I'm sorry to come down on this here, but this thread keeps popping up as like one of the first threads I see in the Tapas forums. And seeing "give a big firm a second look for exposure" is just making me lose my mind. I am sorry if everything I say comes across as harsh, but like I get the feeling that you think you know more about how the animation/art industry works than you do.
A huge studio should absolutely pay their artists in money. Disney makes millions in revenue. Everything you make while working at Disney, Disney technically owns, even if it's something you create in your own time. My teacher used to work for Pixar (which Disney owns) and he said that people would wait until their contracts expired before even thinking about trying to publish or advertise their own projects (that they wanted to sell). On top of that art is a valuable skill. If you are making art as a professional, working for free just isn't an option. It's exploitative. There's a reason why in Canada unpaid internships were made illegal and other countries are looking at making that policy standard. Someone shouldn't spend years or decades, potentially thousands of dollars going to art school only to be "paid" in a movie credit. That doesn't keep your lights on, or let you buy food.
Do you know how much time, effort and knowledge goes into it? Would you ask a doctor who just got out of med school to preform surgery for free?? I don't think so.
Not only that in the US there is the strong animation union which helps protect workers to prevent people from being exploited like this. Art, video games and animation might be a "dream" job for some people but at the end of the day, it's still a job. This view is toxic, unless you are an absolute hobbyist doing things for fun and don't care about making art your livelihood. The only reason I'm not doing animation work right now is because I have made the choice not to because I enjoy teaching kids art, and don't want to have to suffer through crunch.
My friends who I graduated animation school with who are currently working in the industry and have worked on big titles like Rick and Morty and the new Carmen Sandiego reboot work their behinds off. They deserve every cent of what they're being paid, especially considering how in Canada we have only just gotten an animation union to help fight back against exploitation. Until 2019, Canadian animators weren't allowed to be paid over-time because of a loop-hole in the high-tech sector laws.
Our teachers preached at us "never work for free"! It's not worth it! Your time is honestly better spent improving your skills and working on projects that motivate you and inspire you. You're more likely to make portfolio work that way.
