We recently connected with Zach Evans and have shared our conversation below.
Zach, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
“Happier” is hard to pinpoint for me. I don’t fully understand what life would be like without creating art; it’s become how I think. That said, WORKING as a creative is an entirely separate discussion. Making a living in the arts is as rewarding as it is disheartening. You see some of your friends reach heights you never thought possible, and you watch your other friends sell their spark in exchange for a can of beans. Being an artist for a living is an incredible and rare privilege, but it can also strip you of who you are. I lost myself for a long time; I was not expressing my interests in any real way, and I was taking jobs to have more on my plate. So, I tried working briefly at a coffee shop, and I understood the appeal for me. It is arranged, immediately completable, and I make a living. It’s a more guaranteed paycheck; you can separate work and art. I thought, “Hey, this could be nice!”, and, in an immediate sense, I was “happier”. Although, the longer I stayed, something grew distant in me. I started feeling claustrophobic behind that cash register; I felt like I had put a lid on my potential. I loved that job, but I also knew that the longer I stayed the more “comfortable” I would become. One day I’d give up on my dream of being an artist – despite all the ups and downs of being a professional creative – that notion terrified me. I know I’d die resentful if I hadn’t at least tried to make it work. So, I’m trying. I’ve found an immense joy working with some truly brilliant people, and figuring out what this journey means to me.
Zach, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
To put it as vaguely as I can, I’m a guy who likes to make stuff. To elaborate, I’m a guy who likes to make stuff and then I make stuff. In my heart, I’ve always been a storyteller. I’ve picked up as many hats as possible to live that dream. I got into the industry almost entirely by accident. I had no real plans of “making it big”; although, I thought my art maybe had the potential to sell out at a garage sale when I kicked the bucket. The truth is, I picked up my pen because that’s what I wanted to do; that process is how I absorbed the world. I moved to Jacksonville with fleeting savings, no job, and bills starting to pile – I remember praying for some minor miracle. It wasn’t until several hundred pieces of posted art later that some LA video editor came along. I had worked small jobs leading to this point: 5 logos and some odd album covers. However, considering the workload he needed from me, I was unsure if I could complete the project. In a way, I was right; we missed the original deadline by a long shot. The project took me and my client a year and a half to finish. Over that period, that client – Aidan Minton – would become one of my closest friends. We spent entire days calling and nights staying up until we saw the sun. Following that video, Aidan and I have worked on countless other projects and continue working together to this day. I have created art with a list of clients and other creatives including the USMNT, BMW, Lee Brice, the Kansas City Chiefs, The Browns, Kiss, and most recently “Abduction” (Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Ad winner) among many others. That first video is still the proudest I’ve been of a professional project, but that friendship with Aidan and many other creatives has been one of the greatest joys of my life. I am nothing if not blessed by those I’ve worked with, and I owe all praise to God for giving me those opportunities. I continue to draw, edit, animate, and solve problems. My hats have included artist, art director, 2d animator, writer, photo editor, video editor, voice actor, director (I say loosely), and occasionally 3d animator; I am most skilled at art, but I will always adapt to do what I love… which is to create a story. If I had a little closing advice, try not to let my pride and the pursuit of being “great” get in the way of doing what I truly love. Alternatively, because I’m often a hypocrite to that advice and am perpetually working on it, make cool stuff.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My grandma thinks I’m an incredibly resilient and strong young man, but the truth is I – like most people – have run into some challenges. One of the hardest projects I’ve ever tackled was my very first “student film”. The reason I put it into quotes is because it’s not a film at all, but a series. Also, I was a college dropout at the time, so I also was not a student. “Now Zach, that seems ambitious?” one might say. My response is “Yes” and “AHHHHHHHH!!!”. I had always wanted to make a horror series so I picked up my phone and started shooting like a maniac. I wanted the series to showcase everything I was capable of and things I wasn’t yet capable of. So, I shot, edited, animated, “colored” (which may be generous), voiced over, and keyframed on my phone using Cap Cut, Flip-A-Clip, and a little assistance from Blender. Now a likely follow-up from my readers might be, “Does it look rough?” Also, yes. I am not a genius and I definitely was not qualified to make this. However, all-nighter after all-nighter staring at the Cap Cut interface so long it may be permanently burned into my retina, I had done it. I made the 22-minute rushed and confusing horror show “Smile You’re on Camera” and I adored every second of those self inflicted hardships. It told the story of a man trapped in his room as his soul was harvested by Lovecraftian-inspired entities. It was met with the wild applause of 4 people and received such comments as “I don’t understand it”. Naturally, I believe any sane person would have called it a day. However, I am a storyteller and not an influencer. So, I picked up my phone again and made some calls to some friends to act. I immediately began crafting and forming a 40-minute long second season creating an over an hour-long series with 2D animation, 3D animation, animation over video, video over animation, and any other way you can combine those things. I made a monster in my hallway out of a cardboard box and duct tape, my friend (Shane McCauley) and I created an entire facility in Blender, and I brought back a fan-favorite semi-headless character to be more involved in the plot. It was not perfect and it almost made me lose my mind, but now… it exists. My team of friends and I had made a horror series on a non-existent budget with virtually no materials, and I will never cease to be proud of that accomplishment. I am working on rebooting the series now that I have a camera and more creative friends; I will always refuse the idea that some dreams are impossible. I will make a movie on my phone if I have to, and every time I do I believe I will get a little better.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
The “dream” is to survive and tell my stories while trying to be the man God wants me to be. However, that concept seems incredibly abstract. Materialistic things I would love but don’t require: a small house, enough food to survive, and the ability to continue to tell stories. I want those creations to be a bit of my life for everyone I’m leaving behind. I hope the story tale is about love. I hope art honors my Savior and the people I cherished while I was still around. I want to achieve honesty and peace with my friends and family where criticism is free-flowing, and love and empathy are constant and known. I want to talk with the enthusiasm of my past; to speak with the passion and voice of my younger self (a kid who wanted to make roller coasters). I don’t want to communicate with the voice of a man who often edits and draws text. I see a lot of creatives who want to “make a movie” as their dream and then make everything except a movie. I am often one of these creatives. I am a novelist with no novels. I see a lot of creatives who start podcasts because they want somebody to hear them. I too am a creative who wants to be heard. I want to see more art that isn’t polished but real, and I want to hopefully inspire people to do that and stop being so afraid of what the world has to say about what they create. Make that weird comic, abstract movie, misunderstood show, or song that might get no streams. Because even if it’s “bad”, you completed more of the dream than everybody who sold theirs to be more professional. I want to honor God with my gifts and not man. I want to find love in everything I do and don’t want to be scared of doing it – that is my endgame. It kills me to witness my most talented friends surrender their scripts for a chance to write someone else’s. It crushes me to see the most beautiful writers are often never read. I want YOU to write that story so I can read it, and I want to write my story for you. In conclusion, the particular goal that drives my creative journey is the idea that one day I will express myself with freedom, and hopefully, that will inspire a handful of people with the most incredible sparks in their eyes.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galacticskullz/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@galacticskullz
- Other: https://discord.gg/G6fFyNuUc8
