Meet Jacqueleen Munoz | Storyboard Revisionist

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

Hi Jacqueleen, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
A lot of people have a hard time conceiving that animation is a team effort with many, many different facets. In truth, most people have a hard time making the connection that the entire world they interact with is through the filter of art. I think a lot about this infographic I saw a couple years ago, explaining that most people saw art as an inconsequential and inessential job. The irony, that people didn’t understand that an artist made that infographic, illustrated information into a format they could understand. Not just my industry, but most if not every industry has formal and specialized work for artists. When quarantine shut down the entertainment industry, Animation kept going, and many people leaned on animated shows and movies for comfort. But most people don’t even understand that these works aren’t the result of pushing a button on a computer, or a handful of people scribbling away to make moving pictures. When I was a kid, I didn’t understand either. I didn’t make the connection that all those shows and movies I loved had people working 9-5 jobs behind them, or that there were so many different disciplines. It’s true that the end result of animation is pretty moving pictures, but there’s so much that goes into it beforehand, during, and after that specific process. Also, just because we love what we do, doesn’t mean it isn’t hard work. Love for the craft alone can’t sustain you, there needs to be attention to self care and personal health to have a long career.

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.
I’ve always loved drawing, and I’ve always loved storytelling, and storyboarding was the perfect marriage of the two. Plus, I’ve always truly hated rendering. I love fast and loose sketching, I hate doing tight, clean drawings. So, again, storyboarding was really the platonic ideal of art for me. Truly, I just like drawing in a way that feels good and makes me happy, and that’s what storyboarding is for me. As for what sets me apart, well… There’s a lot of incredibly talented people in my field, both as my peers and my superiors. They’re so brilliant at what they do, it’s pretty intimidating to draw comparisons. At the end of the day, I just try to focus on what I want to accomplish with my career. I want to tell stories that make people feel seen, understood, and loved. I want to tell stories that make people feel that they’re not alone, that they’re worthy of love as they are, and that make them more open to loving and understanding others. I try to put that in everything I do. If you can call that what sets me apart, then I guess that’s what sets me apart.

As for what gives me pride and excites me, honestly it’s just working on a project. Working together with a bunch of great people, trying to put something special into their work- it’s wonderful, and so thrilling. I love hearing the excitement in the voices of my crewmates, even during a technical meeting. Every day, I feel so, so lucky to be where I am now. I know people are always supposed to be ambitious, looking to move up, move forward, whatever you want to call it. But honestly, I’m just so happy right now, working on something cool, working with cool people. It was so hard getting here, I just kind of want to bask in the glow for a while. I had a pretty brutal experience in school, and I was worked to the bone there, but I did it because I thought I was securing my future. Then I graduated at the start of lockdown, to just.. nothing. Nothing at all. No internships, no trainee programs, no networking events, not even the opportunity to physically be with friends and family to seek comfort. It was crushing, to say the least. I felt like all that time breaking my back in school was for nothing. Thankfully Rise Up Animation, a mentorship organization, was founded that summer. That’s how I met Angela Entzminger, and she was incredible. Yes, she taught me more about my craft, shared her knowledge and experience, gave me new insights. But honestly, what meant the most to me was how much she was there for me. It felt like I was on a little raft being tossed around in a storm, and she was just this big, safe, stable thing, towing me along to safety. I’m so grateful to her, for everything. I don’t think I’d have a career right now without her.
Of course I have so many other people to thank, people who offered me their guidance and support. I wouldn’t have gotten here without them, either. I wouldn’t have found my way to storyboarding, wouldn’t have survived school without the endless love and support of my friends and family, the wisdom of my teachers. But where I am right now, right this moment, is thanks to Angela.

What have I learned along the way? Be loving, be kind. Pull people up with you. No one can be an island, that’s the quickest way to ruin yourself- if not in your health, then in your spirit. Love big, love as hard as you can, because you may find that love is the last tether holding you above water. And really, don’t we all deserve to live in a more loving world? So love with every last piece of you. Love the friend who sends you snacks when you feel like there’s nothing to look forward to. Love that first sip of tepid water in the morning. Love the cashier who hands you your tea, tired at the end of their shift, while you both wish you were somewhere else. Life is too hard and too short not to.

If there’s one thing I want the world to know about me, maybe watching some silly cartoon I helped work on, it’s that I hope it made you happy. I hope it made you laugh, or at least smile. I hope you saw something and it reminded you of yourself, and maybe that helped you love that part of yourself. I hope you saw someone really different from you, and learned to like that about them, and I hope that turns into love. That is why I do what I do.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Thankfully my best friends live in the area, so I won’t be pressured to cram all our favorite haunts into one week. Whenever we have the chance, a visit to Little Tokyo is a must. Get snacks at all the little bakeries and cafes, and I try to always nab some fresh made imagawayaki at the Mitsuru Cafe. Hopefully they’ve got a band in the plaza, that’s always nice. Have to visit the markets for even more snacks, obviously. Stop to eat somewhere, maybe for a chashu don, or chicken katsu. Always need to get a coke, because food just hits different with an ice cold coke. Look around Jungle at all the cool figures, and Kinokuniya is a MUST STOP for books but especially pens and ink. A trip to the beach would be awesome too, boogie boarding and checking out tide pools, making sand castles. I love the beach at South Carlsbad the best, but any will do. A trip to the LA Library would be nice, it’s just such a pretty building, and I used to borrow stacks of books there as a kid. I love going to Boba Tea Lounge for one of their cereal shakes or a mango lemonade, or going to Jazz Cat for some hot pot. Boca Del Rio is THE spot to go to for tacos and burritos and quesadillas, but I love the al pastor fries at Mr. Piggies. Also try to pop into A Shop Called Quest whenever I can, pick up a nice book. Honestly though, the best part about living in LA is finding new places, not just sticking to your old haunts.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I never would have gotten where I am without the love and support of the people around me, every step of the way. My first art professor and mentor, Ron Brown, giving me the courage to pursue art seriously. My storyboarding teacher, Alan Wan, not just teaching me the craft, but being an incredible support. My Rise Up mentor, Angela Entzminger, giving my craft focus and refinement, yes, but being my advocate and my lifeline through a time I felt utterly and hopelessly lost. My friends, comforting me and cheering me on through my best and my worst. Most importantly there’s my mom, who was there every single step of the way. My mother helped me realize that I’d been dead set on a creative career all along, and supported me through it all. I would have never made it through school or through jobhunting without her. If you’re reading this Mommy, no daughter could ever be prouder of her mother, or feel more blessed. You are every good thing about me, Mommy.

Website: https://www.jacqueleenmunoz.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-munoz-a05425155/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kerojackm?lang=en

Image Credits
All images property of Jacqueleen Munoz