Meet Keith Silva | Director and Storyboard Artist

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

Hi Keith, what role has risk played in your life or career?

I was asked years ago what my “backup plan” was if this “art thing doesn’t work out.” Pursuing an artistic career was seen by others as a risk financially, but that wasn’t the kind of risk that worried me. The risk I feared was trying my absolute hardest at something I cared about and being bad at it. It took a long time and making a ton of mistakes before recognized that taking risks is the very currency of success. I spent many years taking the safest routes in order to avoid the risk of what I perceived to be failure. I worked hard, but always held back just a little bit so that if I failed I could always blame it on the fact that I wasn’t really trying. It turns out, in most cases the very things I’ve done to keep myself safe creatively actually deliver my most feared outcome. It’s when I’ve done the expected, or delivered what I thought people wanted that my work is stiff, bland or cliché. But when I’ve gone above what is expected, strayed outside the lines and given an alternate point of view, it is met with praise, opportunity and fulfillment.
Success is the result of learning from the risks you take, with outcomes both good and bad. And therefore nothing is truly a failure unless you refuse to learn something from it. Looking back, it has been the risks I’ve taken that gained me success at every step, not only breaking into the animation industry, but also success as an artist on the job. These days risk is my friend. I respect when I see others taking risks. It’s a sign of not being held back by fear and acting as your authentic self.

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.
My career as a storyteller has been a long and extremely challenging road artistically. Storyboarding, my chosen profession, is the craft of drawing and presenting a story visually, usually interpreting it from the written word in a script and my preferred medium is animation. I began formally studying animation in school when I was 14 years old and I love it deeply. I could go on with the details but the take away is that the path to where you want to go is filled with obstacles in fog. This school to that school, jobs that feel like detours become formative experiences, decisions that feel like dead ends reveal themselves to be portals to unimaginable opportunity. I got to where I am by continuing. And as I go I attempt to improve in any way I can: in draftsmanship, in wit, in kindness, in listening to others. 
Ultimately the lesson I’ve learned ,and continue to learn ,is to practice optimism. I say practice because it is an active thing, as opposed to a natural way of being. I think some see my optimism as delusional, but that’s okay. I know the truth is that the only way I can figure to navigate this illogical, often horrifying life is to find the bits of good and focus on them for a little while, then take those bits and share them with others. Sometimes you find the good in nature, or a funny story, or the way the light hits at that right time of day, but I prefer to look for it in people. And I think the most encouraging thing is that when you do look for the good in people, it’s always there.

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?
If I was introducing a friend to the area I’d have to start at the place I start most of my days: Kumkuat Coffee Co in Highland Park. It’s the only coffee around that doesn’t give me the jitters and there is always a line out the door of interesting people. I have a huge place in my heart for movie history so going to The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures by way of surface streets from the east end of town would be the day plan. Dinner at El Coyote in Hollywood and then end the night someplace like The Virgil or Permanent Records Roadhouse for a nightcap and some comedy.

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?
There are so many people that have been instrumental in getting me to where I am. My wife, my family, any number of mentors, teachers and colleagues. It is impossible to put them in order of importance, but I do believe in calling specific people out from time to time. This time I’d like to highlight John Fleskes, the founder of Flesk Publications. I worked at Flesk for a few years right after college and it taught me numerous skills about working in a professional environment. John’s focus on quality, compassion for the artist and utmost respect for art itself was formative to my early career. He also taught me how to communicate effectively and always with honesty and respect. As I’ve moved up in my career and had the opportunity to supervise and mentor other artists myself, I’ve only grown more appreciative of the things he taught me. Thanks John!

Website: www.keithsilva.com

Instagram: @ksilvaanimation

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-silva-653b0850/

Image Credits
lexvoight.com