Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Laurentino Ezra Quemuel III. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Laurentino Ezra, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is an interesting concept for me; in my mind, it’s our capacity to spring back after being bent out of shape, a kind of figurative durability, as opposed to a literal one. But this metaphorical quality makes it kind of nebulous for me: after all, what does it mean to hold a shape, let alone be “bent” out of one?
I don’t have a precise answer, but I certainly felt that way in my long journey to art school.
There was a fair amount of pushback from my folks when I first made it clear that I wanted to become an animator. Compelled by their pragmatism (and no shortage of love,) they dissuaded me from this path before ruling it out entirely, telling me in very direct terms to pursue something that would actually sustain me. I don’t fault them for being reluctant, but their admonishment felt nothing short of world-ending. I swallowed my pride, but I would sooner choke on it than let it go.
I never stopped hoping they’d change their minds, even as I bruised my hands fruitlessly trying to shape myself into a lawyer instead. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I continued applying myself, and drew whenever I could to stay in touch with my dream. I told myself that I might like this alternate path; and if I didn’t, they’d eventually get the hint.
Two years into my first uni, they gave me their blessing. It was evident to them that this wasn’t working out, despite my best efforts– and that art really was a part of me. While they might’ve had the final say, I’m not sure they would’ve let me if my conviction wasn’t as strong as it was. I transferred to SCAD the next fall, and earned my Animation BFA four years later.
I got there in the end, sobering as the experience was. Rejection bent me more times than I can count, but I always found another path. In these adaptations, I found myself growing in unexpected ways; but knowing that I was changing, knowing that I could shape myself even as my hands were tied, gave me hope. This experience showed me that I will always have agency over my growth, and I think that is what makes me resilient.
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’m an animator! I wear that title really proudly not only because I produce work, but also because I am an ardent believer in it as a super incredible and often underrated medium.
Hand-drawn traditional animation has always been my favorite given my background as an illustrator, and it’s super flexible because the only real constraints are the limitations of my imagination! The actors in my scene can do anything as long as I can draw it, and right now I’m investing time into expanding that repertoire.
Right now, I’m dividing my efforts between improving my character acting and action, and both present unique challenges:
The former requires an understanding of how character subtext translates into mannerisms; i.e. if a character feels conflicted, what acting choices will convey that? They might avoid eye contact, stammer in their speech, or fidget with their hands to reflect that indecision. I often shoot video reference to find out what will be interesting to draw, but my job is to find and include what resonates.
The latter is more involved with cinematography and choreography. How should drawings be spaced and timed to convey a sense of speed and clarity in the action, and how do we do we use the camera to dynamic effect while keeping the movement readable? There’s a lot of research as well as trial and error, but I’m faced with a similar decision making process.
All in all, it’s a very laborious and often tedious pipeline, but nothing is more gratifying than when it all comes together. Animation is magic, and I think about this process, about these choices, whether I see it or make it.
I feature a lot of this work on my website, which I’m very proud of– so please check it out and look forward to more! Aside from all this practice work, I’ll also be attending Lightbox Expo 2024 in Pasadena, California this October, both to network and get valuable feedback!
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?
The most valuable advice I’ve received are all different spins on “don’t get discouraged.” I don’t oppose that, but I’d like to elaborate on how I’ve construed this recurring feedback, and applied it to my life.
1.) Understand that your long-term goals are long term.
I experienced no shortage of frustration when I began taking art seriously, and that feeling was only exacerbated by my growing awareness of the disparity between myself and the professionals that I aspired to be. On some level, I thought that I found the secret to their success: the pros break down their work into a consistent pipeline, challenge themselves with a practice regimen that includes various prompts and exercises, and discipline themselves into steadfastly keeping a schedule. I did not have these things, and thus bemoaned my lack of efficiency– but what I failed to understand was that efficiency takes time. Yes, these are all helpful things to improve your art, but they are not stages to progress or steps to a recipe. I discovered, after much anguish, that each of them were their own skills that ran concurrently to my artistic development. Productive habits were hard to cultivate, but expecting incredible growth at impossible speeds made it harder. It will take a while, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing!
2.) It’s not the end of the world.
So I’m actually trying to make the transition from a gaming laptop to a desktop rig at the moment. Now, there are a lot of things for me to consider in making this jump: do I need one or several SSDs? Is an AIO overkill for an i7 processor? How long will a 4070 card last? How often should I dust my fans? If I think on it hard enough, a slew of endless concerns will eventually scare me off the endeavor, even though the upgrade would ultimately be an asset to my work and play both. I am afraid of this upgrade because I might mess it up somehow, but that’s the thing! I probably will, but that failure will likely teach me something about proper PC construction and maintenance. Personal goals operate similarly in that the probability of failure is very real, but the most consequential outcome of this preemptive risk-evaluation amounts to a speed-block. We psych ourselves out of trying things because we overestimate the impact of failure, when we should just accept it. I’m still learning about how adversity is just an immutable part of life, and time is better spent moving forward and starting again, rather than rationalizing negative outcomes.
3.) Don’t watch anime at 2x speed.
A lot of the talk that circulates around self-improvement spills over into grindset culture. It can be difficult to resist the temptation to squeeze the most out of your schedule in the pursuit of productivity, but doing so often risks turning everything into a speedrun. You will not accomplish your goals by equating recreation to wasted time, in having a lifestyle that strips anything not on a spreadsheet of its value. In the past, I have come dangerously close to living this way, and I urge you: don’t optimize your existence. Hold on to the inspiration that comes from a good movie or game, the serenity of a nice walk outside, and the feeling of comfort in the company of a friend. Hold on to the love that makes your work gratifying, the love that makes your dreams worth having.
I think my spin on “don’t get discouraged” is this: your future might be uncertain and full of challenges, and that makes it all the more important to remember the feeling of being human.
If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?
There’s always a hill to climb, as fate would have it. Creatives today in the industry are being affected by AI to an extent that can only be described as unprecedented, as media executives incline toward replacements for human artists. To the surprise of no one, the sole motive is greed; as cheaper labor is sufficient to waive the myriad of ethical concerns raised by the fraudulent technology.
I have faith that we’ll see the end of this struggle, seeing as preceding generations have overcome the issues of their time; but man, it SUCKS that AI is the challenge for my peers and I, especially since we’re all looking for jobs! But even though opportunities are sparse, we share them amongst ourselves, and look out for each other in the little ways we can. Our industry is collaborative, and it is by that hallmark that I believe a way forward will be paved.
But more than anything, perhaps, the arts appeal to people because they are products of our humanity. For centuries, its role in society has been to encapsulate and convey the esoteric tapestry of human experience, to provide an access point for introspection, that we may glean more about life, about ourselves, and each other. It is the treasure of civilization, hallowed because it was molded by our hearts, our souls– our personhood.
It’s why a good movie can make you cry, or why someone might sympathize with a person that doesn’t exist. Those moments happen because that art was made by a person, who knows what moves the heart, who might’ve wrote their life experience onto a character. We’ll always need a person like that, and that’s who I want to be.
We will always need an artist, and that’s why I think all of us will be okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ezraquemuel.com
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezra-quemuel-a922a2222/
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