We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jordan Urdiales. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jordan below.
Hi Jordan, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I would consider working alongside Moses Kisale to produce several 3D motion/animation pieces for Denver Fashion Week 2022 as one of my most meaningful projects. I animated different variations of the Killionaire logo to showcase alongside the models as they walked the runway. Mo and I had already been working together for a couple years to create designs for his website, videos, and fashion shows. The designs started off good in the beginning, and they’re only getting better and more complex. Being behind the scenes at Denver Fashion Week and finally getting to see the animation and his collection come to life in front of an audience was beautiful. Every component of the set was cohesive and resulted in a remarkable presentation.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jordan Urdiales and i’m a digital artist and designer based in Denver, Colorado. Currently studying Digital Design at the University of Colorado Denver, I am working on my BFA thesis project, as a magnum opus for my time here. Despite still moving through my educational journey, I am skilled in several areas of art and design including, 3D motion animation, illustration, graphic design, and photography.
Growing up, I had been surrounded by the many cultures that my family was comprised of, which led me to develop a love for diversity and an expansive catalogue of inspiration that made me into who I am today. I have pursued my digital design career for the past 7 years, starting at age 15, and have worked on a wide range of projects since then. Some notable mentions include creating animated music videos for artists Bring The Phunk & Debajo del Agua, designing several 3D animations for Killionaire’s DFW runway showcases, creating abstract visual works of art, creating album covers, and taking thousands of portraits of people across the country.
As passionate as I am about art and design, I also have a deep passion for spreading love, keeping an open mind, thinking outside the box, and creating work that can be accessible to people of all walks of life. My mission is to continue furthering my career in art and design, while letting my passions shine through every body of work. My design philosophy is to satisfy clients creative needs while making them stand out as unique and inspiring. In the long term, I have my sights set high, hoping to work alongside other highly renown creatives, in order to make a positive and lasting creative impact on the world surrounding me.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Coincidentally, for my BFA thesis, I have already done hours of research on the topic of the creative ecosystem and how artists can position themselves in a way that welcomes opportunity and success. Through this research, I found that regardless of the actions that creatives take, a major component that contributes to a thriving creative ecosystem is the connection with the audience. As an audience/society that aims to support creatives, the best thing to do is be expressive about your personal connection to an artist of body of work. I find that a lot of artists feel undervalued and under-appreciated because they aren’t receiving much feedback when they put out there work. It tends to leave them feeling like their work isn’t being seen or understood like they would hope. However, this is not true. If an artist had two followers on social media for example, that is two real human being who care enough to take time and enjoy the work they see. If they talk about the art with their friends or even just comment how a piece made them feel, it really goes a long way. As an artist, knowing that even just one person had a reaction to my work is enough to make me know that what I am doing is worth the time.
Additionally, another thing that the audience/society can do to support artists is branch out. The world is full of billions of creatives from across the globe who all individually contribute ideas and beauty to it. However, it seems that most of the worlds population is only ever focused on a relatively small amount of celebrity artists. While those celebrity creatives deserve the attention, money, and love that they receive, so do the rest of the creatives in the world. If people were willing to find an undervalued artist that they enjoy, and give them that same love and support that they give the celebrity artists, the creative ecosystem would be a lot more balanced. I think it would also shift the creative ecosystem into a much more positive and loving state.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The most prominent lesson that I had to unlearn was that all feedback is true. Throughout most of my life, I feel as if society and the educational system engrained the idea that when someone gives you feedback on something, they are correct. When teachers corrected my tests, I learned that I was wrong and they were right. When my football coaches critiqued my movements and actions, they were right and I was wrong. This lesson that had been engrained in me, was nearly the downfall of my creative career.
Much of art is subjective. As I stated earlier, my background allowed me to develop an extensive catalog of inspirations that I reference when creating art of my own. Shows like FLCL and Samurai Jack were some of my favorites growing up, and they were always breaking the typical conventions of animation. FLCL (or Fooly Cooly) was all over the place, lacking a streamlined and coherent progression of events, and even included the use of manga stills. Samurai Jack was a cartoon intended for children, yet the protagonist rarely ever spoke, and the show focused more on environmental storytelling through ambient noise, detailed backgrounds, and the imagination of the audience. These shows broke conventions, but they did it beautifully. Even with music, I found beauty in artists that broke the convention. Playboi Carti, Tyler the Creator, ThouxanBanFauni, Medasin, etc. all revolutionized their respective genres in music by breaking the rules put in place over centuries, and they did it so well.
At one point or another, every artist and work of art I mentioned above had received negative feedback from audiences and subject experts alike. People thought FLCL lacked good writing, and that Samurai Jack wouldn’t appeal to children if it wasn’t full of constant action and jokes. People thought that Tyler, The Creator was too offensive. They thought Playboi Carti’s music was too experimental and lacked musical discipline. However despite those critiques, these artists and their work were able to develop cult followings of millions of people who love them, including myself.
When it comes to my work, I relate. I have been studying design in and out of school for over 7 years. I am fully aware of the rules and conventions of art & design, but I had to learn that they are not always applicable to every body of work. Of course it is good to acknowledge feedback and critiques, but it is also good to stand by your work and be proud. I find beauty in breaking the conventions when I feel like it gives my work more character, and I had to learn how to stand by my work. I had to learn to put my foot down and say, “This piece is the way it was intended to be, and I LOVE it.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://urdialesstudio.wixsite.com/urdialesstudio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urdialesstudio/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrdialesStudio/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanurdiales/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCost597p3elo8jLnII7hUiQ