Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Mays.
Justin Mays (also known by his Instagram handle @maysgrafx) grew up in Annapolis, Maryland surrounded by art. His mother was the art teacher at his school throughout most of elementary and high school. Growing up, he recalls frequent family trips to the west coast of Mexico to visit his grandparents and go boogie boarding in the ocean. His five years of college at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale were basically a constant ‘Spring Break.’ He received two degrees for graphic design and motion graphics and started his career as a video editor making local car and furniture dealership ads in Fort Lauderdale. He then moved to Miami Beach with his now wife. There, he freelanced for Univision making abstract background animations for the Latin award shows. While freelancing all over Miami, he would pull all-nighters on the weekends as a VJ at Cameo, the biggest nightclub in South Beach. He loved Miami, but the national economic crash forced him to move to LA to find work.
Shortly after moving to LA, he realized it was exactly where he needed to be, as it’s the mecca for motion graphics. He has not stopped working ever since. While getting back on his feet in LA, he began to settle in he married his beautiful wife, and they bought a house and had a daughter and a son. Being in LA has given him the opportunity to challenge himself in his career which has helped him push himself in his personal art.
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 worked for a company in Miami once that was a scam and didn’t pay me forcing me to have to ask my grandpa for some money to pay my rent. I eventually paid my grandpa back but never did get paid for my services from that scam. I then got a call from an investigator claiming the employer was a con artist and owed over 50K to his client and was trying to get a lawsuit against him. Fun times lol.
I got shingles from a shop once because they didn’t clean the keyboard after someone that had shingles used it before me. I didn’t have health insurance at the time either and discovered clinics are awesome lifesavers. It was also right before my bachelor party scheduled in Vegas so I had to cancel it. Still upset about that 🙁
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Mays Grafx – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I’m a motion designer and sometimes designer for motion lol. I primarily animate graphical objects/text around the screen in an interesting way that engages the viewer long enough to sell a product or introduce something. That’s what pays the bills at least, I also am a dedicated artist practicing in fine art mediums as well as digital art mediums. I paint, draw, design on the computer and am constantly pushing myself to learn new mediums and styles.
I’m currently contracted with Apple and have been there almost a year now.
I did the stage visuals for Coheed and Cambria a few years ago. I did the whole visual package for the virtual reality awards show The Photo Awards as well as two years in a row the signage for the virtual reality conference in LA – VRLA.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Hopefully, I’ll keep working with Apple, I really like it there 🙂 – I will most likely move the whole family up there if I keep getting contracted with them. So if anyone wants to rent a sweet house in LA with awesome views of Hollywood and LA, let me know haha!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maysgrafx/
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