Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Padilla.
Ashley, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I got serious about art as a career when I was in high school. I invested in a Wacom Bamboo tablet, taught myself Photoshop, and started taking commissions for small things like simple drawings, logos, and invitations, I hadn’t been professionally trained in art until I started classes at Gordon State College. There, I became very close to the teachers in the art program, and then, I got hired as the Student Art Assistant, so I hung out in the art building pretty much all the time. I learned mostly fine arts, they’re like a pencil drawing, oil painting, and clay sculpting, but the school only offered an Associate’s program in Art, so I knew I had to go somewhere better if I wanted to get serious about animation. In 2016, I transferred to SCAD in Atlanta, and I’ve learned more than I could’ve ever dreamed during my time there. I learned to become a true professional, and now, I feel confident that I can make it in the art world. I met some amazing people there, so after I graduated, I had some friends in the animation industry who helped me get my job at The DVI Group, and hopefully, we’ll be able to stick together if we move on to other companies in the future.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest struggles I faced was the fact that art was never taught as a career option until I got to college. My high school was more tailored to academics and sports, and there were no art classes. I had all this knowledge and book smarts, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. When you’re young, a lot of people make you think that art as a career is silly and that it will never be a stable job. “You need a job that will pay the bills,” “You can’t make a living off of drawing,” and “Why can’t you just get a real job and do art as a hobby?” were all phrases I’ve heard several times. Lots of people don’t realize just how important art is to the world. It’s literally everywhere, and if you have the right skills and find your niche, it can be very lucrative. To all the kids out there, regardless of your gender, if you truly love art and that’s what you want to do with your life, do lots of research, narrow down your skills and fine-tune them, find a job that suits you, and give it all you’ve got. If you can’t find that perfect job, build a community of friends who will support you and create that job for yourself. In the end, you’ve got to do what makes you happy, or there’s just no point to anything.
Please tell us about your work.
Right now, I consider myself mostly as a 2D character animator. It’s what I’ve been trained the most to go through school, and I feel like that’s what I’m most skilled at doing. I’ve really been into traditional, hand-drawn animation, and though it’s a challenge to draw every frame, it’s really freeing. My entire senior film was traditionally animated, and I had a blast doing it. On the other hand, I used to hate 2D puppet animation, but once I got into the real world and discovered that most studios use puppets, I realized that it’s a much easier and faster way of animating, so I’ve been doing a lot of that lately as well. On the side, I do a lot of illustration and graphic design for commissions, but one of my ninja skills is my ability to do realistic pencil drawings and portraits. After spending all day on a computer doing art, it’s really nice to sit down with a pencil and paper and draw something tangible. I’m still working on my brand as a whole, but I have a somewhat decent following on Instagram under the name “avictoriay.” As a brand, I like to keep my art clean and somewhat kid-friendly with a bit of a dark, yet cute twist. I want people to fall in love with my characters but also be just a bit disturbed by them. I really like to blur the line between cute and creepy whenever I can.
Were there people and/or experiences you had in your childhood that you feel laid the foundation for your success?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve always had a big imagination. As an only child, my mom kept me entertained by reading fantasy stories to me, doing fun crafts, and playing silly make-believe games. Pretty soon, I learned how to draw and make up stories on my own, and it just never ended. I grew up watching cartoons every day, and I loved shows like SpongeBob, Tom and Jerry, and Courage, but the moment I knew that I wanted to be an animator was when I started watching Adventure Time. My classes in high school were really tough, and I was constantly studying or doing homework, but no matter what I was doing, at 7:00 PM, I would make sure to stop and watch Adventure Time on Cartoon Network. It was 30 minutes of pure bliss and mindlessness, and I let myself drift away into the Land of Ooo with Finn and Jake. It always made my day better, so one day, I decided that I wanted to create a show that could be an escape for others as Adventure Time did for me. Maybe one day you’ll see my name rolling through the credits of your new favorite show. 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: www.avictoriay.weebly.com
- Email: a.v.young7@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avictoriay/
Image Credit:
Kalie Stewart Photography
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