Beauty in Oddity

I knew I was a weird kid for as long as I can remember.

Yeah, I know, I know….everyone feels they are special and unique, but believe me when I say I knew I was not heading in the same direction as many of the kids my age when I grew up watching the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Brave Little Toaster or Courage the Cowardly Dog and rather than fearing their visuals like pretty much every other 5 year old, I was amused, bewildered, fascinated!

And so, from early in my childhood, I knew I wanted to be an artist, a storyteller a creator…an animator!

I have always been captivated by what animation brings to the film, television and gaming industry because it allows imagination and creativity to flow much more fluidly than what live action allows. Besides, with animation you can really have a style and a unique look that will remain “untouched” and “unphased” by time whereas live action will inevitably have the sad aging of their actors, environments or situations of their era. Most of what animation creates will inevitably look forever the same in our minds unless sequels, time lapses or unfortunate reboots occur, and even then, such “newer versions” are one unique creation in itself that can be what you choose them to be if you please. The important thing here is that with animation all the worlds and universes created have that special feeling of being unique forever. To me, animation is the epitome of what escaping reality and letting your creativity loose is, especially if you are also a creative designer like myself. Looking at the screen and watching your art come to life is really a marvelous experience. If I have to mention 3 very relevant pieces of animation that I constantly have in my mind and that probably influence my daily interests and creative decisions I should start with Kiki’s Delivery Service by Hayao Miyazaki since it probably was the very first Studio Ghibli movie I ever saw and that captivated me from beginning to end.

A second piece of media that captivates me is I can Friday by day! by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Hajime Ueda.

And a more recent masterpiece I fell in love with instantly was the game Gris by Conrad Roset. All in all, animation is such an intricate part of my life that I cannot imagine a world where I am not creating, working in, watching or just being near what this industry has to offer. Here’s to becoming a better artist and fulfilling those dreams that little me wished to achieve. Cheers!