Today we’d like to introduce you to Elissa Gonzales.
Hi Elissa, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I always knew I wanted to be in art/animation. I FELT something when I saw life beautifully portrayed at the hands of an artist. I found myself at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University and graduated in Visual Development’s class of 2020. I was not naive to the fact that, for most people, getting into the industry does not happen overnight, and was somewhat prepared for this. That being said, I would still come to find out what pressure truly is to have no income as the weeks turn into months. I began to treat a weekday as if I were employed and with structured working hours. I started a day with as many job applications as I could find – either through LinkedIn or studio websites and tracked every single time I hit the “Submit” button. I would edit my portfolio again and again and then work hard to have an online presence. Instagram aside, I used the phrase “shameless self-promotion” as my flagship against all crippling phases of imposter syndrome and constantly updated LinkedIn with any portfolio content being produced. I was even careful of when to respond to comments, realizing that if I waited at least a few days to reply, my post would re-circulate back through feeds and have a higher outreach. I became quick in editing my cover letters to tailor them to each studio/job position and filling out forms. Though relentless in my attempts, I did not get any responses until around 100 applications. But it was by my 182nd application, and for an unlisted (hence, never applied to) job listing, I was contacted by a director via LinkedIn DMs. 11 months post-graduation, I was finally hired within the span of a week.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest struggle has been imposter syndrome. I was told I was not “good enough” to be in feature animation, and suddenly I was there attempting to navigate it with no grounds for comparison. I was terrified over the question if I was keeping up with output and quality amongst this level of talent surrounding me. I had been wanting to be in the animation industry for my entire life, and now I was scared to lose it. To add to it, I was lucky enough to have artistic leadership, paying attention to what I enjoyed and where I thrived as well. Within a few months, I found myself focusing more in character design (my absolute dream!!!!). But next to being told for years that I wouldn’t get into feature, I had been told to not even dream about character design at this stage of my career. While I understood this logic with the demand of character design in our industry, it only heightened my struggle to build confidence in my own ideas once I was in the position. I began to get in my head, and, as designing goes, this can REALLY hold you back and bring fear to pushing designs to their full potential. I would have never realized it’s how crippling it can be without going through it, and I wish it was more of a discussed topic for new artists going into the industry. Since then, I’ve slowly been learning to trust myself more and realize what it means when they say, “Just have fun with it.” There are a zillion mediums out there to bring inspiration, and you never know what ideas these can trigger!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Visual Development Artist specializing in character design, and I’m most proud of being behind the design of a major character coming out in a feature film. I have always loved finding the little nuanced personality quirks in a character and how their mannerisms would convey these traits. That being said, I think my love for what sets different personalities/attitudes apart comes through in my characters, with the end goal of them being endearing in one way or another.
How do you think about happiness?
What makes me happy is designing something that someone else can identify with. For me, it’s someone looking at a character and understanding who they are in a quick read while at the same time wanting to know more about them. I believe there’s success when people immediately respond to something with an emotion.
Aside from this, it’s the simplicity of sitting outdoors at a cafe with iced tea and a pastry, just people-watching and enjoying a moment of stillness while the world is moving around you.
Contact Info:
- Website: gonzartist.com
- Instagram: @gonzartist
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elissa-gonzales-3a4505135
Image Credits
“Gonzales.jpg” (profile image with hat) Mia Perry
