Interview with Animator Alejandro Parrilla
by William "Proton" Vaughan
Alejandro “Alejoide” Parrilla is a traditional illustrator that made the leap into CG head first. He is in the process of moving out to Reno, Nevada to work for IGT, but while he was packing his bags we sat down with him and discussed his past work and how he got to where he is today.
CGF- Can you tell us a little bit about your Background?
When I was at school I was always the kid who was given the job of illustrating things in the classroom, because I loved playing with crayons and colored pencils. I remember one time I modeled the Venus De Milo in plasticine, and my teacher almost failed me because she didn't believe I made the sculpture. I also won prizes in illustration competitions, which was a lot of fun. After I left school, I was clear on what I wanted to do so I joined the arts school in Caracas to become an Illustrator.
After I graduated I attended various courses and seminars on illustration and graphic design, then I jumped into the 3D world and got enchanted by it.
CGF- What has been keeping you busy lately?
Ever since I graduated from the DAVE School I can't remember a day of rest. I got a full time job at Wolfhound Inc., a small animation studio located in Orlando, Florida. I also have enjoyed creating 3D illustrations for articles in magazines like HDRI3D and Computer Graphics World.
It was also a blast to collaborate with the Newtek team modeling the twenty foot Emmy statue for their booth for Siggraph 2005.
I also helped make a couple of toy commercials for Play Along Toys. "Sky Dancers", currently running on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, and another one of their properties I can’t really talk about because it hasn’t been aired yet.
I like to keep busy covering as many areas as I can. There was a piece I helped animate for a science museum in Houston, Texas through Sybil Media. That was a real fun project and I got to work with Kurt Larsen. I will be joining Kurt and the IGT team in Reno, Nevada next month and I can’t describe how excited I am about this. It's been a busy and productive year for me and I wouldn't have it any other way!
