Today we’d like to introduce you to Carmina Castillo.
Carmina, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born to Filipino parents in Saudi Arabia and moved to Canada when I was three. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue computer science or art but eventually, my heart (and my math grades) led me to enrolling at Seneca College for Animation.
After graduation, I was lucky to enter the animation industry there and worked primarily on children’s television. However, I found myself wanting to experience life in LA – the mecca of animation.
I knew I wasn’t nearly as good as I needed to be to attempt entering the Los Angeles animation industry so I set my sights on getting into doing another round of art school.
Eventually, I packed up my life and my dog in my hatchback and drove across America to take my chances.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I worked in animation for a couple of years as a background artist and designer for several studios in Toronto. I’ve also been fortunate to freelance as a 3D modeller for video games.
For myself, I make fan art. Cue scoff.
Like many artists in animation who grew up the way I did – obsessed with anime and video games and teaching themselves Photoshop when they were in grade school. My first digital drawing tool was a mouse until my parents gave in and got me a Wacom Graphire. My first drawings contained a lot of anime girls with Gaussian Blur and Overlay layers.
Many years later, my current drawing tool is a Wacom Cintiq and I’m happy to say I’ve learned how to draw other things since then, but my inspirations haven’t changed much.
Do current events, local or global, affect your work and what you are focused on?
Gosh, the world of art and its definitions have evolved so much it’s really hard to answer a question like this objectively. It’s also harder to explain how my own art has been affected by current events since I consider myself an artist in entertainment, meaning I’m only a part of a grander piece of art.
Since art and culture go hand in hand, entertainment arts is a reflection of our current culture, and it seems our culture is become more and more inclusive.
Nothing is really “for nerds only” anymore. No one feels rejected by society for liking comics. The video games’ industry is larger than both music and movies combined. Anime now largely influences Western cartoons.
I think people are more celebrated for their differences than ever and I love being able to make art that people can enjoy without being labeled as not a “real artist.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.carminacastillo.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_crmna/
- Other: https://hot-fish.tumblr.com/
Image Credit:
Carmina Castillo
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