2,716
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
{{Infobox book
| italic title = Infringement of Your Copyright: Increasing Your Chances of Prevailing LaterTheme Park Life<!--(Article title goes here and in the 'name' field below.)-->| name = Infringement of Your Copyright: Increasing Your Chances of Prevailing LaterTheme Park Life
| image = Screen Shot 2020-07-12 at 1.04.57 AM.png<!--(If no good single image is suitable, use a screenshot of the first page of the article)-->
| image_size = 260px
| alt =
| caption = <!--(If the infobox photo needs a caption, that can be put in this field.)-->
| author = [[Meaghan Hemmings KentGlenn Ferguson]]<!--(use {{unbulleted list|Author One|Author Two|Author Three}} to list multiple authors or subjects)-->
| illustrator =
| subject = <!--(who or what is this wiki entry about?)-->
| followed_by = <!--(Next article in the issue)-->
| notes =
| website = {{unbulleted list|[http://wiki.caricature.org/wiki/EF_PDFS/EF201?EF2009.?2.pdf Full Issue PDF],|courtesy of {{URL|caricature.org}}}}
}}
Article Description. Should include author, brief description, issue number and page number(s).
any other type of artistic career, and a few unbelievable stories thrown in.
'''The Basics'''<br>
It seems simple enough... you sit in a
chair at a crowded theme park with
samples of your work in front of you and
you charge different prices for a drawing
that will hopefully bring a smile and/or
laughter to the guest. Generally, that’s
how it is supposed to work in its simplicity.
However, lots of other factors present
themselves after just a short amount
of time in the proverbial chair. Initially,
hopefully, you should be an artist with
solid drawing skills and coloring skills.
Sounds simple enough. But there is more
to it than just that.
'''You must also be a good communicator'''<br> You have to talk
to people all day long. Unlike a studio
artist, you cannot sit in silence and just
be creative and brilliant. You gotta open
your mouth, and since you are in a
family friendly environment, that which
comes out of your mouth should not only
be appropriate, but pleasant, kind and
friendly. Sarcastic is fine, but demeaning,
insulting, or degrading will sooner or l
ater get you escorted out.
'''You have to be a salesman'''<br> Like
it or not, this is retail, baby, and you
have to sell each and every drawing
you do to a potential customer that walks
up to your booth and shows interest in
your product. If you know nothing about
marketing or promoting a product,
working in a theme park is an amazing
crash course in learning how to sell
what you have to offer. Sitting around
waiting for the customer to discover
you’re “brilliant” will teach you how to be
a starving artist. Next to you, more often
than not, will be another artist. Maybe
two or three. You don’t have to like them,
but you have to get along with them. In
a sense they are your wingmen. They
support you and you support them, and
if you aren’t considerate of one another,
they will become more than just a
competitor of you, but your enemy…
so get along with your coworkers and
come up with a system that works
for everyone.
'''You have to be an entertainer'''<br> As
most gig artists will tell you, your guest
will appreciate conversation, a few jokes
or kidding around, but most importantly
smiling. You’d be amazed at what you can
accomplish just by smiling while doing it.
The artist who seems friendlier, happier,
and whose guests seem to be enjoying
themselves more is guaranteed to attract
the most business.
'''You have to be good with money'''<br>
Basic accounting and bookkeeping
skills are also important. In the eyes of
the theme park, you are a merchandise
vehicle. They don’t care how talented
you are, but they care about every dollar
that goes through your hands. It seems
like a lot to handle at times, but if you
keep your head screwed on straight, it
can be a lot of fun, while maintaining a
lucrative income.
'''The Stuff They Don’t Tell You'''<br>
It’s amazing the stuff you get to
learn and deal with when you work in
public service and a retail environment.
There are things and situations that
any retail artist will tell you that aren’t
necessarily in the job description. Here
are a few….
The stupid roam free I know in any job
dealing with the public there are ignorant
and moronic people to deal with on a daily
basis. However, they seem to thrive in a
theme park environment and given the
concept of a caricature artist retail stand
in their midst is like parking a NASCAR
in a trailer park with the keys in it. I get
the usual pretty standard, “Do the frame
come widdit?” and, “Can you draw her
even though she ain’t here?” Also, I am
truly convinced, that there can never be a
sign big enough, flashy enough, or lit up
enough to get people not immediately to
ask, “How much?” immediately followed
by “How long?” But once in a blue moon,
I’ll get a gem that’ll just blow me away.
After telling a guest we could hold her
drawing while she enjoys her day and
she could pick it up later she came back
asking for her picture. After I was unable
to find it I asked, “When did you have it
done?” She said, “September”. It was
two weeks before Christmas. Every
retail theme park artist deals with these
situations. There was this very heavy
woman who said she wanted me to draw
her sexy for her husband, I reluctantly
said, “Ookaaayy.” I looked down to get a
piece of paper and test my airbrush and
when I looked up she had taken off her
shirt and bra and was “presenting” herself
to me to draw with nothing but a smile
from waist up.
'''We love you, we hate you''' If you do a
good drawing, with great line quality, nice
composition, solid structure, likeness,
and exaggeration, you’re bound to get
people complimenting you...they tell
you everything positive…”You’re really
good, that’s amazing, that’s so cool”.
But when someone has an opinion,
they’re also not shy about spewing the
negative. “That don’t look nuthin’ like
her”, and “I wouldn’t pay for that if I were
you”, seem to be the norm, but eventually
you’ll get REJECTS. The book by fellow
NCN member Joe Bluhm pretty much
covered this subject, but everyone gets
them, they are unavoidable. You simply
cannot please everyone. I do try though,
as I am fairly successful only getting a
reject once a month or so, despite my
reputation at the conventions, on a scale
of 1 to 10 of exaggeration I usually draw
about a 5. Unless I get a good feel of them
or they are British…the British can take
anything funny. Most rejects go civilized,
but I’ve been cursed out three times and
spit on once, but never hit or assaulted.
