Today we’d like to introduce you to Darpan Patel.
Hi Darpan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Ever since I was a kid, I loved the concept of animation and storytelling. I would dream of all sorts of stories at night and fall asleep, but it wasn’t until I watched Disney/Pixar’s “Cars” that I realized I wanted to follow my passions and pursue a career in animation. That led me to the LA Film School as a recording engineer. At the school, I collaborated with several animation students, and together we created a small short film. It was a modest project, but it gave me a taste of what I truly wanted to do in the future.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road wasn’t easy. Finding animators and artists who wanted to improve their profiles and work as part of a team was challenging. However, once I started working with a few dedicated artists, we hit the ground running. Now, we’re creating and publishing episodes on YouTube!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Building your own little animation studio is really tough. Keeping artists excited and writing stories that are meaningful is a lot of work, but it’s my favorite part of running this studio: supporting artists and writers in creating meaningful stories. We spend hours writing and refining a story, and even more hours sitting with artists, meticulously refining the shots we want to produce.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Find a big figure you look up to, research them, and try to reach out to them. If you’re lucky enough to get in front of them, listen to everything they say. Analyze whether their strategy works for you, and then move quickly. Don’t spend too much time thinking after you’ve made the decision—just act.
Contact Info:
