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

Hi Futo, what matters most to you?
Having fun! The process of making art was related to applications, future careers, and trying to prove my worth for a very long time. I realized that it made me feel rather miserable making art, and that everything I made suffered because of it. The more I let myself have fun, the more art I wanted to make, and the better it got. And luckily, people around me responded to my art better too. That led me to realizing that having fun was a necessity in my process.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Currently, I’m most excited for my animation thesis film, “Counting Goldfish,” to be done and then graduate. I’ve been working on it non-stop for the past year and a half, and I’m simultaneously excited to see the film finish and also to move onto bigger and better things. I’m really proud of pushing myself into the deep end with this film- I went into it knowing I wanted to work with physical material and combine it with digital animation. After months of trying things out, I somehow figured a way to do all of that.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love Wolf & Crane in Little Tokyo! It’s a lovely little bar that I go often with my friends to unwind from non-stop school work.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Musa Brooker. I only just started experimenting with stop motion, but I’ve truly fallen in love with it thanks to his wonderful mentorship!

Website: https://futowada.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fu_paints

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.