Meet Adriel Meka | Illustrator & Animator

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

Hi Adriel, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I’ve always felt that success lives at the intersection of Skill, Timing, Luck, and Discipline. Innate skill can be referred to as talent however, I feel like outside of people who are naturally good at something, many skills can be learned or adapted and if you have a genuine interest, you shouldn’t be discouraged from pursuing your passion.

Personally, I’ve always been into creating things and growing up in a family of creatives made it easier to develop the skill from a young age. My talent wasn’t always where it is today however, an ongoing passion and desire to improve through constant discipline helped a lot with the heavy lifting. Specifically with art, I always loved finding new ways to create work that communicated my ideas to others. I tried to look at every stage of the process as progress and was always eager to find artists that inspired me to learn and improve. Nowadays, I make it a purpose to post art on my social media as a way to connect with my audience, communicate what I’m currently interested in and discipline myself to consistently practice my skill.

On the side of luck and timing, while skill and discipline will prepare you for new challenges, a lot of wonderful things can also come from the unexpected. It’s a balance between what you prepare for and how you react. For example, in my undergrad, I was constantly taking drawing and animation courses to improve my skills and I thought of using Instagram to document my artistic journey. I’d created a loop of a T-Rex walking through a field for my 2D animation course then posted it on my Instagram to all 63 of my followers. Without thinking too much of it, I moved on however, before graduating, someone reached out to me via DM stating that they loved the appeal of the roaming Dino and asked me to partner with them as a children’s book illustrator. I was willing to take the risk though had never attempted a project of that scale before and it became “Gary and the Great Inventors.”

Years after I had finished illustrating Gary, I was laid off from my day job due to covid and began looking for work as the world entered unprecedented times. After weeks of unsuccessful job-hunting, I received a random message on Facebook stating that someone had seen my book illustrations on the internet and wanted to discuss a new project. The timing of this was Ideal because work was scarce and this enabled me to build my portfolio while earning a living. Since this was my second time around the block, I approached the project with confidence in my skills and it went on to be the award-winning children’s book, “I Am a Triathlete! ” Fast forward and now I’ve completed 3 published children’s books with amazing authors who found me through my prior works that spawned from a little T-rex doodle.

With Skill, Timing, Luck, and Discipline I’ve been able to scale my success and open doors that have brought me to places such as USC, Nickelodeon, and Disney where I can continue to evolve as an artist and a brand. Now my professional priorities include, finding ways to improve specific skills like directing or production design which implement art and leadership while my personal priorities are to stay consistent with new work, continue to grow my audience, and maximize both expected and unexpected opportunities.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I like to say that I’m an illustrator and animator by trade but label what I do as visual storytelling. This may also be what sets me apart in ways but, I tend to enjoy being a very stylistically-versatile creative. Artistically speaking, I gravitate to things that are grand, cinematic, moody, and visually striking. I’m deeply inspired by the transportive powers of art in its ability to make you feel like you’re traveling to a new world and find I really enjoy making things with a cinematic, escapist quality.

The spark-noted version of my story is that I was born in Montréal, grew up in a family of creatives, and pursued art all the way to a career once I found my voice in illustration. I did an undergrad in animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design and recently completed my MFA in animation from the University of Southern California. The MFA program is comprised of 3 years where two are spent honing your filmmaking skills and the last is spent creating a film that encompasses your ability to tell a story, lead a team, complete a project, and showcase your identity as an artist.

In undergrad, though I didn’t get to make a film, I learned about the importance of a story’s authenticity and ability to tackle relatable themes in a way that feels familiar, yet innovative and new. When I got to grad school I had placed a lot of pressure on myself to make my first film, “perfect” …2D or 3D? Deep characters or rich world-building? Serious or lighthearted? How will they like it? How much of ME is in it? These questions rattled in my brain as the ideation deadline approached and I even went as far as to develop an entire pitch that got scrapped. After a lot of soul-searching, my goal was to use the project as a way to focus on the thematic elements that inspired me in film and TV. A year later, I created my proudest piece of work: an animated short film called “Camp Kona”.

I often found myself going back to 80s movies and pop-culture horror flicks and realized that there was a hole in animation that could be filled with this genre. To date, the film is my proudest piece because, as an aspiring director, it is a testament to my abilities in art and leadership as well as an unapologetic representation of me. In the simplest essence, Camp Kona serves as a calling card to my experience and passion for visual development, retro nostalgia, illustration, and animation.

The premise of Kona is: A lonely kid finds an unexpected friend when forced to attend a summer camp with a dark secret. After Kaia goes missing during the summer of 1982, Jasper enrolls at Camp Kona a year later and begins to discover hidden facts about her disappearance. With many ups and downs, the film makes you laugh, gasp, and smile as you watch these two characters navigate what feels like a classic Speilbergian adventure. Now that it is completed, the film is entering its festival run and I’m excited to see it take on a life of its own as it is shared with people around the world.

Currently, I am starting my second month at Disney Television Animation where I am working as an intern on the show “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”. After a lot of hard work, I was given the opportunity to join the team upon graduating and It feels like a dream come true to be able to design characters for a network that shaped my childhood! The studio and team are incredible and I feel honored to be able to learn them.

So far I’m grateful that my journey has led to places such as Apple, Nickelodeon, and Disney and has given me the chance to bring my childhood love of animation full circle. After wrapping Camp Kona, my dream is to take more projects to the silver screen and this is just the beginning!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m currently closing in on my second year in LA and have had the pleasure of touring around many friends who have visited. While I’m still working towards my “local” status I have found a few places that always make the list:

For activities you can’t go wrong with: Hollywood Hikes, Santa Monica beach walks, parks in La Brea, or exhibits at the Getty and Academy Museum

For food, I’m a big fan of the vibes at Bacari Silverlake, Perch, and Joey DTLA but the food at Senoratown is also tough to beat

If you’re in the mood for a drink with a view I recommend Bar Clara, Mama Shelter, EP and LP in WeHo, Ace Hotel, Warwick, & Bar Flores

Finally, a night on the town isn’t complete without adding these pitstops to your list: Davey Waynes, Cliftons Republic, Apartment 200, No Vacancy, or the Victorian

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for these amazing superstars in my life!

Huge thanks to my sister Emilie, Mom, Dad, and my wonderful family for cheering me on, guiding me, and lifting me up each step of the way

To my USC and SCAD professors, John Webber, Greg Araya, Mike Patterson, Candace Reckinger, Kathy Smith, Brenden Jeffords, and Josh Staub. They have served as true examples and inspirations of what a fulfilling career in animation can look like while walking me through how to get there.

To my beloved friends in Montreal, LA, Atlanta, and Arizona: Alex, Thomas, Kylesh, Deb, Nico, Gunjan, Pablo, Paulina, Sonal, Zak, Kaitlin, and many more who give me a sense of family in all the places I’ve called home.

To my teams at USC, Disney, and Nickelodeon and all of the talented creatives who I’ve had the pleasure of working with professionally throughout this incredible career!

Finally, a big shout out to the world of film and animation for constantly inspiring me and pushing me to share my stories

Website: https://www.adrielmeka.com

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriel-a-meka23/

Other: https://www.artstation.com/arekusan-meka

Image Credits
The Motion Epic, Jack Preston, Bashia Rivera, Max Cruise, Sony picture Animation, Spiderman, Spiderverse, Jinx, Netflix, Arcane, Walt Disney Television Animation, University of Southern California, DeJanna Price, Adriel Meka, arekusan meka, Camp Kona, League of Legends, Procreate,