We were lucky to catch up with Ambrose Reed recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ambrose, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I’ve loved the visual arts since I was a kid, but was never sure if it was my path or not. I’d been drawing, experimenting with Photoshop, and trying out stop motion animation since I was young, but I also loved my science, english, and computer classes, which seemed like safer bets. In a way, I feel very lucky that I saw potential in everything, but it certainly made it difficult to choose a direction.

When I started college, I planned to get a graphic design degree, which seemed like the most “responsible” version of creative work. I hoped to sneak in motion graphics or animation work as often as possible. Halfway through, I started to feel like the program wasn’t really working for me. I wanted my hand and ideas to be visible in the work, rather than representing someone else’s information in a format that would often be disposable. I switched to a BFA in Printmaking after an amazing first class on the subject, which felt indulgent in a way, but the new focus allowed me to deeply consider a craft for the first time. In those classes, I had my first taste of what being an artist might require, spending many hours considering what I wanted to create and how best to express my ideas visually.

I kept working on graphic design informally, and found ways to incorporate digital elements into my printmaking work. Toward the end of college and in the year after graduation, I experimented with freelance work, and was able to make some animated ads for a friend with a local startup. Through a twist of fate (and a need to pay my student loans), I found myself working as a designer at a coworking space. This was a major detour from my independent creative career, but I learned so much about how to collaborate in professional spaces, lead projects, and move an agenda forward within a complex hierarchy.

I ended up becoming the first graphic design lead for the international company, but after 6 years there, I was feeling stuck. I felt the same way I’d felt in the graphic design program at school: I was fulfilling someone else’s vision, which left me no time for my own. In the end, it took the pandemic to shake me out of my comfortable position. I was laid off due to finances, which scared me a ton, but also set me free. I was able to dive back into freelance design and animation work, which met much more success with all of the professional skills and contacts I’d acquired.

Freelancing comes with many challenges, but it also left me enough time and energy to search myself for the deep goals and dreams that I’d been neglecting. Animation and illustration resurfaced as childhood loves, and I began to pivot, using the flexibility of my freelance work to shape my life around them. I started a monthly print project called Secret Print Club to improve my illustration skills and portfolio. I started taking online animation courses and moved to LA with my partner in June to be available to studios and start networking in my new field. It’s an exciting time!

Looking back at the twists and turns in my creative life, I’ve occasionally wished that I took a more direct line to where I’m at today. I heavily considered coming to LA straight out of college, which would have been such a different journey. But I’m glad I meandered and took the long way around. It allowed me to gather an eclectic range of skills and creative processes, which allow me to solve problems in unique ways. It also gave me time to build my confidence and perspective as a creative, alongside the sense that there is always more to learn and discover. I’m in a season of focus after a long season of gathering and discovery, and I’m excited to see what happens next.

Ambrose, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into animation because of a childhood love for animated films and cartoons. There’s something magic to me about creating a character or scene and seeing it come to life from static frames. I create 2d animation in After Effects and Toon Boom Harmony, and illustrate mainly in Procreate and Illustrator.

I have a monthly print for sale in my Secret Print Club project, which you can find at secretprint.club. I’ve been experimenting with a tiered model that rewards buying early. At Tier 1, the print is a complete mystery. Tier 2 offers the silhouette of the piece at a slightly higher cost, and at Tier 3 the full art is revealed at the final price. There are clues and hints sent out to social media and the email list, as well. 🕵🏻‍♂️

In my client work, I’ve created all kinds of visual materials, but focus mainly on animation or motion graphics. A current project that I can’t wait to share is a set of animated stories commissioned by the NYU Bernstein Institute, depicting the humanitarian work done by some of their participants. In the past, I did an animated explainer for the UN Environment Programme, product launch videos for Greetabl, and an environmental stage animation for a storytelling organization called Campfire.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I have many! Here are some of my “trade secret” websites, which I refer to constantly for assets and resources:

FreeSound.org – FreeSound is exactly what it sounds like: a website full of free audio clips uploaded by users that can be used in creative work, either requiring credit or available under a public domain Creative Commons 0 status. I’ve downloaded countless sound effects and snippets of audio from this site over the years. Great for foley, sampling in music, background noises, etc.

The Noun Project – A great resource for icons of any kind. I’ve often searched this collection to get inspiration for how to boil an idea down to its smallest visual representation.

Unsplash / Pexels – Amazing collections of free stock photos. I’ve been able to put off getting a paid stock account for years with these two.

YouTube Audio Library – Tucked into the YouTube Studio features, you’ll find a pretty extensive music library that’s available for free use. The variety and ability to search by mood are both very helpful.

I’ll also share a YouTube channel for those that use After Effects: Ben Marriott. Really clever solutions that almost never require plugins or complex setup. There have been multiple times that I’ve needed a specific result for client work and he’s had the exact tutorial I needed. Plus the videos are fun!

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I love anything that empowers artists and gives them the ability to support themselves, but I have yet to see an NFT project that feels honest and mutually beneficial. Not to mention, most NFTs are… not visually pleasing. If I’m being diplomatic. I’m open to being wrong!

In some ways, I created Secret Print Club to be a “physical NFT,” or even anti-NFT. I was advised by a former colleague to mint NFTs to go along with the physical prints, but decided against it in the end. It’s something I would consider more if the environmental impact is ever solved.

Contact Info:

• Website: ambrosereed.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ambrosereed
• Twitter: twitter.com/ianambrosereed
• Other: Secret Print Club: secretprint.club instagram.com/secretprintclub