When Vernon Manlapaz was still a Multimedia Arts student in Benilde, he used to spend his free time playing online games. Never did he imagine that soon after his multiplayer online battle arena days, he would be building his own portfolio of games—award-winning ones at that.
Manlapaz was recently featured in Business World for his well-received work Carrot Crave. “Mr. Manlapaz’ film Carrot Crave was recognized in film festivals across the globe, including the Short Shorts Film Festival Asia, Colchester Film Festival, International Animation Film Festival Mexico, Scratch International Animation Film Festival Italy, and Anima Multi 2013, among others,” wrote Business World Special Features writer Don Joseph J. Dejaresco in his article, “An Animating venture.”
After graduating from Benilde in 2010, Manlapaz started working for a local game studio, on top of his major freelance projects.
“My whole stay in Benilde was fun. It was motivating to learn about art and life with equally talented and passionate friends and classmates who were determined to succeed as well,” he shared.
In terms of his creative process, Manlapaz highlighted the importance of focusing on one’s great idea. “Every project is different. Some are interesting. Some are boring. Some are technically challenging. Some are creatively stimulating. But in terms of creating/pitching a film or a concept, story is the most important. That is where, I think, you should spend most of your time.”
Now based in Burbank, California as a 3D Animation and VFX Manager for Animaticmedia, Manlapaz keeps himself inspired through movies, art, family, and friends. "Being able to animate characters is exciting for me. I am inspired to go to work every day. Animating characters to punch, blast, fly, and spew fire—it's awesome."
For Manlapaz, one thing he learned over the years is that hard work pays off. “Going the extra mile to deliver and improve your work will get you more contacts and widen your network because then people will want to work with you."
He also emphasized the value of kindness. “Always be kind to people, even if you're grumpy from not having enough sleep or even if the software keeps crashing,” Manlapaz added.
His advice to aspiring artists: “Find what you are passionate about and work hard to be really good at it. Learn the technicalities of drawing and the principles of animation. I myself am still working on it, and it's a long way to go. But hey, if other people can do it, we can do it too. It's all fun and good. Just do everything extraordinarily well.”