Let’s face it, being a designer and animator is hard. Especially when you’re just starting out. It takes years to craft your style and technique. Even after all of those late nights and oddball projects begin to pay off and your work starts to catch up to your trained eye, there's one more thing to tackle so no one can call you an "Amateur" ever again...You have to get your shit together.



The way you structure and name your files might just be the biggest tip of the hat that you’re still a rookie. It wasn't until I landed a job as a designer/animator at CMT in Nashville that I really learned what it meant to be organized. From naming conventions to folder structures, I learned that everything had a place and a name. For the first several weeks it was hard and frustrating, that was until I opened the hood on my coworker’s after effects project. It was like a light bulb went off. It was clean, it made sense and assets were easy to find and in the right place.



So whether you’re an independent artist, or a rookie fresh off the farm working with a team for the first time, the information gathered on this page might just save you a couple years, a few headaches and that next big gig.

Justin McClure, Owner/ECD — Justin McClure Creative