Elena Ortego – Blue Sky Studios

01. Tell us brief fly about your professional background up to this day.

My first two jobs as an animator were in Barcelona, initially at a small company called Dragma, then I went to Anera, to animate a television series for Disney Channel. I was given the opportunity to go to Bren to work for the feature ‘Donkey Xote’, only for 3 months and on an apprenticeship, and since it sounded like a good way to keep learning, I ended my contract with Anera and went to Santiago de Compostela. After the 3 months, I was fortunate enough to work at Keytoon, in Valencia, for a television series called Veggietales. From there I went to Ilion, working for Planet 51. After 2 years, when the movie finished, I went to Paris, to work for Despicable Me and while I was there, I was called from Blue Sky and went without a second thought. And it’s been five years ever since .

02. Did you work in any other field before animation? Did it help you in anyway in your professional career?

Yes,right after College I started working as a camerawoman for Localia. I graduated in Fine Arts specializing in Image and Sound. It was there where I started using a computer to do 3D and I started getting hungry for more. I think that if I had instead dedicated myself to Layout the fact that I was a camerawoman would’ve come more in handy, hehehe, but I think that any extra skill you have always comes in handy.

03. Before working as animator . what drew your attention to this field?

Ever since I saw Toy Story and realized how those characters actually moved, I thought that it was an incredible world. Putting a puppet in a position in one frame, move 10 hit play and , watch it move on its own...of course it’s not that simple, but I was struck by it.

04. How did you first land a job in the industry? What was the key to make it inside?

I got my first and second jobs thanks to the school I was studying at. As soon as classes finished I was offered to work for Dragma. It was more of a generalist kind of job, , but months later my animation teacher learned that Anera was hiring animators and he knew that animation was what I was really into...He offered the job and It came to work. The key to make it: hard work and consistency. With my money savings and thanks to the help from my parents, I went to Barcelona just to study animation. Luckily I didn’t have to get a job and could focus only on my studies. Classes were given in the mornings and I would spend the afternoons animating at home what I’d learned at school. I remember one time when we were assigned an exercise and I was so thrilled that I came the following day with 3 different versions. I wanted to learn as much as I could and had to make the most out of the 3 months that I had the teacher.

05. If you had to start froms cratch in this profession how would you go about it?

Personally I would enroll on a course. I know there’s people who grab a Maya manual or that of some other program and start doing things on the fly. But I need someone I can ask for help, who can explain it to me if I don’t understand something, and who can explain it all over again (I’m a little stubborn, hehe). Right now there are lots of courses, both online and face-to-face, where you can really finish well prepared .

06. What’s the most important thing your work has contributed to your personal life?

Off the top of my head, my boyfriend Julen, hehehe. If I hadn’t entered this world, I would’ve never met him. Then there’s the experience of working in different cities and countries. I would have never imagined to be working outside of Spain much less in the US. English has never been my forte and it’s been 5 years living here . Surely leaving home (and your country ) is a vital, intense and enriching experience.

07. What would you change in the animation industry if you had the ability to?

I think that mainstream animation has closed itself in on a series of formulas nowadays, and it seems that it’s having a hard time looking away from them. I would like it if executives allowed studios and directors to explore other genres and ideas. You find interesting projects here and there but always within the independent scene, so they're at a disadvantage as far as distribution and keeping the studios making them alive

08. What’s the project you’re the most proud of to have worked on?

I think all of them, I know it’s an easy answer and that it looks good in the picture, but it’s the truth. Taking into account that scriptwriting isn’t my thing, I’m proud of the opportunity of having collaborated in all the movies I made. I believe that animation wise all of them are on a high level, and I watch it, ,, ,, I always find myself happy.

Elena Ortego Animation Reel

09. What was the most discouraging moment in your professional career? What helped you overcome it?

Unfortunately I’ve had a lot of those discouraging moments. It could happen to you that you see animations done by really talented people and then be discouraged when looking back at your shot because it doesn’t have half the appeal. That’s when you start considering a career doing something else, thinking that animation really isn’t your thing after all...How to overcome it? Well with my stubbornness. Believing that I too can achieve incredible animation and that I’ll do the shots that are assigned to me the best way I can possibly can.

10. What part of the working process do you enjoy the most? What part do you enjoy the less?

Planing is what I enjoy the most. I take what directors say, consider different options, record videoreference, show them and once I know what I’m going to do I have a blast on the blocking phase. The thing I enjoy the least is refining. Once everything is finished, you still have to do those little details, the fact that you spend a whole day at it and it almost doesn’t even read, but those are what give life to the character. That’s the most mechanical part for me and the one I’m lazier at .

11. Do you have any personal projects? Could you tell us about any?

Truth is, not really. When I finish work I try to stay away from the computer as much as I can. I love doing handicrafts and that’s what I do in my free time .

12. What advice would you give to someone who wishes to get in to this industry?

I would encourage them to work in the field, but they have to be certain that this is what they enjoy doing . 3D is a pretty world, but there can be a lot of sacrifice. Not everybody enjoys having their shots critiqued and that’s basically what supervisors and directors do. You grow fond of your shot, your decisions and then they come from above and change it all because it’s not what they wanted and it hurts a lot sometimes. But let nobody be discouraged. It’s easy to find fantastic talented people willing to aid you in any way, from whom you can learn a great deal and who make this an awesome job .