We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Antonio Montilla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Antonio below.
Antonio, appreciate you joining us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
As a creative I am very happy with my career. Admittedly, it is very easy to get discouraged because of the overwhelming amount of talent in my field. However, I often remind myself that rather than having an ordinary desk job I am doing something extremely unique by making animated content for people to enjoy. Sometimes I ponder what it would be like to have chosen a different career, but I don’t think any other job would make me happier than being an animator.
Antonio, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I grew up with parents with more conventional jobs. My mother was a teacher and my father was a doctor. However, I always had an fascination with cartoons and art. Surprisingly, they heavily encouraged me to peruse this and it’s thanks to them that I even learned that being an animator was a job. Because of their encouragement, I attended Ringling College of Art and Design and got my BFA in computer animation. I originally went in wanting to be a story artist, but after my sophomore year I discovered I have a real passion for animation and acting. My senior year of undergrad I directed and animated a musical short film that went on to win many film festival awards. Because of that film, I was noticed by a handful of companies, but chose to take my talents to a studio called ICON Creative in Vancouver. There I got to animate on 2 animated projects, one being a Star Wars animated series. Even though I was enjoying myself at ICON, my insatiable hunger to improve led me to step away from the animation industry for a year and go back to school. For the next year I studied at animschool. Now, I am currently working as a freelance animator on a really exciting project.
Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)
I am personally very against NFT’s. While there are some that have decent art, many high selling ones lack a lot of creativity or are just photobashed images. They are uninspired, and the devalue the hard work it takes for artists to hone their craft.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew about online animation school earlier. While I cherish and love my animation degree, I did most of my formative growth at animschool and animsquad learning from industry professionals. Through those courses I learned many useful skills. Not only did I learn to refine my craft, but I also learned a valuable skill in learning to take critique. Like many artists, I get very attached to my work. So, learning to take objective advice is very important in order to grow,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.antoniomontilla.com/
- Instagram: @animtoni
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-montilla-6a4136175/