Meet the person behind the role.
I’m the founder and producer of Bemmygail Animation Studio where we illustrate and animate stories for children. We help authors and producers create children’s stories and publish them in books, games or animated videos.
What makes you want to get up in the morning?
When I get up in the morning, after my morning routine, I feel excited drawing and making stories again. My fingers tingle just thinking about the cute characters to illustrate or animate. And after every project success, I’m excited even more, to the kids that will read or watch our creations. It reminds me of my childhood and the little joys of life which are worthwhile.
What does an average week look like?
My average week is filled with imagination, aside from the planners and goals and dreams to plot every day. It is a blessing to work on something I love. My whole week will be usually filled with imagination and storytelling in either words, cartoon illustrations, or emotions produced through books, interactive game apps or videos.
Do you have a quote you can share that inspires or motivates you?
Surround yourself with people that are better than you.
Bemmygail's journey.
Since high school, I have always been getting recognition in my paintings. I am usually the one to join competitions in painting or poster making, and in all those competitions, I always receive an award.
In college, I studied computer networking so that I can understand computer hardware and software. I became top of the class, and recognized as a Network Specialist of the Year.
My first job, at age 18 was a customer support representative for eBay North America. It’s been 3 years of working full time, and night shift that I stopped and pursued my passion for arts. During my work for eBay, I already started on Upwork around 2013, thanks to a friend.
I started on Upwork under the admin support category, but with barely enough experience, I still tried to do photoshop and graphic design work. It was obvious that being an artist is truly my calling, because I had a lot of requests during those times. My work on Upwork helped me support my family and my education. I pursued into art school, animation and filmmaking schools, gaming and 3D animation schools, and now into multimedia. In between these studies, I also worked as a graphic designer for a local animation studio, and have led a number of artists in creating animation work, during my time with them. After finishing a lot of art and animation courses, I decided to build my own business. I officially built my animation studio in February 2017.
I had a lot of mentors during my study, and even until now as I run my animation studio. I kept in touch with my amazing mentors. I also consider the legends of the world as my mentors because I always try to watch them, listen to them, and do what they do. Steven Spielberg, John Lasseter, Pete Doctor, Ginny Santos, George Lucas, James Cameron, Aaron Blaise, and many more.
Bemmygail’s a-ha moment!
It was in the middle of my work as a customer support representative on eBay that I had that a-ha moment. I kept on reading Wikipedia during my spare time at work, and the internet always brings me to the filmmakers and animators and their biographies. I read a lot of them, and I realized that all of them pursued their passion. Yes, they also went through jobs after jobs, but they always go back to their passion careers and they have succeeded because they love what they do. Thanks to Wikipedia also, I am exposed to the possibilities of drawing, a talent I thought was useless in the past. Since then, I have the goal in my heart that I will really pursue my passion too, and that I am confident to succeed because I love what I’m doing, just like my art heroes.
Digging into the role.
I’ve always thought that I’ll be working side by side with my art heroes, becoming a Disney or DreamWorks animator. But it became different than I expected, better even. I built my own animation studio where I’ll be the boss of my own stories, and products instead. I experienced different styles of producing an original story, and I find it difficult if my creative idea is not applied, or applied. The process requires me to be creative, at the same time business minded. And I cannot exercise these powers unless I build my own. This is the reason why I chose to become my own boss, to be the illustrator, animator and designer of my own stories, and produce my work for the world to enjoy.
Advice you’d give your younger self about your career path?
I never had any regrets of all that I’ve been through, so I wouldn’t tell myself to do something different to change my past. I’d rather cheer for my younger self, and motivate myself to be more confident in what my heart is truly saying: “You’re an artist, and you’re amazing! You’re one of a kind, and you’re full of creative ideas the world is yet to enjoy. Go for it, pursue it, and enjoy every moment of the journey”.
Advice for the future?
Pursue the career that you yourself really likes. Get as much skill as you can. Learn to study every available tool you need as quickly as you can. And don’t forget to have an entrepreneurial mindset. You need both to have a sustainable business, or a career that lasts. Lastly, never compare yourself with others, but instead, compete against your best self.
Connect with Bemmygail on Upwork
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