Conversations with the Inspiring Alexis Page

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Page.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started drawing at a really young age like a lot of people who art into art. But when I saw Lion King for the first time at age five, that’s when I knew that I wanted to do animation! I drew non stop, through elementary, middle, and high school (kinda got me in trouble sometimes too, lol). After high school, I went to community college to build a portfolio for art school. After two years there, I was ready to apply to CalArts. I got in and started in the fall of 2014. I did an internship at Disney Feature Animation the summer after my first year, then Disney TV after my 2nd year. During my third year, I started helping out my old character design instructor with a show he pitched. At the same time, I was producing, writing, and designing a Black History Month short for Sesame Street’s youtube channel. It’s safe to say I was pretty over college at this point. I actually ended up dropping out after my 3rd year to work on my teacher’s show; Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Also, during my first year on TMNT, I did another short for Sesame Street, but this time, it was in an actual episode. It was about a little black girl who goes to space with her favorite astronaut, Mae C Jemison! I’m currently still on TMNT, but I’ve been taking it easy lately and doing other forms of art-making in my free time. But yeah, that’s my story!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I’ve always struggled with something on this journey. When I was in community college, it was so impacted and it was almost impossible for me to get the classes I needed, so I would just ask the professors if I could just sit in on the classes. Or at CalArts, dealing with teachers who insisted on only teaching their personal art style and not how to draw with structure. But honestly, my biggest struggle was always feeling like I didn’t know what I was doing. Thankfully, I had great mentors and teachers that saw my potential and encouraged me to keep going. I would say it’s pretty important to have good helpful mentors in your corner, people who can give you critique but also encourage you. And for them, to use their privilege to open doors for you.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a character designer, so I find different ways how to draw people, animals, and creatures! A while back, I did a series of sci-fi girl designs because I was so annoyed at Star Wars’ lack of black female characters. That post low key too off, it got like 20k likes! I like to draw girls with bulky and realistic bodies, I think that’s how I stand out, and of course, drawing black girls! I’m incredibly proud of my Sesame Street short. I got to have creative freedom on almost all of it, and it came out better than I had expected! It’s called “A is for Astronaut” it’s on the episode “Astronaut Elmo” and you can find it on HBO.

But also, since tying your self worth to your job is kinda toxic, I like to make earrings and paint pots on my off time. That’s probably what I’m most proud of right now!

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
For animation, in particular, I think there’s a lack of non-cis male leadership because a lot of them are still fairly new in the animation industry. My class at CalArts was 70% female/non-male, but that’s not how the industry looks. The people in leadership roles are usually old heads who have been in animation for 20+ years. There are a few female leaders but its still so rare that I’m shocked when I see it (same with seeing black people in studio art positions, but that’s another topic for another day…). We have come along way from women being subjugated to ink and paint, we’re getting there.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexis__page/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexis__page?lang=en

Image Credit:
I took all the photos of my art, my sister, Sybil Page, took the picture of me

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