by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
I work as a designer and painter for 2D/3D animated television for a major network. The series I currently work on is a huge property, with a to-die-for Nielson rating. Two weeks ago, our staff was informed that after three years, they are canceling our show. The very next week, our show hit #1 for all of pre-school programming, and we were also rated as "Hot Pick" by TV guide.
The animation industry is in dire straits when you are canceling #1 shows, and leaving so many of us with hardly any chance to find other employment. The recession has clobbered my industry, leaving many artists looking outside the animation world for some "real" work. Working as welders, t-shirt designers, a good friend of mine is even designing graphics for a crappy slot-machine company in Reno, at the same time taking a pay-cut of over 25%.
So add another 70+ people to the unemployment rolls here in the debt and deficit ridden state of California. We. Are. Screwed.