We were lucky to catch up with Alexander Prestrelski recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alexander, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I knew I was an artist early on. When I was a child, I was privileged to have had the time and space to imagine. At around the age of 10, I gravitated towards drawing comics which were inspired by my favorite books, cartoons and video games. Everything changed when my family gave me a Windows 98 computer where I would become enthralled with modding video games like Quake and creating short animations in Macromedia Flash 5. I saw worlds in my head and built them. In some ways, I believe that this has been both a gift and a curse for me – but mostly a gift.

The gift is that with enough honesty, curiosity and repetition, a person can turn that into achieving any result. The curse is that in the pursuit, you may become a perfectionist. I didn’t find the discilipline of Motion Design until well after college, perhaps because I was trying to get everything right. Thus far, I had several interests in my life: oil painting, programming, game design, scuba diving and even guitar… I learned many things, but I was very hard on myself and never thought I was good enough because I compared myself unfavorably in all areas of life.

Fast forward to 2018: I’ve followed through with an art school education and I moved out of my parents, maintaining a job in IT. Things were fine and I was managing my adult life, but I felt lost. After a brief conversation with a friend, they suggested that I focus on just one single thing for a month. That focus became learning the 3D software Blender. I made no excuses… I didn’t have to be perfect and get everything right – I just had to trust myself.

From thereon out, my persistence led me to find The Freelance Manifesto by Joey Korenman which led me to School of Motion. Dots began to connect when I started learning Cinema 4D and found the type of work I wanted to make. During that phase, I learned that the formal qualities which mattered most were movement, lighting, color and composition. I applied what I learned from their courses to my own personal projects and curiosities.

While learning the fundamentals was certainly helpful, I found that the most important lesson is community. As usual, I was focusing on technical execution… But I didn’t connect with others. After taking a chance on a networking event called Camp MoGraph, I found the heart of the industry. There I found real opportunities to make a difference. I met a lot of talent people and got a few gigs out of it, but the best thing was finding purpose.

To this day, while I might not be working for a high-end studio and have to maintain income in an IT career, I have a mission. The real lesson I had to learn was to love myself, set boundaries and be healthy. If there was anything I would change about this entire process, I would believe in myself more.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I thoroughly believe that Motion Design is the secret sauce of time-based media. Even though it is ever-evolving, I think our job is to direct the eye with graphics, express a narrative and disseminate information in an exciting way within a small timeframe. Whether you’re using special effects, frame-by-frame animation or film… You’re telling a story, which is how many of us view our world and simple visual tricks aid in that.

Personally, I particularly love product visualization. Perhaps it’s the right-brained “engineering” aspect of myself, but I’m fascinated by objects. Clothes, cutlery, food, jewellry, nature… Something about these concepts immediately appeal to the senses.

A client would hire me because they want their business to stand out in a vast sea of visual information. A studio would hire me because not only can I communicate visually with Cinema 4D, Adobe After Effects, but I can adapt to new software and cultural environments.

Perhaps the thing I am most known for is my passion for mycology. I love mushrooms and seem to want to show others that interest!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

When you make a promise to a client and couple that with a task you find stimulating, you forget that you’re doing it for money. I don’t necessarily believe in “dream jobs” because there will always be a major conflict at some point in your career, but I do believe in roles which align with one’s own values. In particular, the most enjoyable contract I executed back in late 2023 aligned with my values in the following way:
1. Discussion about compensation was straightforward with a defined budget (which was large for 1 artist)
2. The art director trusted me to deliver and I was able to
3. I found the opportunity organically through recommendation
4. I regularly check back in with this client simply because I like them
5. I was motivated to do this work outside of my full-time role

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As stated earlier, I maintain funding through having a stable full-time role in IT. Even though I’d rather spend those hours in Motion Design, professionals and people that I respect have given me assurance that having that money is an advantage. If you’re desparate you are required to take more jobs. If you are secure, you can pass on roles you don’t want, which turn into a better portfolio. Additionally, keeping another role in the right industry will teach you other valuable skills.

In terms of brass tacks, most of the funding goes to 1) software and hardware, 2) education and 3) networking events. Combined, these aren’t all that expensive when compared to other industries. On a good month, I’ll fill my budget buckets up for business funding!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://aprestrelski.wixsite.com/portfolio
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprestrelski/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@alexanderprestrelski2563
• Other: https://vimeo.com/aprestrelski