Meet Amarildo Junior | VFX Artist

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

Hi Amarildo, why did you pursue a creative career?
I was going to answer the “How to know whether to keep going or give up” question, but this one can answer both.

As I outlined in my first VoyageLA interview, I decided to pursue an artistic/creative career when my arts teacher did a presentation for our class where she used SketchUp to create a house, right there, live, in front of us. Now, coming from a small town, we were all kinda shocked at the creative abilities that were presented to us, but I was simply struck at that moment – it’s as if my life changed from that moment forwards, as if my entire body/mind “clicked” and I was in heaven.

If you don’t know whether to keep going or give up your current career pursuit, ask yourself the following: have I, [insert your name here] ever been “struck” like Amarildo?
What does your gut tell you? Deep down you already know the answer to whether you should try something else with your life. You may enjoy what you currently do, from time to time, but in my opinion you should at least experiment with other possibilities if you haven’t been instantly transported to metaphorical heaven after seeing someone’s craft/abilities/job/hobby.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Getting to where I am right now was difficult for many reasons. Poverty, mental health issues, life throwing me many curve balls… But as I mentioned previously, you need to follow your gut instinct, otherwise it’s going to be even more difficult to do what you truly love. My gut instinct wasn’t really an “instinct” because I know what I felt with that arts teacher presentation I mentioned.
I tried following other career paths. I worked in hotels, as electrician/plumber, in other artsy areas, and even as a doctor… and while I was somewhat happy in all of them, I was never truly myself and I was never truly happy/fulfilled.

It was only when I followed what happened in that afternoon in 2002-2003 that I was truly happy. It’s as if my life changed for the second time. I followed that “click”, that change, and it was a motivation like I never felt before.

So my lesson is: follow your true dreams, your gut instinct. Don’t be afraid. It will take time, but in the end you will be happy and you will be your true self, not having to lie in the mirror every day saying “I like where I am now”.
If you don’t have butterflies in your stomach every time you do what you do for a living, please consider changing careers.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Now, this is a bit hard for me because I’m autistic, so doing anything outside my apartment is really difficult, specially if it means going to crowed places. But, considering my best friend coming to visit, I have a few places in mind where we can go, such as the Griffith Observatory, Venice Beach, the Arts District, the many comedy clubs, the Farmers Market, the Santa Monica pier…. There’s a lot to do, really. One week is not gonna be enough to see everything, so it’s hard to choose the best places to take them.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shoutout everyone that has ever passed through my life. Both good and bad encounters, I mean. We are not only a product of how our environment has shaped us, but what we do with the experiences/people we are allowed to have. So it’s not so much a “what cards I’ve been dealt” situation, but “what have I done with the cards I’ve been dealt”. If you’re given a bad hand and give up, you’re already in wrong path.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/toquita

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amarildo-junior-a57666258/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/a.santini.junior/

Image Credits
All the credits go to… meee!!! MUAHAHAH