We were lucky to catch up with Steven Cancelmo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Right now, my most meaningful project is a comic I’m working on called Running on Fumes, based on a storyboarding project I worked on back in animation school. The concept is heavily based on multiple aesthetics I like from other media, such as the breathtaking art in sci-fi manga and anime like Crusher Joe, Blame, and Battle Angel Alita. Mouse characters from Don Bluth movies like The Secret of Nimh. Adorable Chibi mascot. designs from properties like Pokémon, digimon and other similar anime. And mecha and monster designs from Blue Gender, The Matrix, and Macross.

My comic is about a neurodivergent-coded anthropomorphic mouse nicknamed Sparks, working with a team of scavengers, who get more than they bargained for when they get trapped inside a giant derelict megastructure.
The project itself is an excuse for me to draw my favorite types of art, like cute characters and hard sci-fi. But it’s also a way for me to express my own neurodivergence through an anthropomorphic mouse who is in over her head as she finds herself in an unfamiliar world, struggling to survive.

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.

A few years after receiving my film degree, I got motivated to seriously pursue art shortly before the pandemic began. And because of the pandemic, I had plenty of time to practice before I made the decision to return to animation school. After graduating from CCA with a degree in animation, I provided my art and rendering services to The Press Guardian, an Indie comic made by Green Archer Comics. I take small animation gigs, and I mainly do commissions for people who want their characters drawn. Currently, one of my most favorite freelance commissions are making Vtuber, models, and assets for content creation purposes. But my main passion at the moment is working on my indie comic. Having a background in film, I use my passion for storytelling to move my comic forward while taking art-related gigs for income.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

During the pandemic, when I was practicing how to draw, I realized that I simply had no natural talent for art. At the time, I was making storytime videos on my YouTube, which is what sparked my love for animation. However, drawing wasn’t something that was easy for me to grasp. The difficulty made me want to improve more, try new things, experimenting with different techniques, and trying to replicate different styles. At first, I would rarely be happy with the results of my work, but I did notice my work was improving slowly over time.
There was a lot of frustration, struggle, and exhaustion during my journey to improve, it was like chipping away at a brick wall with a small hammer. But eventually, I improved to the point where I was able to market my skills to a community I shared my art with, and through commissions, I was able to continue practicing art while also having a source of income. Though my art journey is far from over, I finally reached a point where I’m happy with how my works looks, and enthusiastic to keep experimenting and practicing to try out new things and experiment with new styles.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

In a world that’s getting much more expensive to live in, which demands a lot of work hours in order to make ends meet, I take comfort in my ability to draw. It’s because of my art journey that I was able to actually able to market my skills and earn a decent income. Because of my art, I was able to start working on my passion project comic that would’ve otherwise just remained in my head like a dream. And it’s because of my art that I could essentially put anything I imagine on paper. All I think about is art, all I think about is improving, and all I think about is what I want to do next. Art is my job, but it’s also my hobby, and it brings me joy every day. If I hadn’t learned how to draw, I don’t think I’d have nearly as much joy in my life as I currently do. Drawing art makes me happy because it gives me a way to express my creativity, rather than just keeping it all in my head.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stevencancelmo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/takojiyt/
• Twitter: https://x.com/TakojiYt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Takoji
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/takojiyt.bsky.social
  https://tapas.io/series/Running-On-Fumes
  https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/running-on-fumes/list?title_no=1042260