The Team Behind The Magic - David Calderón

The Team Behind the Magic is a space to share the spotlight with our talented team members and give our audience a sneak peek into the creative minds behind our work. For this week’s article series, we sat down with our Co-Founder David Calderon and discussed his role as a Creative Director.

Being a Creative Director is not just a matter of talent, it’s also about having a clear vision into the future. David is the eyes and mind of our studio. The decision maker and the problem solver.. With his vision he guides us through every aspect of a project, leading with integrity, and compassion. We are so lucky to have him as our Captain and we hope you enjoy our interview with David!

Briefly tell us about your background, was there a moment when you realized you wanted to become an artist? 

It all started when I was a kid, the way most people discover their passions. I spent a lot of time drawing my favorite Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z characters. It was a fun activity that evolved into more artistic hobbies throughout my youth like learning to dance and play guitar. As I was finishing up high school, I never thought about pursuing art as a career, I was planning on studying to be a doctor or get into business management, but I always had something to do in the creative realm. I remember I had my own little website, which was more of a visual blog where I would create poster designs for school parties or go around school taking pictures of everyone and upload them. I did all this still thinking it was a hobby so when it was time for me to choose a career, I decided to do graphic design almost as a backup plan, until I went to school and fell in love with drawing and design. I realized then how much I enjoyed it and decided to stick with it. It was very incidental that I happened to do this for a living. It was an accidental intentional thing.

But I do recall one memory that inspired me to go in the direction of animation, it was when I went to go watch Jim Carey’s Christmas Carol movie with my family. I remember I felt so inspired by the story and visuals, I felt my Christmas spirit go through the roof and I thought how cool it would be to make a movie and inspire those feelings in others. So, I made a declaration to myself (and family) that one day I will make a movie.

How would you define your role as a creative director? How did you develop your style? 

I would say that my eye for design and those tiny details that make something go from good to great has always been present in my life. One of the things that I enjoy the most is the polishing touches of a project. I know I’m not the best drawer or animator, but I do think I bring a lot to the table when I have all the ingredients, I’m the person that adds all the condiments. That’s what compositing is, you take all the work the artists produce, and you add the final touches to elevate the style. My role as a creative director is to be involved at the very beginning and the end of the project. 

Mention 3 skills a creative director should have?

1.You need a sense of critical thinking to see the big picture instead of one little thing. You must see the project at scale, all the different aspects that make a project come together not only how it currently looks in the present but also how it could look down the road too. There are so many moving pieces as a creative director you need to take it all in consideration and make a plan that makes sense to the team and is within reach. 

2.Good communication skills. Once you see how the pieces fall together, you need to be able to communicate it clearly to your team, otherwise the whole vision falls apart. 

3.Good sense of design, good eye for what works and what doesn’t work. You need to match your creative and critical eye to the goal of the client, and you’ll have to make decisions where even if something works on its own, you’ll still have to say no if it doesn’t add to the bigger picture. 

What project would you highlight in your entire career and why?

Stories to be Remembered would be the project that I see as a highlight of my career. It really took us out of our comfort zone. I remember the last couple weeks before we launched, I was so obsessed with the littlest details even if it would take days to render. I wanted to ensure that every shot was the best, I wouldn’t have felt ok with myself knowing that I didn’t do my best or cut corners. It was very rewarding, not only for the technical challenges but delivering my absolute best regardless of having to redo scenes or sacrifice sleep, it was a very rewarding moment in the end. I’ve never felt that way about a project, it was very personal. 

What part of the creative process do you enjoy the most and why?

As a creative director I would say my favorite part is the planning stage. When you’re dreaming about an idea, brainstorming with your team, looking at references, there’s no limits to what you can do. It’s really fun for me to envision something. It’s a fun activity.

As an artist I really enjoy the polishing touches and doing the last pass on things:

Funny enough I do enjoy some tasks in the middle but I’m one of those people that after coming up with an idea I want to skip to the final stage. I’m very lucky to have an amazing team that are great at their tasks and help me complete that middle section I often dread, so we complement each other very well. 

Mention 3 artists or directors that give you inspiration. What do they give you that inspires you?

 1.A person I’ve always admired is Leonardo da Vinci.  I’m fascinated by that character in history because he was always a jack of all trades. He was a painter, engineer, scientist, sculptor, architect, etc. Not only that but he was good at everything he did, he inspires me to accomplish something similar to that. I’m ok with not being an expert. I prefer knowing something about everything. 

2. This may be cliché, but Walt Disney is another person I admire. I remember reading in his biography the way he built his empire from scratch and how he was able to break the stigma people had at the time of not being able to be successful in animation. He was the poster child of proving people wrong. So, I think from a business sense that was very inspiring to me. I’m sure most people in the industry have started their careers with admiration for what Disney has produced over the years. 

3. Another good example that comes to my mind is my friend Jorge Canedo (Jr. Canest), he is the founder and creative director at Ordinary Folk. Jorge has been able to produce beautiful work even if it’s just for themselves.

Jorje Canelo who is the creator of XXX –built his own team and their studio culture inspired me a lot when we first started Animagic. I think it’s healthy to admire people who are close to you as well as someone who you’ll never meet due to their status or time in history. It makes your aspirations more attainable. 

What is the most challenging part of being a director and what solutions do you have?

  The most challenging thing is managing the plan of a project and making sure it’s executed to the highest standard. A good idea is nothing without execution. Even if you have a great plan it means nothing unless you know how to execute it. This is why I think the middle section of a project is the most challenging because I find that it is hard to keep track of the tiny revisions, or schedules. That’s why it’s imperative to have a strong project manager that compliments those weaknesses (Shout out to Paco!).

What advice would you give to those designers who are starting their own studio?

  If you have that itch to start your own thing whether a business or project, there’s no better time to do it than right now. The longer you delay that dream the higher the chances that you won’t attain it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have everything figured out, it’s almost better that way because if you only want to start when you have everything figured out you will never see your dream realized. Just take action. If you fail, that's fine, it’s better to say that you tried instead of regretting what could’ve been. If things go wrong, you can learn and improve how to be better through discomfort.

 It’s crucial for anyone who wants to take on any responsibility to understand you are coming to a point that’s not comfortable, or stress-free. However, you can always train yourself to be better in uncomfortable situations. A great example I often use is my love of going to the gym. When you go through intense or brutal physical training you’re actually training your brain how to handle the pressure. The same chemical process that is happening in your brain at the gym is the same in any other stressful situation. If you push yourself a little bit eventually you will see how much you can handle. 

Well said David, thank you for the wisdom! This next part is just for fun, tell us a bit about your favorite things!

 Fav Podcast: Currently I’ve been really enjoying the podcast called The Diary of a CEO from Steven Bartlett.  It’s the insights of CEOs and entrepreneurs from all over the world. I like it because you learn about other people’s experience of building a business. Hearing about their lives, the ups and downs they went through is so motivating, everyone has their own challenges and experiences, it’s very humbling. 

Fav book: Mastery by Robert Greene. It was one of those books that I read that inspired me so much to get serious about making a living out of being an artist. Another book I’m currently enjoying is a fiction book called American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I now understand why people get pulled into fiction books. It’s hard for me to put it down when I start reading. 

Fav food:  Tacos of course! I have to be true to my roots, there’s just nothing better than a pastor taco.  

Fav Movie: Christopher Nolan’s Inception. The story's complexity mixed with the visuals is just a masterpiece. 

 What TV show are you watching right now? Severance was really gripping. It’s a style of storytelling I haven’t experienced from a TV show since Lost. You’re so invested in the story and what’s going to happen. I’m really excited for the second season. 

What are some of your fav hobbies? Exercising is one of the things that I enjoy the most. Just moving my body whether I’m running, biking, or swimming, it’s therapeutic for me. I’ve been very active since I was a kid so being able to exercise is second nature to me. I’m actually training for a triathlon at the moment.

They say that to be a good Creative Director you must be decisive, a defender of your team or work and an excellent teacher. David is all of those things and more, he's our North Star and we are blessed to have him!

Thank you for sticking around and following our journey, and we’ll see you in our next Team Showcase article series.