Today we’d like to introduce you to Aerick Hood.
Hi Aerick, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Vacaville, California, a small town about forty-five minutes away from the Bay Area. Ever since the second grade, I’ve had a strong interest in making comics. At the time, I didn’t know what a comic was, but that’s essentially what I was making when I would draw my friends and I in side-scrolling adventures on printer paper. These stories I told were personal to my friends and I. Their laughter and interest in my work was my fuel. At the heart of drawing, there was this joy of entertaining an audience. Even today, that is the root of why I love art because I use art to tell stories and captivate an audience. Over time, those friends in my stories slowly started to turn into my own original characters.
I recently moved to Pasadena, Los Angeles in July of 2023 to work as a substitute teacher and further pursue my goals in working for an animation studio. I feel closer to achieving my dream than ever. I know that the only way to make it is to keep going!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of my biggest struggles in life has always been school. I was the kid in class who would get in trouble for drawing too much, and teachers would have to take away my comics in the middle of class. I would often have this looming cloud of doubt over me about what my future would be like due to my academic studies. I based my own self-worth on how successful I was in school. However, whenever this cloud would get too big, there were always small reminders that my art was the answer. Some of those same teachers that took my comics would read them, laugh at them, then quietly return them to my desk and encourage me to keep going but at a more appropriate time. In the sixth grade, we had a creative writing contest, and my teacher chose mine as the winner for best story. At the time, I was ashamed because I was used to so much failure, it was hard for me to accept an occasional win. After my emotions settled, I realized that maybe the thing I was good at was telling a story. That raindrop size of hope is what carried me throughout middle and high school, where I took a more serious interest in animation. Though I’d hoped to work at an animation studio someday, I didn’t know how to get there because the studios were so private and exclusive at the time. It was mainly through word of mouth, and no one around me shared the same passion as me.
My second struggle was figuring out how to actually find work in the studios. I felt entirely alone in pursuing my dreams because I was the only artist in my family, and my parents didn’t understand how I would make a living chasing this. Since the studios were so exclusive, I never felt welcomed or knew exactly how to get myself out there. In one of my illustration classes, my professor would bring in guest speakers directly from animation studios and freelance artists to speak to us about paving our way as an artist. That’s when I learned about internships. So I looked up the requirements to be an intern at Cartoon Network because that was one of my dream studios. One of the requirements said to be pursuing a degree in art or film. When it was time for me to transfer to a UC, the more affordable college was Sacramento State University.
Sac State didn’t offer any animation majors or illustration, so I chose to pursue film production since it met the requirements for a Cartoon Network internship. After one year at Sac State, Covid happened, and George Floyd was murdered. As the outcry for justice within the black community reigned, the animation community started creating more opportunities for people of color to network their way into the studios. That’s when I was able to join the non-profit organization Rise Up Animation. I was introduced to my amazing mentor Angela Entzminger, who helped me establish my identity as a Story Artist. For the longest time, my art has just been staying in a steady safe bubble of what I am used to. My mentor really helped open me up to growth. From there, I had a shot at interviewing for a job on Nickelodeon’s The Loud House, completed a mentorship through the Netflix Animation Foundations program, and joined the LatinXAnimation Organization team as a volunteer and helped them launch their new discord server for members. One of my favorite parts is that I’ve made so many friends and connections along the way!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I consider myself to be a freelance story artist since I don’t have a job in an animation studio just yet. I’ve nabbed a few gigs under this title but nothing major just yet.
One of the first big things I accomplished through my art was being chosen to have a limited-time toy line for one of my original characters. This was a campaign run through the company Budsies who turn typically children’s illustrations into plushies. When I submitted my design to see what my original character “Bernie the Monster” would look like in plushie form, they reached out to me because they loved my design so much and wanted me to enter their contest to campaign for my own toy line. I had to hustle door to door asking people to vote and preorder my plushie design online and I managed to impress them with enough interest in sales for my character design. Strangers, friends, and family were able to have their own Bernie plushie! Unfortunately, it was only for a limited time and there are no more in stock, but the experience was still cool!
Another thing I accomplished was self-publishing my own short story through Amazon Publishing. The story is titled “The Clay Life Cycle.” It is about two very different blobs of clay trying to comprehend what will become of their life. This was in a period of my life where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be a writer or a story artist, or both!
One of my projects that I am proud of is an animated short film that I completed for my Senior Thesis project in my college film studies program. The film was a fully storyboarded animatic that I wrote, directed, and drew. The film was presented at the J Street Film Festival to students, families, and alumni. I was very grateful to my professor for allowing me to pitch the idea and follow through with completing it because my film was allegedly the first animated feature to be shown in the festival. The film program at Sac State primarily focuses on creating live-action content.
I would say my most proud and current project would have to be my webtoon series called “Supernatural Life.” It is my first attempt at making a professional webtoon series and the process is also helping me grow more as a storyboard artist since I’ve been studying a lot of composition. I am hoping the series can grow in popularity as I upload more content!
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I am very inspired by the dark and whimsical but also humorous child-like stories. I love Coraline, Over the Garden Wall, Hilda, Steven Universe, and the video game series Little Nightmares. I am also fascinated by folklore and the original Grimm Brother’s fairytales. Those are all resources I use that inspire me to tell the kinds of stories that I like. Despite my interest in the dark and mysterious, I also love to have a lot of fun and everything I touch has a comedic spin to it. So, also expect my stories to be funny!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://aerickhood.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theartofaerick/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aerick-hood-9b868b1a0/
- Other: https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/supernatural-life/list?title_no=837655
