Meet Rufina Madeleine Lusida | 3D Animator/ Previs artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rufina Madeleine Lusida and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rufina Madeleine, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I was always told I was good at drawing, so I knew I wanted to pursue art. However, I had never thought I could pursue animation as a career. I grew up in a family of doctors and engineers, so working in the entertainment industry had never crossed my mind. In my country, Indonesia, people who are good at art mostly choose architecture as an art career, so I took architecture as my undergraduate major at the University of Washington in Seattle. After joining an internship and learning more about architecture, I felt certain I did not belong in that world.

One day my professor in architecture introduced me to visual art and performance art, and that was the moment I felt the urge to find out more about a career that would allow me to perform, choreograph, and tell a story. This happened in the same year as when Pixar Coco was released. Watching Coco really opened my eyes and curiosity about animation and what I want to do in life. Animated films have brought me joy throughout my life, and Coco movie was the one that made me realize I want to use my talent to inspire and entertain others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am still exploring my identity or uniqueness as an artist. My personal animation leans toward emotional acting with micro-expressions and eye acting. My biggest influence is mainly from Asian dramas and movies as the actors use eyes and micro expressions to communicate and express their thoughts and feelings. I also learn from Pixar, Disney, DreamWorks, Illumination, and Sony movies by going through their shots frame by frame. There is a famous saying that every frame is a work of art, so I try to learn from what the talented animators did on every frame of their work. This exercise helped me get where I am today, but I still have a lot to learn.

Breaking into the animation or entertainment industry was unbelievably hard. The industry is very small yet very competitive. Having strong connections and exposing myself on social media really played a huge role in landing my first job at The Third Floor Inc. I am indeed very proud of the big-budget productions I had worked on at the company, but it was never easy, as every day was a challenge. I think the key to grow and get acknowledged by our mentors/colleagues is the desire to learn and accept challenges. I was lucky that my leads and supervisors patiently taught and trained me to become a better artist. Their trust gave me the confidence to keep growing. However, my goal is to work on the final animation for animated feature films, so I am trying to take more mentorship classes and create new personal projects while building up my career as an animator.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Los Angeles, so there are tons of amazing places to visit. The tourist places that I recommend in LA are Laguna Beach and The Huntington Gardens/Library at Pasadena. If you want to get fresh air surrounded by nature with beautiful landscapes or even sketch or paint, I would highly suggest these places. My friend just came from Atlanta to visit for a week in LA. At first, we wanted to explore the national parks, beaches, mountains, and lakes outside of LA, but one week was not enough, so we decided to chill and visit many restaurants and beaches from Orange County to Torrance, California. I am a foodie, and my friends always trust my gut and research. They know there are hundreds of restaurants and cafes I have saved on my Google map 🙂 The first restaurant I recommend is Pasta e Pasta Allegro, a Japanese-Western restaurant from Tokyo. My friend and I have always fantasized about eating anime food, which includes Japanese pasta, so our goal in LA was to try authentic Japanese pasta, and that restaurant did not disappoint. Additionally, when I was in Atlanta, there were not many authentic Taiwanese or Hong Kong restaurants, so my first goal when I came to LA was to find those restaurants. Fortunately, I live in San Gabriel Valley, known for its famous Taiwanese and Cantonese restaurants. I recommend trying Mian (Michelin star Taiwanese noodle place) and Alice’s Kitchen (Hong Kong breakfast place).

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?
First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents and older brothers for believing in me. I realized it must not have been easy for them to support me ever since I told them about my career change. Secondly, my animation professors at SCAD Atlanta who had taught, encouraged, and guided me since day one when I had zero knowledge of animation until I graduated with a finished thesis film. Also, I am very grateful to Professor Vikramaditya Prakash, who introduced me to visual arts and advised me to pursue what I wanted to do as an artist. Lastly, my friends and colleagues have always been there for me whenever I feel down and doubtful about myself. I look forward to our future animation career in the next few years! Let’s work hard together to achieve our goals!

Website: https://www.rufinalusida.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rufflu.art/

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rufina-madeleine-lusida-7a11b9199