Kickstart Spotlight: Jaime San Cristobal
This month our Kickstart Spotlight is one of our talented Animation Supervisors, Jaime San Cristobal!
Tell us a little bit about yourself, Jaime.
Grew up in Getxo, a town on the north of Spain. Pretty rainy, similar to Vancouver (but not so rainy). I studied graphic design around 2009 and after that video game modelling and production in Spain before moving to Vancouver in 2012 to study in VFS. After that I guess I never left. I spent most of my childhood traveling around Spain with my parents and my sister in our car and camping all over the country. I love visiting places with a lot of history and especially enjoying local foods. I like to make stuff. As a kid I built a lot of stuff out of cardboard and tape, and I don’t have many memories of me being bored.
I always found a way of making my own fun or toys. As I got older and got a computer I got interested in games and how they were made, especially modelling. I started messing with 3d software when I was in high-school and started exploring the idea of having a career using it after I finished graphic design. Surprisingly enough I ended up becoming an animator, I was kind bad at it at school but I had the most fun with it (most times XD).
What was your first job in the industry?
My first job in the industry was at Bardel entertainment back in January 2014. I worked on several projects until joining Kickstart 2019.
How did you get started with Kickstart Entertainment?
I got hired to help fix some shots on StarBeam.
What’s your favourite 2-3 colour combination?
Bright pink and turquoise.
What are you trying to improve in your work?
I want to create an environment where people feel safe trying new things even if those new things don’t end up working. I feel that sometimes we are afraid of going in weird directions assuming that they won’t work or we would waste our time. I like putting people onto a task that they are not used to and see what they come with. You always get surprised.
What piece of advice do you wish you had been given when you first started working in this industry?
Is ok that you don’t know everything. You are there to learn and do the best you can.
If you could give one piece of advice on how to get through a hard day, what would that be?
Everything passes, No matter how bad the day is, it will pass. Break your task into small parts and work part by part. If you feel overwhelmed, communicate with the people around you and if you need it, a 5 min call can do a lot to clear your head.
What is the highlight of your career so far?
Supervising Deepa and Anoop and helping build the awesome animation team we have now. I can’t wait to see the things we are going to be able to make with all the talented people we have around us.
What qualities do you look for in a mentor?
Patience and the ability to remember that nobody is born knowing everything. I also think that you should try to understand where people are coming from and how they want to be taught, or how they teach. At the end of the day your job is to push people in the right direction, not telling them what to do.
Who are the fellow leaders you look to for inspiration and guidance?
I mostly get inspired by people around me. Seeing my team improving and making cool things makes me feel inspired to try new things and try to do better.
What continues to motivate your work, or has that changed over the years?
Kickstart has given me a lot of freedom and confidence to try new things and take on a lot of challenges. It makes me excited to come to work and try to figure out some problem or bounce some ideas with the team. And to be honest we get paid to make cool stuff, that’s always motivating to me.
What’s your idea of a perfect Sunday?
Sundays are for the most part my ¨me¨ day, so that usually means doing some hobby stuff, usually painting miniatures or playing some games.
What is your superpower?
I’m good at failing a lot, really fast and then moving on until I get to the proper solution.