If you ask Wes Kandel to sum up what he does for a living in a few words, his short and modest answer is, “designer and animator.” But to understand exactly what strides he’s made in just a brief amount of time, it requires a longer discussion.

Wes graduated from Full Sail’s Digital Arts & Design Bachelor’s Degree Program in 2009 and was ecstatic to have landed a job the day after graduation – with entertainment giant the Walt Disney Company, no less.

“I got connected to [Disney] from another Full Sail grad,” says Wes. “He saw my reel, and they were looking for some people to come in and handle these projects. So, they called me in to interview. [They were] creating an animation department within the event group.”

As part of the Disney Events Group—which is a department responsible for hosting and executing events on property for outside companies—Wes quickly found himself with a huge amount of responsibility in fulfilling the graphics needs.

“I worked…with three- to four-minute short animated films for theses companies that came in,” Wes says. “I also worked on this seven-minute [video]…which was [displayed] on this 260-foot-wide screen by 17-feet high. I actually think it set a world record.”

Aside from the technical aspects of his job, Wes learned how to professionally interact with various clients’ needs and collaborated with some heavy hitters at Disney.

“We went through the typical process of sending these companies animatics and design comps, and there was an approval process we would go through,” Wes says. “It was interesting…[Disney] brought in two guys who used to be feature animators with [them]. That was pretty cool getting to work with those guys…I learned a lot while I was there.”

After his time in Orlando with Disney, Wes connected with another Full Sail Grad out in Los Angeles and began working for Royale — an award-winning motion-graphics company founded by Full Sail graduate and Hall of Fame inductee Jayson Whitmore. Royale focuses on broadcast branding and advertising, with a long list of credits that includes creating show packages for VH1, Comedy Central, and Nickelodeon.

After his time with Royale, Wes has been booked solid on freelance projects. He will shortly be doing freelance work for two well-established design and branding agencies, Stardust and Troika Design Group.

“For me, it’s transitioned from getting work from my online presence, to word-of-mouth and my personal reputation in town. Through that, I got the two leads from Stardust and Troika,” Wes says.

“[Employers] want to have people in there that they can rely on for more than one thing…75% of the things I do have been animation and the other 25% has been design.”

Wes has been Los Angeles for just three months, but he is committed to working hard to get settled and established. He also keeps up-to-date with his blog and online portfolio to increase his Web presence for potential employers.

“If you’re hardworking, you put in the time, and you’ve got an eye for it…the next step is to get exposure,” Wes says. “My [ultimate] goal is to be an Art Director and maybe start my own company. But right now, I’m just taking offers as they come.”