We had the good fortune of connecting with Abril Aello Fregozo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Abril, why did you pursue a creative career?
My name is Abril Aello Fregozo, I was born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico, currently living in Los Angeles, CA. As the youngest of three, I didn’t really have other kids my age to play with, which helped me rely heavily on my imagination by drawing a lot of mermaid comics, mostly romantic stories that I gifted them to my family members. In my senior year of high school, I was getting ready to apply to med school, but I felt empty during that time like I was trying to impress my parents by being someone else. So in my last spring break as a high-schooler, I did some research and had the opportunity to travel alone for the first time in my life. I went to Toronto, Canada for three weeks to study English, and brought all my study guides with me. Being surrounded by such amazing art museums, architecture, and people from different parts of the world, helped me realize how big and full of possibilities the world can be. During that trip I knew in my heart that animation has always been my passion, so I decided to study Illustration for entertainment arts. I want to create stories that make you feel strong emotions. Just the same way I felt when I was little with the many amazing animated films I watched growing up from film makers such as Satoshi Kon, Hayao Miyazaki, and Disney films. I was enchanted by their stunning worlds and visual storytelling. As the years passed, my love for drawing and painting led me to the career path I’m on now. I am an illustrator and visual development artist with interest in background painting, character design, and children’s books. Currently I am working as a Production Assistant for SpongeBob SquarePants at nickelodeon animation studios. I am still learning a lot and working on my portfolio, so one day I can become a background painter and an art director.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I enjoy creating illustrations that will make you feel warm and happy inside. I love color and children’s illustrations. Especially working with traditional painting is something that makes me want to continue practicing more such as gouache, acrylics and watercolors are my favorite mediums right now. I took a lot of classes at ArtCenter that were targeted to children’s entertainment. The journey wasn’t easy. I had to start from zero by building a portfolio in Santa Monica Community College, then five years at ArtCenter. College of Design. I met so many talented artists. My teachers and classmates taught me to never give up on keeping creating, and having ideas. It does not matter if your sketches aren’t perfect. As long as you continue asking for feedback to your teachers, or art directors you will see improvements. Of course, during the pandemic I had to take all my classes on zoom. But I saw that as an opportunity to challenge myself and do extensive research for my assignments. On my last term right before graduation this past Spring 2022, I knew I was ready to apply to internships, so I made sure to polish my graduation project for visual development by doing a redesign of an existing story called pygmalion. After graduation I got accepted to the Nickelodeon Animation Production Internship for the summer term. Right after completing it, I got hired as a Production Assistant for my favorite childhood show, SpongeBob SquarePants. I’m excited to continue learning and working on my personal voice as a latina artist in the animation industry. Also I am hoping to become a background painter, and in the future an art director. I love background painting because for SpongeBob all the backgrounds are still done traditionally in acrylics, so I am working hard during the day in production and at night I am painting master studies of SpongeBob’s classic backgrounds.

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 would take them first to eat breakfast at Kitchen Mouse in Highland Park, I love this vegetarian restaurant because their avocado is always so fresh and delicious. After that, I would take them to the Huntington library to enjoy the botanical gardens, and art museums. For shopping I love going to Abbot Kinney, Melrose or SilverLake. It’s full of interesting local designers, and good matcha lattes. Also gallery nucleus always has the best exhibits from artists that work in the animation industry. And for dinner I would take them to Bavel, I’d say that is my favorite Mediterranean restaurant in LA located in DTLA.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to thank Sofia Naveira-Castro for the recommendation. She is a super talented artist. My boyfriend Stephen Na for his constant love and encouragement, he is an amazing artist and musician. And my family has been amazing in supporting my dream of becoming an artist and working in the animation industry.

Website: https://afregozo28c4.myportfolio.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abril-fregozo-628b67222/

Image Credits
Eliza’s Bedroom, Petting Zoo day and night (Gouache Painting), Charlie Beagle ideation sketches, Eliza’s clothing boutique.

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