Industry Events & Networking with Jenny Harder
Industry Events & Networking
Breaking into the fields of Media and Entertainment can be daunting. Being present in person and building relationships can be the difference between getting work and hopelessly waiting for a promising email response. In Jenny Harder’s first ArtStation Learning course, she discusses the benefits of being present at industry events and gives some pointers on how to prepare and create solid relationships that can last throughout a career.
Jenny Harder is a freelance character designer and art director for the animated TV show 100% Wolf. Before that, she worked as a concept and character artist at Studio Gobo on projects like Ubisoft’s For Honor and Disney Infinity (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rise Against the Empire and the unreleased Moana playset). Jenny also recently directed her own animated short film Being Good via the online platform Artella which won several awards in 2018.
In this interview, Jenny chats about what she learned from attending events and shares which event had an impact on her career views.
Most memorable learning experience:
My most memorable experience was starting out in my first job. It wasn’t actually paid but it gave me the opportunity to work on a real game and get proper industry experience. It reminded me how important it is to just get that foot in the door.
Behind the course:
I really wanted to do a tutorial about soft skills which is something that is not a common subject in an art course. It’s something I would have liked to learn when I was starting out. That’s why I picked the topic “Industry Events and Networking”. I have been attending lots of events over the past 7 years as both an attendee and speaker. I have seen a lot of people arriving unprepared or just a little unsure of how to make the best of their experience. So, I thought it might be helpful to talk a bit about getting the most out of these events.
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1 sentence of advice :
I believe anything is achievable as long as you are stubborn enough to go for it. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything.
One event you attended that led to a huge opportunity:
The most impactful event for me was the first THU (Trojan Horse was a Unicorn). It made me realize that all my major role models in the industry had started out exactly where I was and that meant anything was possible. It really changed my view on my career and future.
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See more of Jenny’s work here.
