What is your name and your current occupation?
My name is Ozan Civit, i am an Art Director.
What are some of the crazier jobs you had before getting into animation?
I studied statistics but never worked any related job, i guess if I’ve worked as a statistician i’d be crazy and die becausec of boredom.
What are some of your favorite projects you’re proud to have been a part of?
I think being the art director of the first 3d animated series in my country had an elevator effect to my career and i was proud of it but as our team and project starts to lose it’s magic because of….well i’ll keep reasons to myself.Right now i’m working for a game which will be “first” in a way and already proud of it.
How did you become interested in animation?
When i was a baby the only way to feed me was to play some cartoon, my mum says i was like hypnotized, well which baby doesn’t? Eating is my still fav while watching animations or maybe opposite of it, i don’t know, but what i know is animation came out to be a way of living for me.
Where are you from and how did you get into the animation business?
I’m from Turkey. Â As i said i studied statistics and back then in university we were learning programming and i was kinda into it but thanks to my brilliant and inspiring instructors it didn’t take too long.I keeped learning softwares though and meet with cgi softwares and you can guess the rest.
What’s a typical day like for you with regards to your job?Â
Hmm, it depends on to-do’s of the day but usually starts with a coffee or tea while checking mail and organizing work.If i have to an art or design work for that day i make a research to collect references which may take much longer than i expect because you can easily got lost in a deep sea of ideas and inspirations.  After that, i prepare my work tools which are mostly digital mediums.Then i try to focus and work on my gig. When i finish my work or complete a milestone i try to get comments for it.Not looking to it for a while also works for me to refresh my eyes to improve it and find my mistakes.
What part of your job do you like best? Why?
It’s fun and always renews itself, you never get bored while you are in a good project and that helps you to be productive for yourself and company.
What part of your job do you like least? Why?
Sometimes technology can be your biggest enemy when you depend on most.
What kind of technology do you work with on a daily basis?
Photoshop and my dear old Wacom and grippen are my trade of tools.Never without them.
What is the most difficult part for you about being in the business?
About 6 months ago the main problem for me was to struggle finding mentors or experienced people to help you by all means, but because of our newly establishing industry in Turkey it is so hard.But after coming UK this changed at all.
In your travels, have you had any brushes with animation greatness?
( to be honest i didn’t get the phrase )
Describe a tough situation you had in life.
Hard to answer.I guess in first days trying to prove yourself in a different country to a different culture was tough but i can say that this is the best decision I’ve made so far.
Any side projects or you’re working on or hobbies you’d like to share details of?
Right now i’m writing a blog and preparing little contest to help improving industry in Turkey.Also i’m co-founder of Animationscout.tv , free content tutorial site which had a start last week.I hope this site would become a powerful websource for animators.Hobbies? I guess being in animation industry feeds my hunger for it.
Any unusual talents or hobbies like tying a cherry stem with your tongue or metallurgy?
Sorry, i’m just a regular guy.
Is there any advice you can give for an aspiring animation student or artist trying to break into the business?
Always but always follow up the trends of the industry and listen what masters or industry gurus tells you.Believe me, they’ve been there, if they are sharing their knowledge and experience, pay attention, it’s priceless.
