We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Luis Colindres. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Luis below.
Luis, appreciate you joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Making a living as a creative has been a daunting but rewarding experience and it took years to reach this milestone. During my final years studying illustration at Columbia College Chicago, I began to send out massive amounts of emails to any address I can get my hands on, particularly in the music industry. My initial goals were to design album covers and possibly even posters. Music really connected with me as someone who is constantly inspired by sounds and using that inspiration to create my own visuals. Then, miraculously, an online DJ who at the time was known as “Fista Cuffs”, responded to one of the dozens of emails sent. He said that he really enjoyed my work (at the time it was just my instagram account where I had my art) and we eventually followed through with a single cover. I was so excited that someone actually noticed my email and was willing to pay me for my art! This is the earliest professional gig I remember. At the time, I could not have imagined that I’d be where I’m at today, and still within the music industry! I’ve evolved from doing single covers to now working on music videos, animating stage visuals, working behind the scenes with various festivals and music events for their marketing assets, and much more.
Knowing what I know now, I would have dramatically increased the amount of emails and I would have began learning more animation while still in school. Learning animation after graduation was one of the biggest and most important decisions I’ve ever made in my career because that toolset opened up many more opportunities with music. I was not only the illustrator who can draw cover art, I was also able to turn those images into motion graphics and adapt them to videos.
I also really hated delivering pizzas, although I will forever be eternally grateful for that job because it was a cool way to explore the city of Chicago, but most importantly it made me want to draw as a job even more! haha.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am an illustrator and animator based in Chicago, IL. I primarily work within the music industry and do mural work. I love drawing things traditionally with ink, markers, and colored pencils. When the opportunity arises, I animate those drawings to make fun videos so my work becomes more integrated within the modern social media world. As an animator, I also get pre-made assets from clients and bring those images to life following their art direction.
The murals I’ve worked on are some of my proudest projects I’ve worked on. Everything on the animation side is primarily a digital workflow which is great, but the murals create a nice balance of hands-on creativity while being onsite. I also did my first ever mural out of the country in Guatemala last year which at the moment might be my favorite traditional piece I’ve ever made. On the animation side, I’ve worked closely with Mexican DJ Jessica Audiffred on a number of projects but the one I’m most proud of was creating and designing promotional assets for her performance at the Hollywood Palladium. This venue is already legendary and to be able to create the flyer and an animated promo video for the event was a literal dream come true. This project included some of my early green-screen work. It was one of the most complete packages I’ve ever made and it was so rewarding seeing it all over social media before her performance.
Working with Collectiv Presents, an events company, has also been one of the jobs I’m most proud of having. They have opened many doors for me in the electronic dance music world from motion graphics to gig posters. They even provided me a gig to create a poster for Zeds Dead, who is not only one of my favorite artists from my high school days, but also one of the biggest electronic artists in the world. I had to pinch myself when I created that folder on my computer.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing firsthand how my art has created unforgettable memories for the audiences of all the musicians and events I’ve been a part of. When I see my work up on stages and people are recording the performances with their phones, taking pictures, and writing on their socials how much they enjoyed the event, it fills me with much gratitude having this career. Some people only go to one festival a year or one show they saved up money for, so it’s vital for me to it my best efforts. All I want is for my art to make people feel connected with their love for the creative world, whether its music or seeing a giant painting on a wall that they weren’t expecting to see. This applies even for the smaller things like exploring new music on their phones and an album cover grabs their attention to listen.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Shop local! Visit the up-and-comers if they’re hosting a show. One time I was at Hulaween Music Festival in Florida. On one of the days, I didn’t really have a schedule of artists I wanted to see so I walked around and explored the different stages. I saw that a group called “Dirtwire” was about to start their performance at a nearby stage. I told myself “why not” and so I walked over there, not knowing anything about who they are or what kind of music they make. They ended up being my favorite performance of the whole weekend and I streamed all their music on my drive home. This isn’t something new that happens at festivals, but for the general public who don’t work or participate much in the live music world, they can still take this same approach with other parts of life! Go explore the new store that opened in the neighborhood. Maybe they have a mural and it becomes the coolest painting you’ve ever seen. Go to a comic store and check the local artists section. You may find someone you like and who knows, maybe they blow up and become a world-renowned artist. Sure, seeing headlining artists in all the creative fields is fantastic, whether they’re painters, filmmakers or writers, but for a thriving creative ecosystem, we have to put just as much effort on fresh new talent in order for the creative world to continue evolving. Yes, go see the big blockbuster movie, it’s probably an amazing film, but also check out debut films from first-time directors. Sometimes they can even be better than the most popular movie at the box office.
Don’t be afraid to explore this vast and vibrant world. There is art where you least expect it :)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://colindresart.com
- Instagram: @colindresart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colindresart/
- Twitter: @colindresart
Image Credits
Guatemalan Dinosaur Mural in Amatitlan, Guatemala
Chicago Hotel West Loop Doodle Mural painted by artists Tom Molloy, Tristan Young, and me.
“Tuk Tuk on Devon” art installation
Jessica Audiffred’s Hollywood Palladium headlining show gig poster
Zeds Dead’s 420 Madison Show gig poster
Big Mini Putt Club Wall 1 Mural by Tom Molloy and me
Madeon Artist Highlight for North Coast Music Festival (still frame from animation)
“I AM POSSIBLE” gym mural at Mades Johnstone School