Meet Thomas Zenteno | Visual Development Artist

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

Hi Thomas, why did you pursue a creative career?
I chose to become a Visual Development Artist because Animation is a medium in which every asset is created and designed to tell a story that can be hyper real. Animation takes the everyday, observes it and crafts the accents, intensity and essence into something that can communicate an idea to someone else. I think I’m attracted to that moment of communication whether it’s an emotion, idea, or joke. I pursued art so people could feel the sense of wonder I get combining the world I see with my imagination.

I’ve always had that sense of wonder since I was a kid. From drawing ninjas to animating dragon ball z fight scenes in the corner of textbooks I always had a passion for drawing and painting. Luckily, when I was approaching high school my mom recognized that art was a path I could pursue as a career and I applied to Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH).

Through DASH I found Industrial design and I loved Product and Transportation design but I missed being able to incorporate painterly, illustrative work with my technical perspective drawing. It wasn’t until I saw the book “The Art of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” that I learned how to blend all of my interests. The work of Dermot Power in particular stuck out to me- using graphic value sketches to communicate composition was a revelation!

For a long time I imagined I would be working as a Visual Development Artist to bring the vision of a director to life but between jobs I began to experiment with and develop my own stories. I found my stories reflected everything I would be learning in my life from community organizing to language. Now I’m developing a few of my own projects, and I’m happy to share a few pieces with Shout Out LA.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always separated myself as a Visual Development Artist by having a specific focus on image clarity and composition. I love telling a story in a single image and I use Color & Light to bring the emotion of a piece to a crescendo. Right now I’m really excited about designing sets using Virtual Reality to design a space in its entirety, then place 3D Cameras to use the same lenses that would be used on a production. Ultimately image making comes down to decision making and what’s left out of an image can be just as important as what’s in it. Despite being in the industry for around 10 years I feel like there is still so much to be drawn, painted and designed! I just hope I can keep evolving from one piece to the next.

Professionally I started as a Visual Development Artist on LEGO Batman, and only got that job because I was able to meet with Chris Mckay through an internship with Lin Pictures on the first LEGO Movie. It hasn’t always been as easy with certain downturns in the industry but I’ve been able to navigate it by planning for those downturns in advance and taking the time to rebuild my portfolio or brush up on new skills. The biggest lesson I learned in those downturns is to slow down to speed up. Oftentimes I’d rush to get a painting done as quickly as possible without taking the necessary care to think through a design problem fully or give a visual development piece the necessary care it needed. Currently I’m working on solving these problems at a slower rate so that I can speed up in the future, similar to how a classical musician might learn an instrument, playing the right way and correcting mistakes to play a piece in full before playing at full speed.

I’d love for the world to know that when that care is taken an environment or set design can be as much of a character in a film as the characters themselves. The world around us is living, breathing and changing. I’d like to capture that in my environment pieces.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friend landed at Bob Hope Airport we might stop for some painting inspiration at Travel Town, a museum dedicated to transportation, trains and vehicles. We could eat at Something Vegan, and in the evening head over to Verdugo West to play a few games and grab a burger.

I’d take them for a big meal at President Thai and later hike it off at Sam Merrill Trailhead. We could try to piece together the information we gained from Travel Town and apply it to the railway at the top of the hike. If we’re feeling daring we could run the steep incline and switchbacks.

For a beach day I’d take them to Zuma beach and Point Dume, it’s a great time to lay out on the sand and take in the sun. For a spicy meal I’d order the Spicy Garnett Ramen at Rakkan, and wash it down with some boba at Miss Cheese Tea Cafe.

Before the end of the trip I’d make a special trip out to Big Bear, especially if it’s wintertime. The hiking, rocks and trees are a great way to reconnect with nature and breathe in some of that living environment.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have had so many people help and assist me to get to the point that I’m at in my career. I love meeting up with college friends when we’re on the same project in the industry. One person I have to give a shout out is Chris McKay. He gave me my first shot in the industry on LEGO Batman in 2015, and I got to live in Sydney, Australia and meet the great folks at Animal Logic. From Animated shows to Live Action, Chris’s humor always comes through in rapid fire jokes. To get the team on the same page we’d watch the films that influenced the style of show together, it was both educational and inspiring!
One other person that comes to mind is my art director, Crista Castro. She showed me the basics of Art Directing and gave me a peek into what it took to build a team that could deliver on time and on budget, even during a pandemic. Crista made my time on the Middle Most Post one of the best experiences of any show I’ve worked on in Animation and she’s still inspiring me by making games with her partner through Cozy Game Pals. Her passion for her own project helped me reflect and invest some time in my own stories.

Website: https://www.thomaszenteno.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomaszenteno/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-zenteno-04416925/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThomasZenteno

Image Credits
Thomas Zenteno