I’m the co-founder and artistic director of Fantoons Animation Studio in Los Angeles.
For this text, I give attention to my journey – my goals, successes, and failures – however extra importantly, how on earth I ended up beginning a studio that now works with individuals like Jack Black, Iron Maiden, Rush, The Seaside Boys, and Steve Martin.
I’m initially from Venezuela and have all the time cherished music and animation. My dream, although, was to be a author.
Then we began to get a tiny bit of labor…
We had been employed to create comedian strips to advertise a UK indie movie referred to as Anuvahood. Quickly after, I had a good friend that gave me the chance to create an animated internet sequence, which ran for 5 years.
Round that point, I began Fantoons´ social media. I didn’t have the funds for for brand new animations, and being a lover of comics and illustrations, we began to do parodies, comics and artwork based mostly round music…however nothing appeared to work.
The land of alternatives and goals.
We lived in a tiny house the place my workplace was in a closet.
Issues began to occur. Fantoons started producing small print runs of our social media comics, which landed us an exhibit at San Diego Comedian-Con! I used to be amazed!
However…
The band and their supervisor cherished the quick a lot that the animation opened every present of their Japanese tour–together with a sold-out, 20,000-seat Budokan area present in Tokyo!
Afterwards, they employed us to do all their visuals. It was a dream come true.
This considerably validated that I used to be not totally insane after 4 years of strife.
I needed to work with Rush formally, so I despatched the guide to their workplace in Canada. It was, once more, a giant threat. The band may have merely mentioned no, however a miracle occurred.
Our unofficial Rush guide turned official!
We’ve finished seven books with the band, with two extra within the works! We’ve additionally created animated movies for 2 of their largest songs, one in all which incorporates cameo voice roles from the band themselves!
Our Rush partnership has been the perfect and most satisfying relationship of my skilled profession. Taking dangers and being silly can flip into superb issues in the event you do it for the precise causes.
