We were lucky to catch up with DeMille Hunt recently and have shared our conversation below.
DeMille, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
For me, it all started when I first saw the Pixar movie “Cars”. This movie really peaked my curiosity for wanting to learn 3D art because I was so impressed with the style and the soul of the movie. It really, REALLY got me wanting to experiment with 3D software which at the time I knew absolutely nothing about. So, someone told me about this free software called “Blender”, and I started playing around with it, getting comfortable with the interface and just having fun with it. I think the very first animation I did for it was a water simulation. Then after about a year, I moved to using Autodesk Maya because I found out it was industry standard, and I deep dived even further into Maya because of great tutorials I found at the time. Then after awhile on a whim, I just started 3D modeling (even though modeling isn’t my specialty) a version of Pixar’s “Lightning McQueen” just to see how close I could get. And once I started playing with Maya, I was hooked! By this time it was 2014 and I decided I wanted to get a solid foundation in my passion so I enrolled with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California as an online student working towards a degree in Animation and Visual Effects with a focus on 3D character animation.
It was a really cool experience being at the Academy even though I was an online student in Alabama because every year the school had what was called “Summer Expo” which was specifically for online students. We were invited to come to San Francisco and tour the university, and get to know the faculty in person. But the real treat was having the opportunity to tour one of the prestigious Bay Area Animation and VFX studios such as Pixar or Industrial Light & Magic, and once my opportunity came to tour these studios and see just how different the environment and the culture is from a regular job, it really changed my life, and it was at that time I knew that there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do professionally. This was it for me, and there were no other alternatives.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a 3D character animator/motion capture cleanup artist and I enjoy bringing characters to life using Autodesk Maya. I am familiar with retargeting motion capture data to 3D models and performing motion capture cleanup in Autodesk MotionBuilder. I enjoy bringing characters that have animation data into realistic environments I created in Unreal Engine 5. Once I graduated from the Academy of Art University in May of 2020 with my degree in Animation and Visual Effects, I was working for a local company here in Birmingham, Alabama and while it was a very comfortable job with decent pay, I didn’t feel as though I was being fulfilled career wise…I wanted more, and I knew that the company I was working for was not going to be a part of my future. I had to put together a plan of action for how I wanted to handle my future, because the truth is that it is up to us individually to look out for our best interest. So a little more than a year after I graduated, during the middle of the pandemic with careful thought and going against the conventional wisdom that says “You should never leave a job unless you have another one lined up”, I made the decision to resign after 10 years of service. I am firm believer in God, and I trusted that I was hearing from him, and it was the right thing to do for my future. If I had to do it all over again, I would do it in a heartbeat.
Since that time, I have had more requests to mentor people about animation, tell my story through talks and webinars, and also I have had many more animation related job opportunities since I left my old job than I ever had before! I told myself that when I left my old job, I was going to level up my animation skills in every way imaginable. Not being comfortable with just knowing Autodesk Maya, I wanted to learn how to use motion capture software such as Autodesk Motion Builder as well as learn 3D gaming engine software called Unreal Engine 5 which is used in some of the most popular games and TV programs we watch today such as “The Mandalorian”. I also wanted to learn how to animate in VR. I can say I have learned practically all of this in less than a year’s time, and I am pleased with the progress I have made.
What sets me apart from others is my work ethic and passion for what I do. It sounds cliche’, but it takes a special person to work on something like animating a character in a fight scene until about 4 a.m. While others are out partying, I am working on my craft, getting better, and learning. Work ethic and passion are attributes you cannot teach. You either have it or you don’t.
Finishing an animated fight sequence I created this year titled “The Saharan Defender” is to date what I am most proud of because it showed my maturation and growth as an animator. That was a very challenging project for me as I had never tried animating two characters fighting each other across multiple shots while doing all kinds of elaborate fight moves. But the cool thing I learned from that project is that I can take on more than I thought I could, and I also learned I could still get better. And that is the beauty of this craft…there is always more to learn, and very few if any people ever “Master it”.
Currently I am a freelance 3D character animator for hire for gaming studios, or available for contract for animated feature film opportunities.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As I mentioned before, it takes a special kind of person to go on this journey where I am going as it relates to getting your first animation role with a studio. This is certainly not for the faint of heart, as getting a job in games or animation is not as simple as getting a job working at a bank, or a hospital. People that are looking to get their first role with an animation or gaming studio need to really understand that. There are times that the process seems so daunting and overwhelming that it is easy to just say “I give up” especially when you are wanting to connect with others; (some who even look like me) who are in a position that can offer guidance and help on social media platforms such as Linkedin but instead you get ghosted, or when you have gotten so good at knowing how a rejection letter begins without even opening the entire email message. There was this one time recently where I had an interview with a well known gaming studio, and everything I thought went well, but they said they were going in another direction. That was crushing to my spirit at the time because I felt I was so close. I took the rest of that day, and reflected on how disappointing it was, but the next day, I brushed myself off and got back it again, because I told myself awhile back I am in to win it, and I will either get a job in the animation industry, or I will die trying, and that is the commitment that I made to myself.
The beautiful thing is that it really doesn’t matter how many “no’s” you get; all you need is one “yes”. One person that sees your passion, work ethic, and ultimately is willing to invest in your potential. I call it, “One yes from God!” While some will ghost you, there are indeed good people that will volunteer their time and assistance to help get you to the next level. They are out there, and I am grateful for those who have offered to help me along my journey; they have been a tremendous blessing! I have the potential, passion, and work ethic, but sometimes all you need is that little bit of help from a stranger. I thank God for people like that.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I think it begins with a mindset of being available to offer help to those who want it and are seeking it. For someone just getting started, there is so much information about getting into the industry that a lot of people may just not be aware of. Simple things like understanding that some of the software that is used to create animation or VFX in big budget Marvel films or popular games is actually free. Whether it be a youth, or someone who is wanting to make a mid career change, there should be more people that are willing to help guide those who want this knowledge in the right direction.
I have been fortunate enough to be able to share my knowledge through one on one sessions, or leading animation talks through webinars with those who are interested learning more about animation, and I really enjoy doing that. I say that because I remember when I first started my journey, while some people were not actually helpful, there were those that poured into my life and gave great information, and I want to continue to be a part of that positive change in the industry. We should all have an “each one teach one” mindset.
Finally, I think that studios could play a better role creating opportunities for junior animators and one of the challenges for first time animation job seekers is that they will probably be demoralized by how many roles that say “Senior Animator” instead of Junior Animator. While I understand from a studio perspective that it is probably more time and perhaps cost effective to just hire a senior animator, you have to remember that senior animators were once junior animators and everyone had to start from somewhere.
I am hoping that studios will be more open to hiring qualified people of color in the animation and gaming industry as well. While there have been strides that have been made, and I feel hopeful when I see a person of color get an opportunity, you have to also understand for every one person of color that gets a chance there are so many other deserving artists who are of color that don’t get a chance to show what they can do. I am optimistic in time this will change.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dmillestudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmille_studios/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demille-hunt-9bba3577
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChHdph7tb0gpw-cfoyFKOlA
- Other: Professional portfolio: https://vimeo.com/672517715
Image Credits
I am the creator of all photos.