Meet Elena Montijo-Capetillo | COO & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elena Montijo-Capetillo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elena, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Since I was little I always wanted to be an artist in visual arts or music. As a teenager I already had figured out I didn’t want to work 9-5 in the same place for 20-30 years. For me, an artist cannot be boxed into a single space, you need to evolve and if there’s no challenges and inspiration, there is no growth. I wanted to be a freelancer to have control of my time and have more freedom, which is not always the case when it comes to big projects and deadlines but somehow you can manage your time to create whenever the muse kicks in. In my adulthood, I was motivated to use my art as a tool to create educational and entertaining content for people of all ages or just create art to be admired. Once out of college, it was a bit uphill to rely on freelance gigs since there were very few offsite jobs, especially for women in the field of illustration and graphic design.Thankfully this has changed for the better. By the time I obtained my master’s degree in Design & Technology at Parsons in NYC, I was more experienced and the digital art field was opening up to more women. I started working on video games like Doodle Jump and creating educational children’s content for different platforms.
Over time, I have realized that what drives me to continue my career as an artist, is that I love creating appealing and meaningful art for others to appreciate and enjoy. Other than gardening, I can’t see myself doing anything else in life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I always remind myself about the Rocking chair theory. I imagine myself looking back and being proud of what I have accomplished in life. It’s not always easy but I try to make sure I don’t give up. Based on my experience, I always encourage others to take risks and follow their dreams. If it works out great, if not, no worries! You still have more chances to try and it’s a learning experience for next time. One thing I can say about myself is that I’m quite visionary, looking at all the posible scenarios for my future and how can I continue to grow and ways to share my work. With this in mind and sharing the same perspective, a colleague, Tommy González and I founded ManaT Studios, with the goal in mind of developing our own IPs as animated series for global distribution along with games, licensing and merchandise. During my masters degree and inspired by my childhood, I created Elenita the Chicken Whisperer for a comedy/adventure preschool animated series. Elenita is a 7 year old girl that lives in the countryside and has the ability to talk to chickens. Through fun adventures with her chicken friends, she’ll have plenty of life lessons to be learned, including our connection to nature, empathy, inclusion, responsibility and love. Teaching kids values at an early age is absolutely fundamental for me, and what better than using animation as a tool when kids love to see cartoons come to life.
Working in digital media like animation, video games and illustrations is great, but I also love urban sketching. I like to travel around the world and join great artists that gather in urban places to sketch on site. I consider myself very fortunate to be an artist and wish to inspire others along the way, either creating digital or traditional art. In this world, there are no limits to imagination and creativity and we have to embrace that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First stop is Panther coffee at Wynwood, it is one of the very first places I frequented when I first moved to Miami a decade ago. Wynwood never stops amazing me throughout the years, with its constantly evolving street art. Vizcaya museum and Fairchild tropical garden are other favorites. Vizcaya feels as if you’re somewhere in Europe and Fairchild garden is a special connection with nature, a peaceful escape from the city. As for hanging out, I really like Julia & Henry’s. I know there are many more awesome places but these are my first 3 options and my friends love it whenever they’re in town.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One of the most important persons that has given me unconditional love, support and inspired me through my life, is my mom. Even though it took her a while to accept I wanted to be a freelancer, which was not very common back then, she always encouraged me to do what I really wanted to do in life, what made me happy. She became a nurse at age 47, so that also inspired me very much to continue learning no matter how old I could be. As an artist, constantly evolving, I continue to take workshops, online classes, and even visit other countries to meet and learn from other artists to enrich my knowledge and feed my creative soul.

Two of my other most influential mentors, that saw in me what I was capable of when I didn’t believe in myself, was my professor from college, Nelly Toledo and Gabriel Cruz, my art teacher from high school. Both were tough and made me learn that there was a harsh world out there and if I really wanted to be an artist, I had to eat, drink, sleep and dream art! This is how I have become who I am, a full time artist in all levels which I’m very grateful for.

And to Enrique, thank you my love for your care and support through this journey!

Website: www.elenamontijo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elenamontijo/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-montijo/

Other: www.manatstudios.com

Image Credits
Cover photo – Darlene Laviena DoodleJump space.jpg – Doodle Jump© ManaT_Studios.jpg – ManaT Studios© Rest of images – Elena Montijo©