Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Malfi. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

Recently, I took on the role of Lead Character Designer on a volunteer short film project. My responsibilities were to design characters and props, and to work with other designers to help the director maintain her vision of the film.

Since this was my first time in a leadership role, I had a lot of nerves and self doubt to wrestle with.
I went into it hoping to be a flawless and dependable lead from the start.

What I quickly learned was that this is as much a learning experience for me as the rest of the team. The most important part of this project for me was being able to listen to and learn from the artists on my team, because they have so much valuable knowledge and skill to share.

I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented artists, and I believe learning from them is what made me stronger as both a leader and a character designer.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a character and prop designer for animation. I have always loved cartoons ever since I was a kid, and I knew I wanted to help contribute to an animated project in some way. When I pursued a Computer Animation degree at Ringling College, I learned that I wanted to be a character designer.

My job is creating character designs for animated projects, and making sure they are as optimized as possible. This is done by creating reference sheets for animators, which include various poses, expressions, and turnarounds of the character from all different angles. This must be done while also keeping the vision of the art director consistent.

I always keep animators in mind when designing characters and props, and this often informs my decision in how simple or complex a design may be.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When creating my thesis film ‘Bad Dog’, I took lots inspiration from illustrators like Ed Roth and Jim Phillips. I wanted my main character to be stylized in a way reminiscent of ratfink and other hot rod monsters.

My challenge was making sure this stylized character design translated into 3D. This proved to be a difficult task, as a character with a giant toothy mouth and eyes popping out of his head was difficult to model and animate, not to mention while attempting to keep to my original vision.

Over the course of designing Bad Dog, I had to make many adjustments to streamline the design more smoothly into production of the film. I had to sacrifice some small details of the original design, but I was able to design a character that was both stylized and worked well in a 3D setting.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Jobs are scarce and hard to come by in the animation industry, so my most effective strategy has been networking and taking on volunteer designer positions.

Building connections with industry professionals in a respectful and professional manner has helped me immensely in furthering my character design career. There is a lot to be learned from experienced professionals.

I have also learned so much from being a volunteer character designer. Taking on volunteer positions has strengthened my ability to collaborate with other artists in a streamlined manner, and has given me irreplacable connections.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erinmalfi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/digitalfist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-malfi-202530195

Image Credits

Erin Malfi