Today we’d like to introduce you to Steffany Rodriguez.
Hi Steffany, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
It feels like it has been a very long journey getting here today. I have been working in the industry for 4+ years now, and I still have moments where it hits me that I am working my dream job.
Like many artists, working in animation has been a dream of mine since I was a kid. The first movie that inspired me to want to work in this field was “The Prince of Egypt.” The storytelling, music, and visuals are so powerful and still stand today as one of the most visually stunning animated films of all time. My journey to get to where I am today has been filled with a lot of obstacles and self-doubt, but when I had a full-circle moment after getting my first job in the industry, I knew that the best decision I could have made was not ever giving up.
Growing up, my parents encouraged me and my siblings to explore all types of hobbies, and when I showed a greater interest in art, they enrolled me into art classes. I took these classes after school and sometimes up to four hours on weekends because I just loved painting. However, when it came time for college applications, my parents discouraged me from pursuing animation as a career. Like many parents, they were unsure about the stability of the art industry and encouraged me to pursue a more steady, reliable field. Outside of art, I really liked science. I ended up pursuing a career in forensics for a short time by attending UC Riverside as a chemistry major (but later switched to anthropology).
As cheesy as it sounds, I felt like animation was calling to me. I didn’t want to give up on this dream. On a whim, I decided to apply for the Disney College Program in my second year of school. I thought this was my way to get a foot in the door. Nope. Not even close. But I really developed as a person and a leader working there, and I met a lot of wonderful people, including my husband. It was a great experience, and looking back, I truly believe that had I not gone down this path, had my parents let me apply to art school out of high school, I would not be where I am today. I don’t think I would have had the time management skills, maturity or the toughness to get through a rigorous art school. But, after working there for a few years, I finally decided I was going to pursue animation more seriously and not stop until I made it. Once I finished my degree, I took a year to work, save up money, and take classes around LA to figure out exactly what I wanted to do in animation. The last day of my last class at UCR was also the first day of my first class in animation.
I took classes at the Animation Guild, Society of Illustrators, CGMA, Brainstorm, Patreon, Gumroad, and Art Center night classes. My mom is actually the one who pushed me to apply to the Art Center College of Design. Classes at Art Center were truly as difficult as they were rumored to be. I and my peers pushed ourselves to the limit. It was an intense experience. I was able to work as a Teacher’s Assistant for a couple of instructors toward the end of my third and fourth terms, and because of this, I was able to get my first job. It was also at this time that I switched my focus from visual development to background design and painting after taking a class taught by the legendary Mike Humphries and loving it. It ended up being a great decision to switch because when I was TA’ing for one of my former instructors, Barry Jackson, he used to look at my homework from that class and give me feedback. When Barry started art directing on a show called “Victor & Valentino” at Cartoon Network, he brought me on as a background painter. Just to show how this winding path to a career in animation was meant to be, this is when I had my full-circle moment. Barry had worked on the “Prince of Egypt.” Not only that, but the show centered around Mesoamerican mythology and lore, and since UCR didn’t have a forensics anthropology program but was widely known for archaeology and cultural anthropology, the majority of my classes centered around Mesoamerican history! Maybe these were just small coincidences, but I like to think otherwise. I hope this can inspire anyone out there who thinks it’s too late to jump into this field or who might think they don’t have the right background or might just be having a lot of self-doubt. There can be many paths to our goals, and it can take along time to reach them, but the point is to not give up!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I commuted fifty miles one-way three times a week during off-season/during school and then worked full time during peak seasons when I was attending UCR and working at Disneyland. It was very difficult, it was draining, and I didn’t get anywhere close to a foot in the door like I thought I would. When I had to switch majors at UCR (math is very hard), I thought it was a sign to apply to their arts program. However, at the time the art department wasn’t accepting new students. It was defeating at first, but later I realized it was meant to be. When I finally did end up going to art school, it was scary and so difficult sometimes, I thought I didn’t belong there, and I wanted to give up many, many times. I worked extra hard to submit scholarship portfolios each term and even worked for extra money since I already had one set of loans from attending UCR and then more once I started attending Art Center. I also used to be extremely shy. I was less so when I started working at Disneyland but I reverted back to shyness a bit when at Art Center. I used to force myself to go to networking and social events by myself so that I was forced to talk to people. It was stressful and difficult on a personal level, but it’s much easier now, and I have made a lot of great friends and connections this way.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a background artist for TV animation but also work in visual development as well. I am most known for painting and am very much a ‘shape’ person. I think since I gravitate towards painting, I’ve learned that I can see compositions and perspective better when things are blocked in with values and shapes more so than lines. I call it being a “Painter Brain.” Since my first job at Cartoon Network, I have worked for Warner Bros., SpinMaster, Pat&Mike Prod., and most recently Netflix Animation. I am most proud that I didn’t give up on this dream and that I learned a lot about myself and grew so much, personally and professionally, throughout this journey. I think I was lucky in that I had a lot of support from friends and family, but in the end it was me who had to put in the work and practice, networking, and just do my best and hope it would work out. I think that all of my past experiences leading up to now have helped me become adaptable and a good problem-solver, which is a valuable skill. I am also a pretty ambitious person and when I have a goal, I can be very persistent.
What makes you happy?
I enjoy trying or learning new things or going to new places (or even old places!) I am not extremely adventurous or anything but I do enjoy traveling or going to unique experiences if I can. I also enjoy spending time with my friends and family and my cat Olive. And finally, I just enjoy my work! It makes me happy to be fortunate enough to enjoy what I do and hopefully, I am able to do it for a long time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.steffrodart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steffrodart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steffany-rodriguez
