Working for a company that launches satellites into space wasn’t something Katie Woods, a 2018 Animation & Game Arts grad, ever thought she would do. She only wanted to make cartoons.
Woods, a member of Moore’s first graduating AGA class, is now a junior animation designer for Viasat, Inc., a communications company based in Carlsbad, California. Viasat provides high-speed satellite broadband services and secure networking systems for consumers, businesses, governments and militaries. Viasat’s satellites also make internet service available on airplanes and ships.
Before becoming an employee, Woods served as an intern for Viasat in summer 2017, and called the experience “life-changing.”
“It made me switch gears, from having the small-minded thought that I wanted to go to Cartoon Network, to actually realizing there are way more jobs in this immensely competitive field,” she said.
HIRE ME
During her senior year, Woods continued to work for the company on a casual basis, even earning college credit for it.
“When I said, ‘Hey, I’m graduating, I would like to have a job,’ they set me up for more interviews and by the end of March, early April, I got the position,” she said.
Woods is a member of the company’s seven-person video team, and has her own office, which she says is “super-cool.”
“The term is ‘animation designer,’ but what we do is more than just animation,” she said. That includes 2D animation using characters, “kind of like cartoon stuff,” and motion graphics. Woods uses the software programs Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D in her work, as well as Adobe Creative Cloud products Photoshop and Illustrator. She designs 3D projects for Viasat’s different business applications.
“If someone from (Viasat’s government division) might want to get a new contract, we would make a video that goes along with their case,” she explained. “They would present the video to the people they are trying to get the contract from.”
She also makes videos for Viasat’s residential customers to help them understand what the company does. Some of her work appears on social media and YouTube.
PUMP IT UP
Woods’ advice for current AGA students is to build up their resumes before graduation.
“A lot of places want you to have three to four years of experience to get that job, but you can’t get that experience,” she said. “Get as many little things (on your resume) as possible before you get out.”
Woods said she “learned how to learn” at Moore.
“Take everything you are being taught and push it further to learn more than what’s normally taught,” she said. “Build up your skills to learn on your own. Outside college, you need to figure it out.”
She also encourages AGA students to broaden their horizons when thinking about their future careers.
“There are so many opportunities for animation that you don’t even think about,” she said.
