Today we’d like to introduce you to Leo Veneziano.
Hi Leo, 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?
It all started back when I was a kid (around 8 yo) and my Dad got our first household computer, an Intel 386 – talking around late ’80s. My brother was six years older than me so he was able to get things going and I would watch until I had a turn to play some of those old-school games like King’s Quest. Fast forward almost ten years, we finally upgraded our computer through a good friend of ours who taught us how to build it from scratch so I was able to get the necessary parts for a good gaming machine and in doing so led me to start doing some graphics work with Photoshop 4.0. Being all self-taught, I just played with the program and all of its features and just fell in love with digital design. I would continually upgrade my software to try out new features, come across other programs like Corel Draw and Macromedia Dreamweaver, and just try everything out.
Fall of 1999 arrived and I went off to college. I tried my hand at Computer Science because at this point I was also dabbling in a little code like Visual Basic and C++ and was excited to grow with it – until I found out that there was 4 different levels of Calculus. Weird right? A coder that wasn’t into math. Well, I ended up changing my major and surprisingly, I took the “safe” route and tried to major in something that would be reliable like Psychology so that I would have some sort of “steady income”. That didn’t last very long because there was no passion. That’s when I started to really browse my options on campus and ended up finding a dual major, Animation + Television/Film Production. I got my Associate of Science degree and ended up transferring to a trade school to get yet another dual major degree, Motion Graphics + Visual Effects.
During my final portfolio projects, I ended up focusing more on Motion Graphics. I had fun with Visual Effects but there were so many moving parts (and they forced us to work on individual projects only) that I just wasn’t too into it. I loved seeing the end product but the journey was brutal when you had to do EVERYTHING by yourself. With Motion Graphics on the other hand, it was way more fun to be able to bring your graphics to life using at most 2-3 programs. From making intro titles to movies + games to creating motion graphics for commercials, or creating motion graphics for casino slot games which is what I ended up doing as I got hired right out of my portfolio show.
Motion Graphics Reel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?
animated logo – https://www.instagram.com/p/
animated logo – https://www.instagram.com/p/
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I got hired to work on casino slot games, the work was fairly consistent as a freelancer. However, receiving payment was always random. I would always get paid, but you wouldn’t know how long it would take to come in. So trying to budget any kind of expenses was difficult………It’ll be 12 years now that I’ve been doing my freelance and I’ve been blessed with a couple of steady ongoing clients to keep my company alive.
On a side note, I was able to connect with one of my older clients and apply for an opening within their marketing team. Since I’ve already done work with them as a freelancer I was able to assimilate quite easily and have been working for them for almost two years full-time while still keeping my Sunken Realm business going in the evenings and rocking 65+ hours a week. The hustle is real… lol
As you know, we’re big fans of Sunken Realm. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I started Sunken Realm right before graduation and never looked back. I provide the standard design services like logo + stationary design, motion graphics, and a little basic web design. I’m always trying new things and plan to focus on some VR/AR in the near future. I guess people know me mostly for doing animated logos but the stuff I’m proud of the most is being able to see stuff I’ve designed in the physical world – like stickers and banners I’ve designed for my clients.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Just hit me up on my Instagram • @sunkenrealm for any questions or collab interests. I’ve done a few collabs/art trades and really enjoyed them. As you can see from my gram, it’s not strictly my art portfolio but more of a business casual profile. I post my work and also things that interest me so that I can have fun with it. I did one collab with @vinylxme (https://www.instagram.com/vinylxme/) where we both showcased our versions of the Netflix’s Sabrina soundtrack vinyl release (https://www.instagram.com/p/CMTgvWBDsT3/) while the art trade was between my buddy @roguewavephotography (https://www.instagram.com/roguewavephotography/) where he provided his services in exchange for a shirt design (https://www.instagram.com/p/CnhZwiRJAJJ/). At the end of the day, just hitting that follow button and liking my posts helps a lot with today’s algorithm.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sunkenrealm.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunkenrealm
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/leoveneziano/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/sunkenrealm
