Rising Stars: Meet Aravind Menon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aravind Menon.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Michigan. Growing up, I always had an interest in watching classic movies, animation and playing video games, which always made me wonder how the magic was accomplished. As a kid, I remember I wanted to make my own version of Toy Story out of action figures, moving them around and imagining there was a narrative happening. Throughout my entire childhood, I always had an imagination of the characters from the stories that I could bring to life.

During the beginning of my high school years, I was struggling to find an area where I could do advanced studies and tried to explore different options to build my professional career. After meeting with several colleges and program mentors, I decided to give it a try in the field of art and design, which was a part of a special high school program in visual communication. My first instinct was to stick with graphic design. Once I got into my senior year in high school, I realized that I had to be more open-minded, encouraging myself to take on some challenges and try out new things. But it was until the end of my high school term when I decided that animation was something that I wanted to pursue.

During my undergraduate years at Eastern Michigan University, majoring in Simulation, Animation, and Gaming, I eventually got introduced to the process of 3D from learning modeling, texturing, rigging, and animation. Out of all the subjects, modeling and animation were my two strongest backgrounds that led me to have a strong interest in 3D animation. After completing my bachelor’s, I wanted to go further in the animation field where I began to look into grad school that would allow me to further my skills and have a better career in the animation industry, which led me to enroll at Savannah College of Art and Design.

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?
It hasn’t been a rough journey. After graduating from SCAD, I was struggling to find a job in the industry. I started out doing volunteer services, freelance work, and internships. Eventually, I moved to LA where I got a job as an Animator. My position was laid off after one year due to the studio layoffs.

Due to the current economy, it’s a hard time getting back into the career. Unfortunately, very few interview opportunities were coming my way. Currently, I’ve been working on enhancing my skills in animation and learning some new software. While continuing to enhance my skills, I’m hoping to get back to the career once everything is back to normal.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a 3D Animator specializing in the area of character animation. Apart from character animation, I do enjoy 3D modeling as well. I’m known for working on a popular children’s nursery rhyme series called “CoComelon” as an Animator.

I’m proud of how much growth I’ve seen myself as an artist. As I look back from my undergrad years to this moment, I can see how far I’ve progressed in my journey. I always like to keep on reminding myself to never give up, especially when it comes to working on a challenging project. As an artist, one of the things I’ve learned is that you’ll never stop learning and that there will always be room for growth. Therefore, I’m eager to see where I’m at five to ten years from now.

What sets me apart from others is the amount of effort I have put into my own work. Although talent is an important skill for an artist, I find effort and self-improvement helped me in enhancing my skill set. When I’m watching a movie or an animation, it drives me to learn new things and push myself to become better and better every time I work on a project.

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?

The pandemic did a lot to slow down the entertainment industry, and that had a domino effect in the animation industry as well. Now that AI becoming more popular, it might be possible that in the future, it may take over some of the work done by the humans. Although some professional artists are optimistic about the future, while others are able to sense that it could make things more unstable. That being said, one can’t always depend on having a stable job in the animation world. Personally, I feel that if we all work together, creating our own art projects and collaborating with others, then we could still maintain a successful field.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.menoncreations.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aravind.menon94/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aravind-menon-5a1458160/