Today we’d like to introduce you to Nilsson Harvey Cajamarca Agudelo.
Hi Nilsson, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I would definitely say I got here thanks to my discipline and being curious about what I like. From my first martial art lessons at age 16 I had to try really hard and persist if I wanted to be good at something. I would say everything I got to do was a matter of many tries and failing. I grew up in a small city in Colombia, Villavicencio. As the older brother of two siblings I learned how to negotiate in almost everything and have fun no matter the circumstances.
But I also learned that when I dedicated quality time to things I liked I could become great at it. That’s what happened with graphic design. My dad was an old school self-taught graphic designer (I mean hand-lettering old school) and of course, my first job was being his sidekick at his business. I started learning the first things about design while helping him and when the time came I thought naturally I wanted to become a graphic designer too so I packed my stuff, signed in a Design School and convinced my parents to let me move to the big city: Bogota, the capital of Colombia.
I graduated as a Graphic Designer in 2011 and shortly, I found myself working as a web designer and after a year I realized I really hated to work at it. It just didn’t flow. So I saved all the money I got from that first year and invested everything in a Motion Media course that was offered in Bogotá and that really changed my career. I realized that adding movement to designs was my true passion. So that’s how I got into Motion Graphics.
As I said, I’ve always been very curious, so as I worked in Motion I started to be inspired by artists like Ariel Costa, Jorge Canedo, Sander Van Djik, Colin Hesterly, Sebastian Baptista, Climent Canal, Xoana Herrera, Bee Grandinetti, Stefan Sagmeister, Claudio Salas, Jordan Scott and Andrew Kramer. Early in my career I gathered a few friends and together we founded a Motion Graphics collective called BAKU, which transformed itself later into the first motion graphics community in Colombia. We did create free animations for NGOs and organized meetups and keynotes on budgeting, classical animation, networking and technical skills. I was happy but the truth is that I had my body in Colombia but my mind was thinking about working someday with those incredible talented artists I mentioned before. So, I decided to study abroad.
There are a lot of places that offer Motion Design curriculums but SCAD alumni and staff were always around every motion design news. That must be an amazing place for me, I thought. I asked for scholarship opportunities and after four years of applying and saving money I got accepted to the Master of the Arts in Motion Media Design in the Savannah College of Art and Design, and finally graduated in 2022.
During my career, I’ve been blessed to collaborate with studios like Scholar, and Buck, for clients such as P!nk, Afrojack, El Chojin, Galantis, IBM, Apple, VICE, Electronic Arts, Microsoft, LEGO, among others.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
To tell the truth, it has not been easy, especially the migratory transit and adapting to another culture as a foreigner, but every bump in the road has helped me to look back with pride and immense gratitude. Everything is possible if you are willing to work hard for it.
Just before I graduated from Graphic Design I thought I would become a great professional, world traveler with a healthy lifestyle, and make a living by the age of 24. The harsh truth is It took me almost a decade to accomplish two of the four things I dreamed of. I’m still working on those goals and dreams.
Moreover, after every bump in the road, there comes a sense of fulfillment and confidence that strengthens, reinforces my morale, and pushes me to reach even greater personal goals.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Motion Graphics designer, which means that my role can change from the earliest stages of pre-production (such as ideation and concept development) through production (design, animation) to post-production and final delivery to the client. However, what I like the most is 2D animation by using After Effects as my main tool.
I like to mix, complexify and experiment whenever I have the opportunity and I feel that’s where my work is headed. It is inside the result of that mix where ingenuity might be born.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Surprising? Maybe it would be that although I took a few classes here and there, I learned English, Portuguese, and most of my motion design skills via the internet. I have an immense passion for history, martial arts, cinematography, and spirituality. It’s all about the wanderlust: “if you don’t go you will never know”.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nilssoncajamarca.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nilssoncajamarca
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/nilssoncajamarca
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2vOGmS5_JcD3A8J-T2fgGw
Image Credits
001. Fushimi Inari Taisha, Japan. 002. Forsyth Park, Savannah. 003. Working at Montgomery Hall (SCAD) 004. ARKDE. Styleframes. 005. Haz Más – El Chojin. Styleframes. 006. Whatever You Want – P!nk. Styleframes. 007. Forgiveness. Styleframes. 008. The Little Green Book. VICE/NBA. Styleframes. 009. Lego. Scholar. Styleframe.
