We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Washington recently and have shared our conversation below.
Anthony, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project that I’ve worked on, would have to be 2007 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles feature film. Over the past nearly 30 years in the industry, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have worked on some amazing projects from Comic Books, Video Games and Feature Films. But in 2005 I got the chance of a lifetime to work on one of my all time favorites, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Long time friends and Directors/Writers Kevin Munroe and Tom Tanaka had reached out to me while I was on production of various comic books to gauge my interest on being the first concept artist / lead colorist to help pitch a re-imagining of TMNT. Before they could finish Turtles, I was immediately on-board. Thankfully the work that I did, helped to land the investment for the film. Over the 2 years of intense and challenging production, I would drive from San Diego to LA 3 times a week and nearly working 14-18 hour days for that entire time. The incredible amount of hard work would pay off, as we had the #1 Movie release for that week. It was an honor to be surround by some amazingly talented people and would do it all over again if the opportunity presents itself again.
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?
My name is Tony Washington, I’m an Illustrator and Music Producer based out of San Diego. I’ve been beyond lucky and thankful to be doing what I love for a living for nearly 30 years.
I got professional start at the age of 18 while attending Summer Session at CAL ARTS in Valencia, CA. I had been working on my portfolio for San Diego Comic Con, as I did for every year since I was 15. Seeing comics like the X-Men and Spawn, really captivate me to learn how the studios could create such immersive storytelling. So I decided to take a weekend to pitch my portfolio again and to my shock, I was hired by Image Comics and got my start with Wildstorm Productions as a Computer Colorist,
Coming from a traditional background, I would work my normal 8 hour shift and start an additional 6-8 hours to continue to practice Photoshop 3.0 and other digital art software suites.
Working there built the foundation to where I’m at today as I’ve been an independent contractor for most of my career. Moving between Comic Books, Video game and Feature Animation Productions and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity and experience that the amazing team that Jim Lee and so many talented others would build.
Over the nearly three decades in this craft, I’ve helped with teams of all sizes to bring various intellectual properties to life. My main focus is currently has been Concept Art, Poster Illustration, Character Design and Matte Painting in 360 VR environments and standard formats. Each of the mentioned disciplines come with their own unique challenges, but the excited to fully realize and bring a project from written form to fully realized concepts is truly rewarding.
I do believe having a wide range of disciplines and knowledge from each of the fields that I’ve been so fortunate to be a part of, has helped to set me a part from other individuals and firms alike. The learning doesn’t stop though, so I always take the time to learn as much as possible to continue to grow as an artist and have even more to offer the clients who commission me.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
The NFT space is something that I’m very interested in. In particular that looping video aspects with sound design. There additional layers of immersion that can’t be done with 2d still imagery that I find unique. I’m not a fan of the still imagery NFT and not because I’ve had a handful of my digital art pirated and for sale on some of the bigger platforms. But I think there should be more to offer in this new medium. It’s still very new and I look see this space expand even further with the years to come.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
One of the most recent moments that I’ve had to pivot would be with the beginning of the pandemic. Most of my studio and client work, understandably needed to put on hold, But the pivot was a long time coming. A little over 2 years ago I finally dedicated time to my personal work and launched my first print and merchandise site under Tonywashingtonart.com
It has allowed me to express a wide yet personal variety of styles from Flowers, Clouds, Surrealism and Licensed projects like limited edition posters for The Crow. Being able to directly connect with my supporters from the various entertainment fields that I’ve been a part of has been amazing and look forward to their response with each release.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tonywashingtonart.com
- Instagram: @tonywashingtonart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tonywashingtonart
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-washington-861b423/
- Twitter: @twashingtonart
- Youtube: tonywashingtonart
- Other: society6.com/tonywashingtonart
Image Credits
Head shot Photo By Nelson Labs