Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Nieto III.
Hi Carlos, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles and had an early interest in art. In high school, I explored different types of art styles and found that I enjoyed perspective drawing, I kept practicing it and eventually landed an ob on the Simpsons as a Background Layout artist. Around that time, I began teaching art programs at local libraries and schools. After three years on the Simpsons tv show, I was laid off and found a part-time job at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as an artist in residence which allowed me time to teach art programs and to pick up freelance art gigs. During my time at CHLA, interest for my art programs grew to the point where the hospital hired a new Artist in Residence and I remained on call. That decision allowed me to continue to grow my art programs and I began traveling the country teaching anime, manga, comic and watercolor programs. It’s around this time that I began to work on a graphic novel I had been thinking about for a long time, once the pandemic hit, I began to do programs online and other than that, have relied on freelance art gigs to sustain me.
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?
Looking back, it has been easier the longer I am on the journey but lack of creative confidence was a big obstacle for me and is something I focus on building in my programs.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Currently, I do murals, anime illustration, paintings, videography and video editing. Locally, in Los Angeles, I have several murals and artwork at Mercado restaurants, I teach anime drawing programs online and play bass in a pop-punk band called Harmful If Swallowed. some of the projects I am proud of are my debut graphic novel called “L.A. Calavera” about a teenage Chicana superhero in Echo Park California, I am writing and illustrating it in my free time the other project I am proud of is the weekly “We the Unhoused” podcast on which I film and edit.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I have taken many risks, some calculated, most not, but I always make decisions based on what will get me nearer to my goal, which is making money from my art. in terms of my hospital job, I only decided to leave once I had made sure that I had built up enough of a client base for my anime programs to continue to make money without the hospital paycheck.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.animeyourway.org
- Instagram: animeyourwayofficial
- Facebook: animeyour way
- Youtube: anime your way
- Yelp: Anime Your Way
Image Credits:
Theo Henderson III, Carla Flournoy
