🎉 Spring Registration is OPEN! 🎉
00
DAYS
00
HOURS
00
MINUTES
00
SECONDS
REGISTER NOW
Back to Blog Index

Bootcamp Advice from 6-Time School of Motion Alumni Melanie Aratani

No items found.

We sit down with Alumni Melanie Aratani to talk about what it’s like taking every single School of Motion bootcamp.

Today we’re talking to alumni Melanie Aratani of Denver, Colorado about how perseverance and an education from School of Motion helped springboard her career as a Motion Designer. Along the way we’ll learn how she was able to grown in her confidence as a freelance MoGraph artist.

Melanie Image.jpg

Melanie first joined us for Design Bootcamp back in the Fall of 2016 and has since taken every single School of Motion course, so she has lots of sage advice for incoming students!

Interview with Alum Melanie Aratani

Hey Melanie, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. First, we want to ask you about your influences. What are some of your favorite studios?    

Melanie Aratani: My favorite studio is State Design. A few others I love are Giant Ant, Oddfellows, Gretel, and Golden Wolf.  

Wow, all great picks! What kind of personal work have you been up to lately?

MA: Haha, School of Motion is my personal work! I’ve been so busy running through every course SoM has to offer that I haven’t had a lot of time to do additional personal work. However, I think I’m finishing up my last bootcamp for awhile, and I have plans for a couple personal projects once I’m done … so maybe check back in a year.

Haha, guess you’ve had a full plate lately. Since you’ve taken all of our courses and they admittedly have a reputation of being tough, we’ve gotta know, was there one you found to be particularly challenging?

MA: Every course came with its own challenges. I think my biggest overall challenge was trying to absorb so much new information so quickly. These courses throw so much at you over the weeks it can be easy to get discouraged, fall behind, and want to give up. But I made it! And looking at it from the other side feels like such an accomplishment, and it’s honestly astounding for me to see the difference in my pre- and post- bootcamp work.

From a technical standpoint, Animation Bootcamp was the toughest for me. I “knew” what the principles of animation were when I started, but I quickly realized I didn’t know how to use them in my day-to-day work.

The assignments in this course were so deceptively challenging, I would sit down thinking I would just bust out an animation really quick, and eight hours later I’d still be trying to get my overlap and follow-through to look right. Yet the skills I learned in this course translate to my work daily, and for me, this course changed my career.

We’re glad to hear you’re putting what you learned to good use! Could you tell us a bit more about how our Bootcamps impacted your professional work and your career?

MA: After taking a few bootcamps, I felt ready to shift from my non-creative career, and quickly landed a job doing motion in-house at DaVita. I never would have had the confidence or skills to make this huge, scary leap into a new field if it weren’t for School of Motion. Now, I’m getting ready to shift into freelance, and it’s a lot less scary because I know I have an awesome support system in the Alumni Group to help me if I ever run into a problem I don’t know how to solve.

This community has been one of the greatest things to come out of bootcamp with. It’s been amazing to be able to problem solve and bounce questions off of a bunch of people going through the same types of situations as I am.

This industry can be confusing to navigate at times, and I have found the Alumni group such a friendly, unintimidating place to ask all my novice questions. Plus, now I know I will always have some friendly faces to meet-up with at any conference or city I go to!

We’re always happy to hear the community’s had such a positive impact. Finally, on that note, what advice do you have for incoming students?

MA: My advice would just be to do the work. There will come a time in every bootcamp when you feel like you’re an imposter in the field and don’t belong. There will also come a time in every bootcamp when life gets busy and you get behind, and you think you might as well give up because you probably won’t be able to catch up, plus it’s not like you’re being graded anyways. But if you can just push through these thoughts and complete the work, you will look back and be proud of what you have accomplished, and surprised by how much your work has improved without you even realizing it.

Also, don’t forget there’s an extended critique at the end of the course! Even if you don’t finish within the normal course time, you can still use the extended critique period to get feedback and help from your TA. Take advantage of the resources. These classes cost more because they offer way more than tutorials. SOM gives you TA’s, access to the instructor, and access to other students; if you’re not taking advantage of everything they’re offering you, you are missing out.

Great advice Melanie! We hope to see more great work from you soon and wish you the best in your freelancing career!

You can check out more of Melanie’s work over on her portfolio page and Vimeo!

‍

EXPLORE ALL COURSES ➔

Dive into real-time 3D with our Unreal Engine beginner's course by Jonathan Winbush. Master importing assets, world-building, animation, and cinematic sequences to create stunning 3D renders in no time! Perfect for motion designers ready to level up.

Explore this Course âž”

Unlock the secrets of character design in this dynamic course! Explore shape language, anatomy rules, and motifs to craft animation-ready characters. Gain drawing tips, hacks, and Procreate mastery (or any drawing app). Ideal for artists seeking to elevate their craft.

Explore this Course âž”

Elevate your freelance motion design career with our guide to client success. Master a repeatable method for finding, contacting, and landing clients. Learn to identify prospects, nurture leads, and develop a thriving freelance philosophy amidst chaos.

Explore this Course âž”

Rev up your editing skills with After Effects! Learn to use it for everyday needs and craft dynamic templates (Mogrts) for smarter teamwork. You'll master creating animated graphics, removing unwanted elements, tracking graphics, and making customizable templates.

Explore this Course âž”

Stand out with Demo Reel Dash! Learn to spotlight your best work and market your unique brand of magic. By the end, you'll have a brand new demo reel and a custom campaign to showcase yourself to an audience aligned with your career goals.

Explore this Course âž”

Illuminate your 3D skills with Lights, Camera, Render! Dive deep into advanced Cinema 4D techniques with David Ariew. Master core cinematography skills, gain valuable assets, and learn tools and best practices to create stunning work that wows clients.

Explore this Course âž”

Master After Effects at your own pace with Jake Bartlett's beginner course. Perfect for video editors, you'll learn to create stylish animated graphics, remove unwanted elements, and track graphics into shots. By the end, you'll be equipped for everyday AE needs and more.

Explore this Course âž”

Revolutionize your Premiere workflow with customizable AE templates! Master creating dynamic Motion Graphics Templates (Mogrts) in After Effects to speed up your team's work. By the end, you'll craft easily-customizable templates for seamless use in Premiere Pro.

Explore this Course âž”
Your download is in your inbox!!!
Check your email (spam, too) for the download link!
Please check the spam folder if you don't see the message within a minute or two. Google likes to hide your downloads, sometimes.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Not sure where to start?

If you’re a beginner, here are some great courses to help you get started:

After Effects Kickstart

Dive into the fundamentals of motion design with our most popular (and recently updated) After Effects course.

LEARN MORE

Photoshop + Illustrator Unleashed

Master the basics of Photoshop and Illustrator and gain invaluable insights in this introductory level course.

LEARN MORE

Design Kickstart

An introduction to the design principles behind all great work.

LEARN MORE

More Advanced?

If you’re a more advanced student looking to up your game, here are some great options:

Animation Bootcamp

Learn the art and principles of creating beautiful movements in Adobe After Effects.

LEARN MORE

Design Bootcamp

Learn to design for motion in this intermediate-level, project-based course.

LEARN MORE

Cinema 4D Basecamp

Learn Cinema 4D from the ground up in this exciting introductory C4D course.

LEARN MORE

Now is the time to learn the skills you need to advance in your motion design career: