Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Yaxaira McNear-Echeverria. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Yaxaira, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
At the sake of sounding repetitive, you have to be disciplined to be disciplined in order to be disciplined. Being disciplined isn’t something that happens by accident, having discipline requires that you be disciplined to maintain that state of mind. Self-discipline comes from intentionality, whatever one’s intent may be. That’s really all I can boil down to in a nutshell. Be disciplined to be disciplined.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a visual development and background artist working in animation. My job is to design and create environments, in any style and any subject matter, dependent upon the parameters of the project I’m working on. I had a different career before going into animation, so I’m a sapling, relative to many incredible artists working in animation now. I’m focused on learning and improving, hopefully getting a little better everyday.
My constant source of inspiration is my hometown of Los Angeles, among the palm trees, cars, and smog that hangs in the desert air. Both ugly and beautiful like most things, but I love it all the same.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
- Look at little influences. Sometimes life will influence you in big ways, sometimes in small ways that often go overlooked in the moment but crescendo into something life changing. I can think of seeing mind-blowing works of art for the first time that makes your heart race and your palms sweat, and you think to yourself, goddamn I want to do something like that. The first time I saw artists like Robert Valley and Alberto Mielgo, the first time I listened to a David Bowie song . . . all of these seemingly small experiences caused me to re-define who I was and who I wanted to be. Any infinite number of ways your life will serve guidance without you ever realizing, but if you’re open, it can lead you towards the amazing.
- Live life. Drink booze, dance, take lovers, travel, read books, listen to music, watch movies, wear funky clothes, play a musical instrument, talk to strangers, whatever gets you into the groove of living. Because if one wants to go into animation, you have to know about life in order to create the illusion of it. The success of a great animated story is predicated upon the suspension of disbelief when watching a series of drawings meant to convey living, breathing characters. So live.
- Be nice, as best you can.
But who am I to give advice? Take anything I write or say with a grain of salt because come tomorrow I may believe something completely different. Except always try to be nice, that should go without saying.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Hey, anyone who wants to work or collaborate on something, let me know! Email, call, text, smoke signals, morse code. Take a gander at my website!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yaxairamcnear.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vivalacougar/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaxaira-mcnear/
