Check Out Francesco Porcello’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Francesco Porcello.

Hi Francesco, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in San Diego, California and raised in West Chicago, Illinois. I lived in a family of 6 with my mother, father, two brothers, and sister.

Ever since I was a kid, I kind of knew that I wanted to do something with art. I didn’t know exactly what, but I knew it would be something creative,

Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I kind of just grew up consuming all kinds of animation like Looney Tunes, Avatar The Last Airbender, Samurai Jack, all of the classic Disney movies, basically everything. My father even introduced me to the original Speed Racer anime, so that was where my love for anime began too. That led me to watching anime like DBZ, Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, and other amazing anime shows. I look back at a lot of those shows and movies and I see why they sparked my desire to work in animation. It just made me think, “Wow, animation is so cool.”

I would like to give a brief honorable mention of video games too, because they involve animation. I grew up playing Street Fighter, Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy 7, and of course Metal Gear Solid. Many of those games shaped the work that inspires me and things that I enjoy drawing. Street Fighter II was the first video game I ever played, so that one really holds a special place in my heart.

After I graduated high school, I went to community college to take some gen ed classes, and made the decision to transfer to Columbia College Chicago to pursue animation. Overall, I’d say I had a pretty fun time in college. Definitely a few late nights working on assignments, but I met a lot of people that I keep up with and continue to inspire me to this day.

Due to the pandemic, my graduation from college wasn’t how I imagined, though I still took the opportunity to take a leap of faith and move to California to pursue my career as a storyboard artist. I literally filled up my car with all that it could carry and drove it all the way to San Diego, California. Initially, it was kind of scary. I was practically traveling across the country all in pursuit of a passion. When I got to California, I even had a moment where I was like, “Am I really doing this?” It was kind of crazy, but after a few days of settling in, I really felt like it was home. And after only two months of being out there, I landed my first job in production in the animation industry. I felt very lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

Since then, I moved to the LA and got married, I continue to work towards my goals as a board artist while also taking on freelance work for projects in the LA area and some even places all the way in Japan. In the meantime, I continue to work hard and hone my skills on the side.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been entirely smooth, though there has been a few moments where I was like, “Damn, talk about luck.” But also, if ithe road was smooth, I don’t think I would have met the amazing people I know today. So I’m still grateful how everything has gone overall.

At the beginning, the first struggles I had was getting a job in the animation industry. I kind of just moved out of Illinois and drove to California with basically no contacts in the industry and living in San Diego while I kept applying for industry jobs. I was very lucky to have gotten my first production job by being recommended by one of my professors from my college. Also, my job hunt started at the time of the pandemic, so I was able to work at home till I had enough money to move up to LA.

In more recent times, I have faced the challenge of improving as a board artist. Most of my days I find myself studying films, art books, and anatomy books to improve my skills. And occasionally, I take a classes when I feel that I have hit a wall with my current level in storyboarding. A lot of this is to help retain information I’m learning and hope it sticks. It’s a lot work, but I wouldn’t be doing all of this if I didn’t love what I do.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Storyboard Artist and 2D animator. Currently, I am known for my production coordinator work and freelance work as a storyboard revisionist on Invincible as well as my storyboard work that I have done for the indie series, The Three Tomes, created by Breana Navickas. I also did some LO and Genga (layouts and key animation) on an anime recently. I can’t say exactly what the project is that I worked on just yet, but I am really excited to talk more about it very soon.

As far as what I am currently the most proud of in my career right now, it would probably be my contribution to the series, The Three Tomes. Like any project, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it all possible. I look at the team on that project, and all I could see is people having a great time working on something fun. When you have a combination of passionate people and good vibes all around, that’s a clear sign of people having fun and who are 100% proud of what they’re working. So props to the entire Three Tomes team. Y’all are rockstars!

I think something that really sets me apart part from others is my ability/knowledge to work in both American animation and Japanese animation. I feel very lucky that I have had the chance to work in both of these industries. They have their similarities, but are also run very differently from one another. I also find myself using some techniques from animation with my boards and because of that, it helps make my boards that more clear to understand and it gives them more impact. And let’s face it, without clear boards, you don’t have a clear story. Clarity is king!

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success comes from resilience. It’s knowing to never give up on something you’re passionate about it and to never let anyone tell you when it is time to “throw in the towel”. It is also knowing that if you love something enough and you put in the right amount of time and effort into that goal, at some point you will succeed.

I think of this one video I saved on Instagram some time ago about Akira Kurosawa and his advice he gave to young writers. “When you go mountain climbing, the first thing you’re told is not to look at the peak but to keep your eyes on the ground as you climb. You just keep climbing patiently one step at a time. If you keep looking at the top, you’ll get frustrated.” And that is something that really resonates with me to this day.

Every road comes with challenges, and for animation, there can be a lot of challenges to face. But it is good to remember that even if the road is long and full of obstacles, you will feel that much stronger knowing all that you have accomplished when you reach those goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.porcelloanimation.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/porcello_animation/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/francesco-porcello-276633133