We were lucky to catch up with Alan Demafiles recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I started my journey freelancing in 2015 after having entertained the idea of going out on my own for years. However, the move wasn’t entirely of my own making and I was caught a little unprepared which made the transition that much harder. So to help buy a little runway, we downsized while I reached out to my immediate network for any potential leads/gigs. I took on anything and everything I could. That I positioned myself as a generalist (part video editor, motion graphics, 3d animation and visual effects artist) meant I could fish in different ponds which still continues to this day with clients old and new.

I had previously used social media to further my reach outside of my local network and thankfully planting those seeds early on led to one door opening after another. I also created several tutorials to share what I learned and to help pay forward what was gifted to me. From there I discovered that I enjoy teaching as a means to not only passing on a passion for the craft but also as a means to check my own growth as an artist. I’ve been fortunate that through this came a big milestone in the form of creating tutorials for online learning platforms.

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

I’m Alan Demafiles, a freelance motion designer offering creative messaging thru 3d animation and video for advertising, brand marketing and more. I went to school for film and discovered that rhythm and pacing from my music background aligned nicely with editing. Coincidentally as my editing career was starting, so too was the field of motion design which can be a versatile mashup of several disciplines of not only video editing but also graphic design, 2d and 3d animation, cinematography & visual effects.

I help clients effectively communicate their message in ways that might prove too difficult or impossible to visualize through traditional video alone. Complexity in abstract concepts in science or software for example can be distilled into simplified or stylized base forms while 3d animation and visual effects can bring virtual cameras into spaces big & small, real or unreal.

I strive to help others succeed by trying to understand their ‘why’, their motivation & underlying need behind their message. That in turn helps drive the creative vocabulary needed to connect the dots of their message to my visuals. None of that would be possible without meaningful communication, thoughtful questions and discussion so, to this end, I aim to always be a good listener and a considerate contributer.

As creatives, I think we should always push and test the limits of what’s possible to help discover new ways of evoking emotion and stirring conversation which can hopefully lead to meaningful action.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

That we can imbue an emotion or feeling into a work by crafting it with our tools through our personal lens and have that resonate with others through their own life experiences is a most unique form of connectedness. It’s something that can happen across barriers of language, distance and time. While this is true for all creative arts, I feel motion design offers us an extensive palette of colors with which to paint because it can be an amalgamation of many artistic disciplines from graphic design to filmmaking and 3d animation. And because this field is rooted in technology, motion design will evolve and incorporate all advancements in years to come making it an area where boundary pushing is a must. Ultimately, I see these as significant opportunities for creatives to create more meaningful connections.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Helping people to express themselves seems to be the common thread in my small contribution to a greater story and I consider it a blessing to offer back and pay forward the talents and skills I’ve been gifted. Part of that is helping clients with their messaging but other aspects include mentoring new creatives thru a local motion design association as well as teaching others After Effects and Cinema 4D, the industry standard tools for motion design, via my courses at Linkedin Learning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://demafleez.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demafleez/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alandemafiles/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/demafleez/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/demafleez
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/instructors/alan-demafiles https://mograph.social/@demafleez