Today we’d like to introduce you to Elaine Proux.
Hi Elaine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am an animator and my love of animation really started as a connection with my aunt. My aunt was just a few years older than me and whenever I would visit her, we would watch anime and draw the characters together. Drawing and watching anime led me to watch all types of animated films I could get a hold of. The film that completely sold me on becoming an animator was “The Prince of Egypt”. I was utterly drawn into the story, with its beautiful animation and great soundtrack. I could never get tired of watching it, and it created my dream to want to animate for a feature film in the future.
After that revelation, I continued my school education with becoming an animator in mind. I was fortunate enough to go to Burbank High School, where they had an animation department. I studied 2d animation and I even was a part of a Nickelodeon Mentorship program. That was a great experience, I created my first animated Short “Snow Day” within that program and with the guidance of a Nickelodeon Storyboard artist. Then the year after that, I collaborated with my friend Ado Khodaverdian in another short film “Stitch Garden”. In addition to animating in high school, I was attending Saturday High classes at Art Center with a scholarship. I always looked for opportunities to advance my art education.
Eventually, I finished high school and needed to decide where to go for college. I’ll be honest and admit that my dream school was Calarts however I was not accepted. Seeing how expensive art school was, I decided to go to Santa Monica College where I studied my associate degree for 2d animation. I enjoyed my experience there, I learned more about 2d animation and it is where I achieved my first animation job. I was able to be a freelance animator for Jim Keeshen Productions. After graduating from Santa Monica College, I entered an animation internship for a start-up company. That internship led me to have graphic design knowledge and I continued working as a graphic designer. Graphic Design was a nice position; I was able to implement my 2d animation knowledge into design and motion graphics.
However, I always had my animation dream in mind. While I was working as a graphic designer, I was taking night classes at the Animation Guild to help prepare my portfolio to go back to school and get my bachelor’s. I decided I needed to learn 3d animation to have more opportunities to work in an animated feature film. Thus I applied and continued my education at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Those three years were definitely hard. To afford school, I was working for the first two years of the program. There was a lot of stress through the years but I’m truly grateful to have the support of my family, friends, and partner to help me finish the program. The workload was definitely heavy but it was worth it. I learned how to 3d animate and I was surrounded by amazing artists and teachers who always pushed me to be a better artist. Now I finally have my bachelor’s and I’m extremely excited to be one step closer to my dream.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was not a smooth road but it taught me to be strong and persistent. Because of my financial situation, I had to continue working during my first two years of the program. Gnomon in general is hard and coming from a 2d background, learning 3d was extremely foreign and overwhelming. I had to sacrifice sleep to manage, but I knew I was incredibly lucky to be able to do both work and school. Plus, a lot of my motivation came from family and partner. They were completely understandable when I could not make the time to see them and they were always giving me loving words of support. In the last year of my program, I was able to fully focus on school. Then there was another hiccup, the program became a lot more intense, and I felt I was not up to the same level as my peers. In the end, instead of comparing myself in a negative way, I reframed it to motivate myself more. All that inspiration led me to work on my first 3d animated short, “The Candy Crusader”. It’s still a work in progress but I’m very proud and it is a recollection of what I accomplished at Gnomon.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a character animator and I’m known for always working on short stories. I’m the most excited about my short “The Candy Crusader”. It is still in the previs stage but I’m proud of the progress I have made. From just being a simple concept in my head to an idea I continuously built assets for through my classes at Gnomon, to finally expanding the story and creating the animatic. Plus, it feels like a great transition from being a 2d animator into a 3d animator.
How do you define success?
I am a child of immigrant parents and throughout my life, I have seen them work extremely hard to provide for me and my sister. My idea of success is making my parents proud and proving that all their hard efforts are worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.elaineanimations.com/
- Instagram: meltedcherries
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elaine-proux-aa8533163/
