We recently connected with Christopher Vigil and have shared our conversation below.

Christopher, appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I feel like there have been countless blessings throughout my journey, but one act of kindness stands out in particular. The year was 2016, I was working at Warner Brothers as a production coordinator on Smallfoot. I had been in animation production (which means managing artists and schedules) for about 10 years prior to that at DreamWorks Animation, but it had always been my dream to be an artist in the art department.

For those who may not know, going to art school costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since these were resources I never had, it was out of the question for me. Even taking out a loan, could imprison you to this debt for the rest of your life. That being said, art was always just a part of my life. It’s just who I am. Even without a formal education. I had been making art and storytelling since I was five years old.

I had been at Warner Brothers in production for about a year and things had come to a boiling point in my life; I was considering leaving. At that point, I had been working with Ron Kurniawan (the production designer of Smallfoot) to develop my art practice, but when he offered to have me join the team as an artist, I was speechless. It seemed like something that had always been so far out of reach for me, something that would never be in the cards for me, and there he was, offering to change the course of my life.

That opportunity was precious to me. I’ve never taken it for granted, and endeavor to potentially give someone else an opportunity like that someday. Sometimes when someone believes in you, it helps you believe in yourself when it matters most. In any case, that one act of kindness was a nexus point in my life, and without that, who knows where I’d be.

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.

For people who may not know me, I’m Christopher Vigil artist, dad, and storyteller from Los Angeles, California. I’ve been making art all my life. Over the past decade, I’ve been mostly making art for animation, but I also love to oil paint and create in various other ways.

To me, all humans are creators; that’s we were made to do. So making art for animation has been extremely fulfilling because you’re tasked with creating an entire world that is yet to exist. It could be scary at times, because you never know what you’re going to be asked to do. It could literally be anything, but I prided myself on always doing my best and making an effort to go above and beyond. I put my heart into everything I do. ALSO, and perhaps most importantly, I always tried to be a good human first. To me it doesn’t matter how proficient of an artist you are, if you are awful to be around, you completely undermine yourself, so I always aim to treat everyone (from producers and executives to those taking out the trash) how I would like to be treated.

At this point, I’m working on directing and producing my own youtube series. In addition to that, I have content for projects that I’ve been pitching to the big studios as well. I would LOVE to get any of these off the ground as well as my idea for an animated project with Tom DeLonge. If anyone out there is reading this and is in a position to receive pitches for awesome, original new content, this is your sign to get at me!

Additionally, I’m writing a book of poems and short stories and have t-shirts and pins that I’ve designed available at: WeAreButThreads.com (while supplies last)

I feel like like 10 lifetimes would not be enough for what I want to create :)

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

It’s hard to define a particular goal or mission driving my creative journey. I mostly have just tried to follow my heart along the way. That being said, I would love to be able to make a living someday. To be able to create freely without having to worry about how I’m going to pay the bills has been a dream of mine. With that, I would love to be able to provide a future for my son one day. As mentioned previously, I have so many things I want to create that I could never accomplish them all in a lifetime. So for me, it’s more about staying open as a conduit. What I produce doesn’t come from me; it comes through me. It’s my job to show up and do my best.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One book that I recommend that has significantly impacted my philosophy is “The Creative Act: A way of Being” by Rick Rubin. Rick has serious guru vibes and this book really spoke to me. One thing he talks about is having a non-competitive mindset, meaning never compare yourself to others. When you’re making art for animation, you typically get direction from the director, production designer, art director etc. because there is a specific goal in mind, and that is perfectly fine. When it comes to personal art, that’s more like a poem about my life, so that really can’t be critiqued because it is my story through my own unique lens. Additionally, he discusses how creation is ‘a way of being,’ which I super relate to. I will continue to make art even if I never make another penny off of it. I never make art with an idea of what is popular right now or what I think people will like. That’s a recipe for disaster. I make art because it’s who I am. I don’t understand this impulse, but I don’t have to. I honor it, and make myself available as a conduit who is constantly blossoming.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ChristopherVigilArt.com
• Instagram: @we_are_but_threads
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-vigil-4940b61b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@christophervigil2762
• Other: https://WeAreButThreads.com

Image Credits

The images of Roger Rogers was done for Disney TV Animation

The image of the bull sitting with a radiating mandala is from my kids’ book ‘Surf Dudes’