Sometimes it goes the other way and they
either love the drawing emphatically, or
laugh at the drawing so hard it startles
me. I have had a couple of occasions
where people have peed themselves
laughing, admitted it, and even bragged
about it. One lady laughed so hard she
fell on the ground and was “screaming”
laughing that security came because
they thought she was having a seizure or
heart attack. One instance I know a guy
got his drawing tattooed on him…a park
drawing, not a studio piece. A number of
people turned my drawings into business
cards and promotional materials without
my knowledge until one day they give me
a card showing me “how good my artwork
is”. It’s because of this you should never
draw a house with a “Sold” sign on it in
a park. The instance I wish I could forget
but I am unable to…This nice mentally
handicapped boy watched me as I drew
and as I began to color the drawing he
couldn’t contain his excitement and threw
up... all over me.
'''Our park, our rules'''<br> Something that
non-park people don’t always consider
is that you must obey the park. They
make the rules by which they wish you
to conduct yourself and your business.
First off, that means uniforms. Very
fortunately Fasen Arts has been blessed
by being able to avoid any uniform or
“costume” that is completely embarrassing
or uncomfortable, but I’ve seen some
that range from ugly colors to a rainbow
wig shy of a clown suit. There are also
little weird “rules” they like to set all the
time, like you have to point with two
fingers because it’s offensive to some
nationalities, or that anyone you see with
an open map you’re required to ask them
if you can help them find something. You
can’t walk in certain areas, eat in most
areas, or chew gum anywhere near a
guest. I know it sounds ridiculous at times,
but you get pretty used to it, and as long as you don’t upset the park, the
park leaves you alone.
'''The Cool Stuff'''
Like any job it has its ups and downs,
but park life offers some things you
can’t find anywhere else.
'''Practice'''<br> First off, you draw every
single day you work. Not just two days
a week, or for two hours a day, but most
every day you work, you’ll draw most of
the time you’re in the chair. When you’re
not drawing, you’re practicing drawing
each other, drawing samples, etc. But
you will get better at drawing simply
because you draw every day. Discipline
is hard for some artists, but the very
nature of working in a park takes care of
that. Imagine it as an artistic boot camp.
Sooner or later, you’ll find yourself drawing
every day, even on your days off.
'''Camaraderie'''<br> We have roughly twenty
artists working with us in Orlando, and
every day we get to draw next to someone
new. That means every day we have
someone else from which to learn, see a
different perspective, discuss ideas and
drawing strategies, and from which to
grow artistically. We also get help from
other artists and learn our weaknesses
and how to overcome them as well. We
have situations where people wait for
certain artists….but it is a pure example
of seeing what appeals to guests about a
certain artist or their work and it forces us
to grow and learn. It’s hard to get better
or grow when we’re the only artist in the
room. Imagine playing basketball by
ourself, then suddenly we get a partner to
play ball with. Our game will grow tenfold
simply by working with others. To me,
that’s a school we can’t buy.
'''The Famous People'''<br> I know this sounds
a little corny, but working in a major theme
park, you see all kinds of famous people.
On New Year’s Day I said “Hi” to President
Carter as he walked past me about four
feet away. I have drawn Diana Ross and
Kid Rock sitting in front of me. I have also
seen Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, The
“Rock”, Wesley Snipes, David Beckham,
Stephen Tyler, Mariah Carey, Shaquille
O’Neele, along with other live bands that
perform in the park like Blink 182, Styx,
and Jimmy Page. I know it sounds like a
commercial, but I often think that I’d never
be able to see this many famous people
on a regular basis if I did something else.
'''Multicultural''' <br>I work in Orlando, the
largest tourist destination in the entire
world. I see people from every civilized
country on a daily basis. Over the years,
I have gradually learned how to speak
Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and
French. Oh, not fluently, not well, not even
enough to get by in a foreign country,
but “How much? How long? Where are
the bathrooms?” and a handful of other
questions directly related to the job I have
down like I was a native. Also, you get
to learn the cultures of so many different
people from all over the planet. You
get to learn what groups of people love
caricatures, and what groups of people
you have a 90% chance of offending or
disappointing no matter what you draw.
Do you know how people in Russia react
to caricatures? How about Filipinos? I
do…you will too if you ever decide to work
in a park.
'''Seasonal Lifestyle''' <br>Most major theme
parks are seasonal to some degree. You
are incredibly slow some times and make
little money, and then there are times
you’re drawing CONSTANTLY for 14
hours a day and a crowd of people are
disappointed when you eventually have to
stop. It’s a lifestyle you get used to after a
while because by the end of the year it all
evens out. It does mean you sit out in the
cold, (yes, even Florida gets cold! Sitting
out in it for 8 hours at a time isn’t any
picnic either), and amidst the sweltering
heat in the summer, but its times like in
the Spring and Autumn when the weather
is picture perfect and there’s waves and
waves of Brazilian girls and tourists in
spandex and bikinis that really make you
realize that working in a park is one of the
best places to do what we do. Besides,
I couldn’t possibly work in some cubicle
trapped behind a computer screen, the
left-brained people can have that life.
The Grand Finale
At the risk of sounding cheesy, one of the
best things about working in a park is how
well it goes hand in hand with the NCN
and the convention. It’s a great feeling
to draw all day and go home to be reinspired
to everything going on the Forum,
getting ready for the convention, and the
convention is like the Super Bowl after
training all year. It’s an unconventional
and different lifestyle, but it’s a good
one that I’d be hard pressed to trade
for anything else.
