Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Rousseau.
Hi Lance, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories are sitting on the living room floor with my older brother, drawing cartoon characters. We’d record shows like SpongeBob, Invader Zim, and Dragon Ball Z on the VCR, then pause the playback and draw what we saw. We’d do this for hours. From that point on, I stuck with drawing. In grade school, I always took art classes to improve my skills. Eventually, I went to The Art Institute of Atlanta, where I earned a BFA in Animation. While in art school, I learned from industry professionals who worked on the cartoons that shaped my childhood, which was a huge opportunity. After graduating, I moved to Los Angeles to continue my animation career. I made sure to network, attend screenings, conventions, and conferences, and kept a strong online presence by sharing my work. This led to some incredible opportunities, and today my work has been featured on major networks and streaming platforms like Disney Channel, Disney+, Comedy Central, and BET. I’ll always remember my roots of creating characters and telling interesting stories. In 2016, I founded 10 Remsen Entertainment, a publishing company where I create, publish, and distribute comic books worldwide.
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?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Right after art school, I realized that if I wanted to seriously pursue a career in animation, the East Coast wasn’t the place to be—at least not back then. I spent month after month applying to studios on the West Coast, since Atlanta didn’t have many opportunities. My inbox was filled with rejection letters, which really made me question my decision to follow this dream. At one point, I had a second virtual interview with a studio in LA that promised me a spot if I moved. So, I took the leap and drove me and my girlfriend (now wife) across the country to LA. But right after I arrived, HR called me with a voicemail saying they were pausing the hiring process. Hearing that completely crushed me. I left everything behind and moved just on their word. It was a harsh lesson, to say the least.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In animation, I specialize in designing and painting backgrounds. I’ve always loved creating the environments where characters interact, rather than drawing the characters themselves. A strong background can set the tone, mood, and story. This passion for backgrounds and storytelling has influenced my own intellectual properties, where I focus a lot on both.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I believe AI will play a big role in animation, from scriptwriting to VFX. While it may not always improve quality in my eyes, the industry will continue finding ways to do things faster and cheaper. My approach is to adapt, just like I always have.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lancerousseau.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lancerousseau/
- Other: https://www.10remsenent.com/
