Today we’d like to introduce you to Amario Andre.
Amario, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
So how did I get into Animation? That’s a pretty hard question haha. I think my interest originally began when I was about 13 years old. My father used to work for Marvel Comics and he had all of these original comic books that I read that inspired me to start drawing.
To be able to create your own stories and characters, and pull them straight from your imagination? I just thought that was really awesome, appealing and just..different! So that started my interest for art. However, my love for art really soared through sibling rivalry. You see, I have two other sisters who are also artists (Aziza Andre & Akila Andre) and growing up I always found myself comparing my work to theirs. What started off as rivalry somewhere down the line turned into appreciation. We would critique each other’s work and push each other to become better artists. Through that, I eventually formed my own path in the art field and so did my two sisters with one majoring in Fashion(Akila) and the other in Illustration(Aziza).
However, how did I get into Animation specifically? Well, it really started from curiosity, I would watch behind-the-scenes videos on how they created an animated feature and I wondered…could I do that? I naturally like to push myself into learning something new. Therefore, when I transferred to SCAD, I decided I wouldn’t be an illustrator, something I’ve spent years practicing, but that I would commit to becoming an Animator.
It’s such a different field of art and anyone who starts off in illustration and then jumps into animation will know that you are pretty much retraining your own artistic habits. Animation isn’t necessarily about detail while Illustration can be at times. Animation is about the movement of a scene, what emotions do you want your audience to feel without much dialogue? How should I compose this shot? What about the timing of this characters action? Is my character sad/happy, and if he is one of those things how should I structure the scene? All of these questions animators are asking themselves constantly. It’s why I think a lot of animators are great filmmakers because they have to be a bit picky about creating something that doesn’t even exist.
So now I’m a Director and Animator for films.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think everyone struggles at some point in art. Unfortunately, with art, there’s a public stigma and misunderstanding against the skill and effort an art career requires. You can work diligently on an art piece that can takes weeks to complete but still have people ask why isn’t the work they requested cheaper or free. Or, if you do it pretty fast, their response could be, “Why should I pay for it if it only took you a day?” It takes years of practice to learn how to work in shorter increments of time with increased quality.
Art is in everything! Clothing, restaurants, commercials, stores, and websites. If you don’t have good art people will know. They might not know the exact elements that can make or break a design, but people tend to feel when an art piece is not well thought-out.
The art field takes practice and time, and you must constantly prove yourself with your work. Despite all the negatives that surround the ignorance around the art field, it’s great to remember why I love art in the first place. It’s not to appease a customer or get more likes on social media. I’m doing it because it’s what I love to do and reminding myself of that is how I tend to overcome any huge challenges coming my way.
Please tell us about Black Lion Media.
I’m the creator of my company Black Lion Media(BLM). BLM is an online company specializing in creating comic books, branding, commercials, and animated features. We’re mostly known for our comics however we’ve been getting some recognition from our commercial work with Aerotropolis which is an Atlanta company that partners with companies like; Chick-Fil-A, Suntrust, and Porsche to improve road infrastructures throughout Atlanta. I think what sets us apart is the quality coming out of our studio, having the freedom to partner with talented individuals leaves room for creativity in our released products.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
A lot can be learned from failure. However, whenever I’m planning or working on a project, I have to sometimes remind myself that organization is key. So if I was to ever do anything different, it would be to be consistently organized as a Director and producer.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blacklionmedia.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blacklionmediainc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLionMedia/
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