We were lucky to catch up with Daniel W. recently and have shared our conversation below.

Daniel, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been involved in art scenes in one way or the other. And it’s interesting to note how, even though all my previous endeavors weren’t the “finish line” so to speak, they ended teaching me lessons that I use to this day as a fulltime artist. To be more especific, I started out playing in bands at the local punkrock/hardcore scene for around 10 years or so, after that I spent 5 years drawing comic strips, and previous to where I’m at now, I spent around 6 years animating music videos for local rappers. All of these were done independently with no outside help from managers or agents, so despite what I was doing at the time, if I wanted to get somewhere with my art, I absolutely had to learn how to sell my art. Especially in niche markets like comics and animated music videos for rappers, I had to learn how to turn something people aren’t actively looking for into something the people wanted. So there is no overstating how important networking is. Knowing who to talk to and knowing how to talk about your art are the most important tools in this regard.
Another tool that I ended up developing throughout the years and that’ll get you far, is learning how to detect and navigate through the BS. In art scenes you’ll always find people trying to legit help you out, but at the same time there will always be people trying to get a buck out of your hard work. Knowing how to spot the scammers will save your hide more than you can imagine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name’s Daniel, and I’m an illustrator and animator from São Paulo, Brazil. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a kid, but for most of my life I’ve done odd jobs while drawing on the side.
But I ended up getting into the industry 12 or so years ago doing freelance work as an animator for ad agencies, and a few years late that ended up evolving into working with my own studio/collective (Fat Dog Animations), where I animated music videos for rap artists from all over Brazil.
People went after my work during that period because what I was providing wasn’t just simple animation, I was providing a piece of art in the form of traditional frame by frame animation. So it was always something unique tailored and thought for specifically that client, where I tried to synthesize and portray the artists music and lifestyle through movement and drawing. So despite the videos having a similar esthetic, they were unique to each artist.
What made me proud during this time was that most of the artists I worked with, either went on to become huge names or already were huge names in the scene (Emicida, Marcelo D2, BK, MV Bill to name a few), and were all artists whose music I was already a fan of.
After around seven years working with music videos, I ended up discovering the world of NFTs, which ended up being a sort of creative rebirth for me. Dealing in a scene where I’m not dependant of clients (atleast not the same kind of clients as in freelance gigs), I was able to tap into unfiltered creativity which breathed new life into what I do. And that’s where I’m at at the moment.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’ve had two brushes with burnout throughout the last few years. Once while working as a freelancer doing animations for local rappers, and another moment recently a couple of months back. Both heavily affected me psycologically (the second even physically), and to be honest those were two points in my career as an artist where I was one step away from just quitting and going back to my day job as a translator. And under other circumstances I would have done just that.
What kept me going were my kids. Not only are they directly dependant of my work, but one of my biggest dreams ever since becoming a father is to show both of them how it’s possible to push through and “make it” in your own terms doing what you love. In a way, I felt quitting would be letting them down.
It was hard to jump back at first, took me a couple of weeks in both situations to sit back at the desk and draw again without getting triggered. But it’s interesting how this mirrors most relationships you have with other people and things throughout your life. I think it’s natural for a person to just quit when facing some sort of extreme hardship in an endeavor or a relationship.
But one thing I learned in both of those situations, is that if you quit, you won’t see things get better on the other side of the tunnel. I’m definetly glad I didn’t quit.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I think it’s an amazing tool and movement. Most people tend to base their opinion on what they see in the midia with overbloated PFPs and such. But a better deeper look into what’s actually going on behind the curtain, you’ll see a whole scene of artists that are happy and creating without constraints. People without access to the traditional art circuit (myself included), getting a chance of meeting collectors and being able to make a living in their own terms as well as being respected for their unadultured artistry.
It’s a tool that is still in its infancy and there’s many quirks to iron out, but I think it’s amazing and it brings unprecedented freedom to artists.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lynkfire.com/danxiety
• Instagram: instagram.com/danielw.01/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielwponto02