Meet Mitchell Gonzales | 2D Animator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mitchell Gonzales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mitchell, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
A principle I follow pretty strictly is never being complacent with my own position in life. I can always be a better artist, and I can always find myself in a more stable position. If I can’t hold myself to something as simple as that, then I probably have no more growing to do, or I’ve just outright given up. That’s a scary thought.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a freelance animator mainly known for my work on anime productions, typically hired to do action sequences. I’m part of a growing minority of outsourced freelancers who get hired to work on these productions- for better or for worse. Recently, I’ve dabbled in mural painting around Boston.

I’ve been freelancing on contract with Studio Pierrot for about 3 years now, currently working on the Black Clover movie as a Layout Director and Key Animator.

Otherwise my previous work can be found in Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto, and others as well. I occasionally do freelance for non-Japanese productions as well. I’ve worked on animated trailers for video games such as Brawlstars and Naraka: Bladepoint.

At the time I found myself working in animation, it was not particularly easy because information on how to get into this niche was either hidden or gatekeeped pretty heavily. It can be hard to find out how a pipeline works in animation production overseas. As an American, since a lot of animation work in entertainment is outsourced overseas, my skills are not constantly on demand in my own country, so I needed to look on the web and find communities that had similar interests.

A lot of it comes down to me simply making work with the intention of improving and putting out online, meeting new people and doing collaborations with them, and eventually it just finds the eyes of the right people who need to hire. I would say this is still true today. If the goal is to get big and popular, you’ve missed the point.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I like to eat. If you’re my friend, you also like to eat. Depending on what they fancy I’d take them to the following:

Ramen: Yume Wo Katare (Cambridge, MA)
Mexican: El Jefe’s Taqueria (All around Boston)
Jamaican: Flames (All around Boston)
Family Restaurant: Eagles Deli

Boston has a lot to offer, but I usually just have time for some food. I’m pretty simple in that regard.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are plenty of people who play a role in my life, to name a few who would benefit from such a shoutout:

Michael Talbot (IG – @talbotsart)
Shain Barry (YT – youtube.com/@Shaino)
George Hurley (IG – @liam_rashbrook)

These people are very dedicated to their craft and have been in my life for quite some time now, while working on themselves constantly. They deserve any and every opportunity that comes their way.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mitchjgonzales/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitchell-gonzales-7987b0180/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MitchJGonzales