials and gaming) to root myself in consistency and to develop and grow. Additionally, I'm interested in the medical and other scientific fields to explore the applications of Houdini there. Link to reel: https://lnkd.in/gugqXKKy Link to resume: https://lnkd.in/eHvSuFDR Additional Resources and Problem-solving: - I utilize the "splash sculpting" technique learned from REBELWAY's "Advanced Water FX in Houdini" course, instructed by Juri Bryan. - Due to the unfortunate nature of working remotely, there's a deprivation of being surrounded by perspective that forces one to search elsewhere. Flickering meshes were a problem I had that was solved through the facilitation of the Rebelway discord. I learned that if the particles, being meshed, are too small then the surface volume will have trouble filling in the space. Thus the surface volume should be contained in the particles so that it's just filing in the holes in between. This can be solved by 1) lowering the resolution of the sim, to get more particles to fill in the space, so the SDF volume surface will have more information to work with, 2) Lowering the resolution the "VDB from Particles" (should be the same or higher resolution than the sim), or 3) Increasing "Particle Radius Scale" in the "VDB from Particles." #TheMoreYouKnow 🌈

Today is my last day of my 22y long career in Art Publishing.  22 years and 2 months--exactly half of my life. I appreciate the symmetry of this. The weight of half of my life speaks to how important this career was to me and how monolithic this day is. There have been many emotions since I learned of my layoff two weeks ago, but none of them anger. I will not engage in a spiral of negativity over a business decision to cut my role that had nothing to do with me or my work or my skill. The emotion that I keep present is gratitude. The last 22 years have afforded me opportunities to grow and learn and impact this company (and hopefully industry) in a way that can only be described as pride. I am proud of the work that I have done and the journey my career has taken. I am grateful to many people who both provided those opportunities and worked beside me to drive the results I constantly sought. You know who you are. I am also grateful to have 2 weeks to set my affairs in order on my terms.  Daunting for sure, but I build good stuff, and if you build something that relies on YOU to run it, you haven’t built anything sustainable or stable. Thanks to the last 3 years of my operational focus, I am confident my team can run the art operations without me. I am proud of this and of my team. They are more than capable, and they will keep the efficient, stable, and sustainable systems we put in place running smoothly. Team, remember these two mantras: “THERE ARE NO ART EMERGENCIES” thank you Kate Archie for that sage wisdom.  We finally own that idea. Also remember that you are human. If the system doesn’t catch the mistakes, there’s something wrong with the system. The last 3 years of my career–years not making art, have been the most fulfilling and challenging of all. I realize that it’s difficult for people to understand why an artist, who had a stable income making art, would seek a career of not making art. I have written about this on my IG @jenniferartstheworld By 2020, I was building out the marketing skin on our new website, standing up two ecommerce stores, reworking our art infrastructure to feed into a new tech stack, and leading the art team through change management for a major integration. Making art became a triggering experience while I was focused on these massive, exciting challenges. I found myself unable to engage with my children in their love of creating art.  I realized that I hadn’t been able to do so without struggle for most of their lives.   In 2021 I raised my hand to stabilize the outcome of a tumultuous ops integration. I systematically reworked processes for the WAG customers and customer support teams. This required me to understand and triage every system that was leading to the failures-from file input to order entry to the production floor.  The stars aligned, and I put the brushes away to lean into the ops and strategy that had excited me throughout the years. cont'd in comments...

I keep doing one thing that I belive helps me become a better Concept Artist - I NOTE THINGS. 📝 On a daily basis I consume a lot of media - games, books, comics, movies, music, lectures, podcasts etc. I make notes about my general thoughts and things I like/don’t like about them. Obviously, I don’t do it for EVERYTHING I experience. I’m not that crazy. 😉 But! I helps me memorize things and push analytical skills. Also, it’s a good exercise for critical thinking. Some of my recent notes are about Boy and Heron, GDC lectures, Manor Lords, Stormlight Archive, MET gala fashion and Eurovision songs. As you can see it’s a mix of things and I like to keep it open subjectwise. ✨💡

I've found that while unemployed, I'm taking more frequent breaks and being more forgiving with myself for not being productive all the time. I'm also allowing myself more room to stop working early on bad days and go outside more. Even though all that is possible with a day job, I almost feel MORE pressured to work harder when unemployed so that I can change that. (And of course, doing my usual networking, portfolio work, and putting in a few well-chosen high-effort apps per day is PLENTY. I can't feasibly make more fitting job roles appear just by working more hours!) Sometimes, the best thing to do is just recognize I set myself up for success (with my portfolio, savings, and network), and relax. -- I'm still available for work as a 2D Animator, Animation Director, and other related roles in the animation and games industries! I have experience in animation, storyboarding, design, and even art management. My portfolio: https://lnkd.in/gdZYpB8g -- #opentowork #2danimation #2danimator #gameanimator #toonboom

Why is it so hard to find good job listings that aren't tied with Ayy Eye or En Eff Tea garbage? (codenaming incase bots decide to be funny). Already 2 initially interesting companies upon further inspection (Doodles and Madboogie, not codenaming those as they deserve it) had post showing their true intentions only after I dropped them a message, so as a result they've gone on a list I've dubbed "The bad ones". It's really sad that I have to comb through every listing to check the work they're showing is made by actual humans, and even then it's hard as I know there has to be at least one that isn't using a generator that steals from other hard working artists. If any human illustration companies out there run by actual humans that aren't trying to pull a fast one on artists, I'm open to work! My hands can hold a pen and I'm ready to draw! #opentowork #openforwork #illustrator #notoai

Big news: my website is up! https://chanlyr.com/ is now open for visitors. It's not a complete accounting of my work, in fact a number of my film projects are still being cleared for use on my website, but I'm proud to be showcasing what I can of my practice in any case. It's validating as an artist, especially as somebody who dips into multiple creative fields; I tend to worry that nobody is going to "get" my work, or my capabilities as a creator. Well, this feels like a step in the right direction. As a college student (graduating this May, wink wink), the important thing is that I have something for all my potential employers, collaborators, and fellow kickstarters to take a gander at, even if it's not whole or perfect. That being said: if you have a gig for me, let's chat. If you need somebody to light your films, scout locations, pull together a crew, design your production, or your film title, logo, marketing, poster, packaging, family reunion t-shirt, or make anything you'd like to look like anything on my website... Message me here, email me at chanlyrjordan@gmail, or track down my carrier pigeons, all on my website. Dually, if you're a creative, recruiter, or passerby and notice any feedback I could use on my website, I'm open to that too. Come one, come all. Let's get it done!

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It's been a while,⌚ but I've been thinking a lot about niches. Is it necessary to specialize as an artist, marketer, videographer, or engineer? There's a popular term of phrase "A Jack of All Trades but Master of None..." Is this true? I know that as an artist and creator, having a niche creates identity, and being skilled at that one thing makes you more valuable. One artist doesn't do everything, there are storyboard artists, concept artists, animators, character designers, and many, many more. As I have been seeking out a career I've noticed that many suggest to niche down and focus on a particular skill. For me, that's been hard. I haven't found any one thing I like enough to focus solely on. I've also had more job success being able to create a wide variety of media than only one specific thing. The phrase continues, "...but better oftentimes than a Master of One." Should you niche? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 🤔