Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leonardo Beltran. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Leonardo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Working in the entertainment industry always involves risk. It might lack the glitz of live action, but animation is a career driven by passion. Personally, I’ve always understood this inherent risk. Animation constantly evolves and reinvents itself each decade. It’s far from a stable job; it demands constant hustle, adaptability to new technologies, and an unwavering commitment to self-improvement. As an artist, your skills must remain top-notch. Any deficiency is perceived as a weakness in the competitive animation world. People spend years honing their portfolios just to break into the industry. There are no guarantees; it’s a constant gamble.

For me, every career move is a calculated risk. Setting up an animation school in Bangalore, India, was a leap of faith. Despite not knowing the country or its people, I dedicated a decade to building a successful institution. Transitioning that school into an animation collective was another risky move, aligned with the industry’s shifting landscape.

Seeing friends opt for more stable paths is challenging. I live a dynamic life, often by the edge, jet-setting across the globe. Yet, there are moments when I yearn for the stability they have chosen. Nonetheless, I find profound joy and fulfillment in pursuing my passion wholeheartedly, regardless of the uncertainty. At this stage, success or failure feels irrelevant. I’m content, pouring my heart and perseverance into what I love most – chasing my passion. The desire to share my stories with the world is addictive—it keeps pulling me back for more. Animated films have made an impression on every single child I have ever known. The hope of making a wonderful impact on the world is worth the risk of failure.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’ve always had an unwavering love for animation and cartoons, a fascination that goes way back to my earliest memories. I vividly recall my first experience watching Fantasia in the theater, oblivious to its creation in the 1940s. That film’s impact on me, the mix of fear and comfort, seeing the gigantic devil and then the townspeople finding solace in the church, left an indelible mark.

The Warner Bros. cartoons like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were a stark contrast, wild and unpredictable, breaking the fourth wall with their antics. I devoured these timeless classics without realizing their age until much later. Modern cartoons like Transformers and He-Man also held my attention; any animated show that aired, I was watching it. Some things just never change—I’ve always had a deep love for three things: animation, animals, and food, not forgetting the opposite sex, of course. That part remains constant.

My family wasn’t artistically inclined; my father was an architect, but not quite creatively aligned with animation. Yet, visiting his workplace, drawing on his enormous drafting table, made me dream of a job like his—a place where I could draw and create. I was on track to become an animator, attending the right schools and taking all the necessary classes. However, life had a different plan when I became a father to a daughter with severe mental and behavioral challenges in my mid-20s.

That moment changed everything. I had to choose between my education, career, and my family’s needs. My daughter and family came first without hesitation. It’s a decision that shaped my life profoundly. Although my daughter might not fully grasp the depth of that sacrifice, I’m content knowing I did everything to show her my love.

I diverted from the animation path temporarily to support my family, finding work in the art field, not specifically in animation. Despite the struggle, I managed to provide for my small family. Animation never left my heart; I kept drawing, crafting stories, and absorbing all I could about animation, self-teaching every aspect of the craft.

An opportunity arose to establish an animation school in Bangalore, India—a magical place amidst the city’s gloom. Over a decade, I built a remarkable institution, an oasis filled with office buildings, computer labs, and an abundance of wildlife—birds soaring, rabbits hopping, creating an enchanted environment.

The unforeseen event of COVID brought us back to the USA, prompting the shift of our curriculum online. Times evolved, and with the experience of being a parent, the next step in my journey was birthing an animation collective. Making an animated film requires millions, a feat impossible without major studio involvement. Hence, I ventured into creating an artist collective—an animation collective, a cutting-edge paradigm bypassing major studios, fostering collaboration among animators.

My leadership and directing skills, influenced by choices made for my children and family, have shaped where I stand today. I often ponder on how different life could have been had I not made those early sacrifices, but ultimately, I’ll never truly know.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative, has got to be the closeness I feel with the ultimate creator. God. I don’t mean that in a high and sanctimonious way, but I do feel like Artist have an understanding of God and spirituality that most people who do not create do not have. Being a Christian, my views do not always align with the contemporary church or orthodox theology, but I am still inspired by the Bible and the life of Jesus. When viewing God, a lot of the discrepancies, and the prejudice that we have about God in the Bible are easier seen when looking through the lens of an artist. To see that in the beginning God created, that’s the first statement in the book of Genesis about God, and I always found it fascinating that God reveals the first thing about him that he is at his very core a creator and artist. I’ve always felt especially touched and blessed that out of all the different things I could’ve been that my destiny would bring me to a place of being an artist like my creator. I also see Jesus once again in a place of being a very practical creator, even in his work as a carpenter or stone worker in his early years he worked in created with his hands and tools. He could’ve been anything a rabbi or a teacher, but his practical training in life was that of a skilled artisan. I believe the stories that I come up with now, and the animation that I make, and strive to make Will help the world. It’s not just a blessing for me, but I’m hoping it will be a blessing for everyone. I hope it encourages makes people laugh makes people cry brings a sense of wonder to this often dark world. I hope to be able to employ more people, and be able to be a blessing to them in finding a living where they can provide for their families. As an artist, and as a businessman, that is an artist, that is one of the greatest things to be able to create and to be able to work with my fellow human beings to create. To be able to employ people and pay them on a large scale would be my ultimate dream..

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My journey has been a series of pivots and shifts, a far cry from the norm where clarity of purpose has been my lifelong companion. While most peers were uncertain in high school and college, I had a precise vision of my path. Oddly, despite this clarity, the road to my aspirations has been long and winding.

Initially, affording art school posed a challenge. With my parents unable to assist financially, I faced a stark choice: to reconsider my stance on debt and take significant loans. It was a pivotal moment—a deviation from my debt-free philosophy to pursue my passion.

Midway through my education, another significant shift emerged. I had to choose between continuing my studies or supporting my family. This became a recurring theme—a series of choices where I prioritized my family and loved ones over my career and ambitions.

Even now, I’m amidst another pivot. Though I wish to dedicate myself entirely to my studio and animation collective, familial responsibilities take precedence. I’ll be supporting several children through college while my wife pursues her nursing degree. This means a 9-to-5 teaching job at a local high school for the next few years—a role I don’t particularly relish, especially given my preference for creative pursuits over teaching.

Balancing a full-time teaching commitment alongside directing and producing in my spare time poses its challenges. Yet, despite the difficulties, I feel a sense of fulfillment in the creative work I do. The animation projects I’m engaged in compensate for moments spent teaching disinterested teenagers about a subject I adore, but they seem indifferent to.

The time spent directing, animating, and creating—like the groundbreaking work in Bangalore, India—fills me with an unparalleled sense of purpose. Our venture in animation, something novel and remarkable, promises not only to revolutionize the industry but also to effect positive change in the world

Contact Info:

• Website: www.docsanimation.org
• Instagram: leobeltranart
• Facebook: docsanimation
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/leobeltranartist
• Youtube: docsanimation
• Other: tiktok docsanimation