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

Derrek, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I’ve been learning how to animate since I was eight years old making stop-motion Lego animations with a flip phone camera. I hadn’t realized until recently but growing up I had always gravitated toward opportunities for me to make things I think are awesome. Throughout school, I’d never pass a chance to make a video or a comic for a project. I always had big ambitions for videos I wanted to make and stories I wanted to tell. I learned how to animate by always carrying a deep desire to share my ideas with my friends, and animation was the medium that I naturally gravitated towards.

No matter the medium, the learning process is something I never encourage people to rush. I think giving people room to breathe, experiment, and make mistakes while they’re doing something new is an important part of the process. It pains me to watch people act on their desire to learn something new and get discouraged when their ability can’t match their expectations. Trying something new is scary! Making something can be daunting because whatever you make says something about you, and you’re putting it out there for other people to look at and judge. Making things for myself and not caring about how other people perceive my work is the backbone of everything I’ve made.

I think confidence is kind of underrated in creative fields. I feel like if you’re in a creative field you never wanna be the kind of person to double down and doubt yourself when things get tough. You gotta own it! I’m kind of an arrogant guy sometimes because I think the stuff I make is cool and my ability to make good-looking stuff very quickly is impressive. My confidence in myself is in the blood of everything I make. It’s what pulls me to start projects and pushes me to finish them. I’m super passionate about the skills I hone and the projects I apply them to.

For every three projects I start, one of them ends up seeing completion. For me, starting projects and having new ideas is the easiest part of the process, and the hardest part at times can be holding on to that initial excitement to push towards finishing it. Being able to hold on to that feeling for weeks or months to bring a project to completion is something that almost seems like a miracle at times. Passion can be elusive and pass through different projects of mine, and even different parts of my life. Throughout the years I’ve accepted that shelving some projects and starting new ones is just part of the process. I always start new projects and learn different processes through projects because I think learning a skill can feel aimless without a specific goal or objective to work towards.

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’m a 2D animator and artist but I’ve been learning a lot of 3D animation for fun lately. I like making videos, art, comics, and music. I would consider myself kind of a funny guy so my work carries the same humor that I conduct myself with. I’ve always loooved low-budget and experimental media, and I think the body of work I’ve cultivated over the years reflects this. I’m super proud of the skills I’ve been able to pick up and the projects and endeavors I’ve been able to apply them to.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I think it’s super lame to want to be big on social media. I have a relatively small base of people online who love my work and await my upcoming projects, and that’s all I could ever ask for. I’m pretty sure 90% of the people who follow my work just found something I made on a whim and decided to check out my other stuff. If people like something you made and it resonates with them, they’ll keep up with you. If you chase that kind of affirmation I think you’ll just end up putting yourself in a box instead of giving yourself space to branch out and grow with the stuff you make. If you want to be a “content creator” then post every day and follow trends. If you want to have a good time as an artist online then make stuff that you like making, make friends with fellow artists, support your friends, and try your best to not care about followers and likes. The friendships I’ve made by posting my art online are one million times more fulfilling than the posts I’ve made that blew up.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I would consider myself a very ambitious person, especially with my creative endeavors. I’m super confident in my creative abilities which can also lead to me being kind of short-sighted and unrealistic about my expectations going into projects. When I’m conceptualizing something I wanna make I have these grand visions of videos, songs, animations, and projects that show off my skills and make all my friends laugh. This ambition is what pushes me to start many projects. The most rewarding part for me is when I’m miraculously able to complete the project and live up to my ambition.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://derrek.org/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/snibsnobs/