Meet Jared Hall

We were lucky to catch up with Jared Hall recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

This may or may not come as a surprise to you… but I’ve struggled with self-doubt for a long time. Sometimes I would immediately minimize an achievement, the moment I accomplished it. I get into a film festival? Oh, that’s not really a big deal. My film gets an award? Oh, I was just lucky. I was always thinking stuff like this, moving the goal posts over and over in my head.

I think a lot of people motivate themselves by only looking forward and never stopping. I don’t believe that’s necessarily the wrong outlook, but I think it’s a mistake to never celebrate yourself or appreciate how far you’ve come! Doing both of those things is how I have developed (and continue to develop) my confidence and self esteem.

I celebrate the smaller accomplishments, as practice for the big ones. By learning to appreciate the easier wins, I can kinda trick my brain into savoring the harder fought victories. Oh this illustration I worked on looks pretty good— then wait my whole book is gonna be just as awesome! As silly as if feels sometimes, I also try to be my own hype man and use positive affirmations. It’s important to be kind to yourself and forgive yourself when you mistakes. Every now and then, I try sit down and appreciate where I’m at and where I came from. Part of me never thought I could even get this far. Luck on it’s own wouldn’t have gotten me through art school. Or into film festivals. Or even through this second interview!

Real confidence comes from understanding that you deserve your own success. Obviously, that also means acknowledging the people that have helped you along the way— no one has ever been able to accomplish something great entirely by themselves! If we think of our life goals as a marathon— then we have all had people in our lives who cheered us on, helped us or pushed us forward. Even so, we still had to take every step. We still had to cross that finish line ourselves. We made it this far and that is always worth celebrating. If you keep thinking like this, it’s much easier to feel confident.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I was born in Jamaica, I lived there for most of my life. Since I was very young, I always wanted to be an artist. Draw pictures and tell stories. After highschool, I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design. I am currently working on a Master’s Degree in Experimental Animation at the California Institute of the Arts. I create work as both an animator and an illustrator. I aim to push the boundaries of both mediums, creating work that often emphasizes a hand-drawn texture, bold colors and graphic silhouettes. I make work for children and the child in all of us!

I mentioned in an earlier interview this year, that I recently completed my first short film “Anansi the Spider”. It’s a classic Caribbean/West African folktale: Anansi is a small spider who needs to outwit the larger, more dangerous animals— or be eaten himself! Over the summer… this film won 3 awards! Unfortunately, Anansi won’t be publicly released until it finishes it’s festival tour next year. One of my newest projects has been adapting this short film into a physical storybook format. It will include 24+ pages of brand new art! I’ve also documented my entire filmmaking process into a “Making Of” book. If that sounds interesting to you— feel free to join our mailing list. Linked below.

I also do graphic design for different products and businesses. For example, I designed the mascot and label for PezBallers Hyper Local Honey— an all girl Jamaican Robotics team that recently earned the opportunity to compete in Italy. Lastly, I am also working with Phillip Gladkov (another talented animator and storyteller) to curate a screening of films inspired by mythology. The screening will be based in Los Angeles, but we are open to any artist, filmmaker or storyteller who feels passionate about mythology. If that sounds like you— come talk to us!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

You don’t have to worry about having an art style right away. What specific way should I be drawing? How do I set myself apart? I wanted answers to these questions right away, but that isn’t something you can just force. It takes time. I believe that your “art style” is what develops after you try a little bit of everything, throw it all way and then just do what comes the most naturally— now armed with a better knowledge of your craft. It’s not a set of strict rules either. Bend it or break it, if needs be. Understanding this has helped me realize the kind of art I wanted to create.

You can be the most talented artist ever— but if you’re terrible to work with, no one will want to work with you. Seriously. So much of the art creation process, involves either working on a team or with a client. Your attitude and how you present yourself is just as important as the art you make, if not more so. Basically, don’t be a jerk.

You should be able to give good critique— as well as take it. Again, a lot of the art making process involves working with other people. You should be able to listen and understand the concerns of others, as well as address them respectfully. If you are giving criticism, it’s important to remind yourself that you are trying to foster that person’s drive to create— not stamp them down. It’s good to remind people what they’re doing well, just as much as the stuff that they need to work on.

To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?

When I was very young… my parents split up. Since then, they’ve both moved on and married. It’s actually been one of the best things they could’ve done for me. From two different homes, they’ve supported and cared for me for my entire life. I’ve been raised among two wonderful, happy families and gotten a gaggle of new siblings that I love to bits. The fact that all of us get along: parents, step-parents and half siblings— is a miracle. The kind of miracle that I’m sure took a lot of work behind the scenes to make happen.

My parents have always encouraged my dreams of being an artist, helped me get equipment and celebrated my artistic milestones, however they could. No relationship is perfect and we’ve had our fair share of arguments over the years— but without all of my family, I would not be the man I am today.

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Image Credits

Chris Galindo

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