Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elena Fazio. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Elena, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
I think imposter syndrome never really goes away for anyone, but it’s part of being an artist to realize your work will never remain stagnant and you’ll always be growing. Leaping into the unknown out of your comfort zone is sometimes the best way to get around it. If you keep trying to expand your knowledge as an artist it gets less scary to put yourself out there and will, in the end, make you more confident in your work! I love taking new classes and learning more in-depth processes for writing and story composition, which has really helped me understand character development for my animation work and how to develop my own stories.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Professionally, I am a character animator! So, I bring different characters to life whether it’s people, creatures, or animals for a variety of stories. I started as an animation intern at Riot Games and then was offered the opportunity to work as a trainee at Walt Disney Animation Studios. There, I got promoted to animation apprentice and was given the amazing chance to work on my first feature film Wish for Disney’s 100th year anniversary. I am currently working in video games on an exciting new title that will be released in the coming months. Animating is an amazing medium because of the diversity of stories you get to tell and work on. Getting the chance early on in my career to see the workflows of short films, features, and video games has been wonderful. In addition to animation, I also work as an author-illustrator for children’s books. I am thrilled to say I have finished my first children’s picture book and am in the process of finding representation with a literary agency. It’s a difficult journey with a lot of learning, but the process of developing, creating, and illustrating books has been amazing, and I hope to continue creating stories and bringing new characters to life in the years to come!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
My advice is to always be open to learning more about new forms of art and storytelling! Taking the opportunities to grow by taking courses, learning new techniques, and seeking new experiences are great ways to expand your skillset as an artist There are so many great free resources for lessons and tutorials online to learn new art forms and perspectives.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Currently, I am facing the challenge of trying to expand my knowledge as a writer and creator for original stories. I am always enthusiastic to learn more about story development because animation and story go hand-in-hand. Learning more about how to develop a character, story, and world has been a great experience and has really helped me understand how to be a better animator and artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://elenafazio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenafaz_art/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenafazio/
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