It’s no secret there’s no shortage of talent in the Philippines. Many Pinoys have contributed globally to various industries for many years, be it in engineering, Information Technology, hospitality and such. But in the past decade, we’ve shown that we have much to offer in the creative fields as well. Filipino Animator Leon Enriquez Leon Enriquez is a senior modeler for Sony Pictures Imageworks who worked on the new movie “Hotel Transylvania 3.” Originally from Pampanga, Leon finished his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Santo Tomas, and after which he began working as a freelancer. “I did a number of freelance work involving storyboarding for commercials during my free time before I got in to my first job as 3D artist in ImagineAsia back in 2000,” he said. “After ImagineAsia, I was hired as a lead modeler in Hualong Film Digital productions for a straight to video project in Beijing, China. I also did side projects for gaming nad commercials during those same years. Next to that was for a company based in Dubai, Clockwork VFX. I worked there as a full time remote modeler.” Through an interview, Leon shared some insights on his work, and what it was like to be part of “Hotel Transylvania 3:” Q: Do you model assets for use in production as well as concept sculpts for pre-production? Do you have a preference? “Yes, I do concept design for production and for my personal hobby. “At an early age, I was always in awe with Harryhausen works alike. Movies like ’Alien,’ ‘Labyrinth,’ ‘Legend,’ ‘Clash of the Titans’ and more inspired me a lot too as a kid. I also remember enjoying watching 80’s toons like ‘Loony Tunes,’ ‘Super 6,’ ‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,’ ‘Visionaries,’ ‘Transformers’ and again just too many to list all! My interest and love for these kind of things carried on until now. Those are the biggest factors of why I am now working in VFX and Animation.” Q: What’s your weapon of choice when you model for production? What attracted you to that piece of software? “For modeling or sculpting, that would be Zbrush and Maya. Those are the most common softwares used by number of studios in their modeling departments. What’s it like being a senior modeler with other artists under your supervision? Scenes from ‘Hotel Transylvania 3: Monster Vacation’ “Being a senior modeler is more responsibility, pressure, and fun. You have to be knowledgeable of the latest tools and what is coming too. You should be able to share or answer and solve any problem asked not only from juniors but also across other teams or even supervisors. A good eye and sense of proportion, aesthetics, flow and anatomy are essential for me.” If you weren’t a modeler, what other tasks would you be doing in the 3D pipeline? Texturing? Rigging? Have you ever attempted any of them before? How did that go? “From my years of experience, I’ve worked in modelling, texturing, lighting, compositing, animation and a little bit of rigging. If I weren’t a modeler, I’d probably choose to do some texturing.” Are you the type of artist to go where the next big project might be or do you prefer to set down roots at a company when you can? Why so? “I used to be a project-based thinker. Jumping from one studio to another is a good start as you get to establish your reputation and gain friends and connections. But after years working on commercials, games, VFX, feature animation and other stuff related both locally and abroad – I’d now choose to stick in a company that is stable, has great work environment, and pays. Especially now that I am a family man. Not to mention every company has their own pipeline and you need to adopt and learn accordingly as you hop. Though a big title or project would be a plus!” Schools often teach the hard skills, technical know-how and software proficiency, that sort of thing. What soft-skills helped you at work? What hard or soft skills should someone coming into the industry, particularly in a company doing international work, have? “The only skill I really recommend to everyone is how to learn to keep on learning! Industries never stop changing, and that’s a given fact. “But as a modeler, you have to have a wide knowledge of skill set. Whether it’s the software, digital practices or practical life facts, you combine them all. You should have a bit of knowledge of almost everything you can hold. Or sometimes even invent your own creature or design and make sure it is functional or at least believable when you execute it.” What’s next for you? Have you ever considered teaching? “Early retirement is my goal. I’d like to continue learning more about investing. I hope to share my knowledge and experience to the ones willing who listen and learn in the near future.” (“Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation” is now in theaters)