Life & Work with Ara Santos of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ara Santos.

Hi Ara, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m a Filipino-American Animator and Entertainment Designer. I grew up in the 2000s era of tv cartoons: Toonami, Hey Arnold, Rugrats, Avatar on Nickelodeon. As a kid, I was always glued to animation and video games. My childhood neighbor, he drew this sketch of the Titanic ship in front of me, that’s when I realized people actually make the magic I saw on tv! Fast forward to college, I spontaneously decided to pursue a career in the Animation industry, making me the first in my family to be in art and entertainment. I studied it all: 2D, 3D, stop motion, and graduated from an experimental animation program. I knew I had to be in media arts, and that led me to overlapping creative career paths I didn’t know existed yet. Since 2020, I’ve been working in Animation Television, Immersive Entertainment, Exhibits, and the Fashion Industry: Robot Chicken (TV), Big Nate(TV), Tiny Chef, Demon Slayer, Squishmalllows(Exhibits). Now I’m experimenting with my own style and have been building my own business with everything I’ve learned from the industry.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The Animation landscape has been rocky for about a decade now, and it’s not for the faint of heart. I’ve had to jump different industries because projects can only last for so long. There’s so much that goes into developing shows before production happens, and it finally lands on your screen. I think a lot of young artists see the end result: the amazing storytelling, characters, and worlds and get inspired to do this. Then they get disillusioned once landing their first job in the industry. As a student, I wish I learned more about the business side of being an artist, how projects get funded and negotiating for yourself. But most of the time, you just have to learn it on the way. And no matter what, you have to keep that spark in you alive, that’ll carry you through the projects and the people you work with.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I call myself a Mixed Media Artist. I create from what I consume, and combining art mediums in a way I haven’t seen yet.
When my art peers describe what I do, they are kind of at a loss for words, but think a mix of: Animation, Illustration, and Fabrication.

Just recently, I’ve been experimenting with AR (Augmented Reality) on my art and I think I’ve drawn an interesting audience from that. I create from my hobbies, plants, technology and travel. I also watch a lot of mystery, sci-fi thriller, and adventure films and animated sitcoms.

I don’t specialize on one specific thing, I alchemize art into a feeling of magic, wonder and immersion. And if I can keep you on a suspension of disbelief, then my art was successful.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Creating gives me a whole range of emotions, but ultimately happiness in the end. It’s the feeling of self-expression and problem solving that keeps me going with it. It’s frustrating and fun; it gives me adrenaline when I make what was just an idea in my head, especially when it gives others the feeling of healing, coziness, and exploration. The cherry on top is seeing where it goes and the reactions from everyone. I never get tired when people have a shocked look when they ask “You made this?”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artofara.com/reel
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ara.byuuu