Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Byers.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My passion for animation began around 1998. When graduating high school, I knew that I loved drawing but realized later that bringing ideas to life would be more fun.
After graduating, I ended up going to a local tech college for engineering graphics where I ultimately landed a job as a draftsman using CAD for a wastewater treatment plant.
From that point, I met a guy that used 3DS Max online. I was intrigued by his work and wanted to use the program as well. He helped me get my start with the software. On top of that, we started animating together with this cartoon software called Moho. So this just stirred my passion more, so I left my CAD job to freelance with small marketing companies.
At this point, I’m 20 years old and getting married to my high school sweetheart who 100% supported me in my endeavor. I’ve gone to Art Institute of Charlotte part time trying to make a living on small freelance jobs working off an oversized PC that I built while living in a small mobile home. After a while of doing this, I found myself not doing as well as I wanted, so I took a job at a yearbook company in Charlotte.
So this job was definitely low pay, super early mornings to work with a bunch of ladies ranging in age of 50s to 70s. Definitely a fun bunch.. however for me, I just felt I failed. But I did get to work with Adobe products which made me feel more advanced. I did get a raise, but I knew I had more talent than just working at a yearbook company.
One day I was eating lunch when one of the ladies asked me, why did you drop out of college? To that, I responded with “I really don’t know”. So that night I drove to the Art Institute of Charlotte, signed back up for an associate’s program in multimedia and web design. I called my wife and told her I’m going back to College. She of course said cool.. and then I replied I’m starting class tonight in a few minutes.
During my time in College, I was able to convince Fox Charlotte news to allow me to work there for 6 weeks to free to prove I had talent. This came after a good friend of mine told me to get experience in news first and then come back and apply at their production house.
From there, the news station hired me on part-time to run a camera and then I would run downstairs to help out in graphics. After a short time, they hired me as a full-time animator. This is where I had the chance to build my first real portfolio.
After about 1 year in the news industry building graphic packages and promos, INSP reached out to interview me for a full-time animation position building graphic packages for their network. I accepted the position and was still able to do freelance work on the side.
So around 2003, I shifted into another department called Steelroots building out really cool graphic packages, then got moved to Snap 5 and then back to Steelroots. Then in 2006, Limerick reached out to bring me in for a lead animator position. They were doing awesome stuff for a multitude of clients, so I took the position. After only 7 months, Steelroots wanted me to come back and offered me a monthly contract, doing all my work remotely.
And this is how my real career started in June of 2007. With all my freelance work and steady contract I never looked back. Just kept pushing forward. At this point, I would say my business took off. I only had one rough year in 2014, but bounced back from a kid’s pilot cartoon that came out of nowhere. That 100% was God himself intervening. I owe everything to Jesus, as he is the one that has helped me not only get work, but has helped me grow spiritually with my business.
It’s amazing how I can now say I have been animating for over 20 years. So from graphic packages for networks, commercials, cartoons and visual effects, my career in animation has been a wonderful ride. I hope to have another 20+ years in this business if the Lord is willing.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Besides the story of 2014, in 2010 I suffered from an autoimmune disease. I personally believe it was from poor diet, late nights working and just being stressed.
I, at one point, had two employees, but could not keep them due to my rough start in 2014. It wasn’t until 2018 that me and my wife sat down to really budget the finances that have helped stabilize my business. It’s easy to think you can’t do it because of the fluctuation in income, but it’s actually possible.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
What sets me apart from others is that I am considered a CG Generalist. I’m really good at looking at what a client wants, picking a style and executing the animation.
If I had to pick my specialty, I would say motion graphics. I prefer to do cartoon animation, but most clients have different needs.
Actually, my most proud moment is doing a personal project written by my 12-year-old daughter at the time. The cartoon is Pet Jail. It can be viewed at petjail.com. It became a real joy in the family. And a shout out to my friend Joe Miller for doing an excellent job on the music for it.
Any big plans?
I plan to keep rolling along looking for more opportunities to incorporate cartoon work into client work. My plan is always to do my best, enjoy it, but also enjoy life.
Contact Info:
- Website: digitalhyper.com
- Other: petjail.com
Image Credits
Jamie Byers
