When you see the term “award-winning” you’re certain to find “hard work” not too far behind. This is certainly the case with VFS Digital Character Animation grad Rafael Cardenas and his brother, Raul, who, as we mentioned previously, won the 2011 Ariel Award for Best Animated Short.

We caught up with Rafael to see how he went from Honours graduate at VFS to award-winner.

Choosing VFS

Before coming to VFS from Mexico, Rafael was an award-winning animator with his brother, Raul (the pair even scored an Ariel nomination in 2007). But he knew he could get better.

“Since I realized that I wanted to professionalize my animation skills, I knew that choosing the proper animation school that matched with my needs and goals was not going to be easy,” says Rafael.

“That’s why, after a year of searching and comparing faculties and programs from many animation schools, I decided to study at VFS. But that was just the first step. Being accepted to one of the most important animation schools in the world and to get enough resources to study there, those were the real challenges. In those years the economic situation in my country was not good at all, but I truly believe that if you desire something there is always a way to reach it.”

The economic challenge was met by Rafael securing two scholarships, one from FONCA (The National Fund for Culture and Arts) in Mexico, and one celebrating VFS’s 20th Anniversary.

Working in Mexico with Family

While Rafael had always intended to return to Mexico to work with his brother, it was not a decision that came easily after his time in Vancouver.

“It was a pretty difficult decision,” says Rafael. “First of all, almost all of my classmates wanted to work in some of the more important animation companies located in Canada. Secondly, because the way of life there is pretty awesome!”

“In my case, my short-term goal was to apply all the knowledge I got there to a personal short film that I was planning with my brother [the Ariel award-winning Luna]. With all of the awards and projects that came along with it, our company, ONIRIK studio, has been growing incredibly.”

Rafael started ONIRIK with Raul shortly after graduation, and they are currently working on an animated series in Mexico.

“There is always a myth that working with your family is really hard,” says Rafael. “That’s because in some cases it’s tough to separate the “brother” from the “coworker”. But that doesn’t happen with us. In my experience, working side-by-side with my brother has been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

“In our family we were raised to be hard workers and reliable people, and those are some of the values we have in our company. I honestly believe that “trust” is one of the hardest and most valuable things you can find in a person, and we have found in each other someone to trust.”

The Inspiration Behind Luna and Winning Awards

The story behind Luna began with a trip that Rafael took to visit his brother in Los Angeles.

“Los Angeles, as with many other big cities, has a grey environment, full of buildings and asphalt and, obviously, insane traffic on the freeway,” says Rafael. “But then, when we went to Vancouver, we were totally shocked. Everything was green, full of life, and very close to nature. For us, it was completely amazing, since we come from an industrial city surrounded by factories, asphalt, and polluted skies. In our city everybody lives under a lot of pressure, the traffic gets incredibly intense, and people are stressed out.”

“All of these factors made us think of a “surreal world” where people don’t care about each other, and society no longer looks around or takes care of the environment. The city is ruled by strange, motorized men who are obsessed with time, and this become the world of Luna.”

Luna allowed Rafael to work with a friend and collaborator from VFS, Sound Design for Visual Media grad Adolfo Hernandez, who works as a sound designer at Planet Audio. With his coworkers he created all of the Foley and music, in collaboration with the Macedonian Symphony Radio Orchestra. Then it was time to hit the festival circuit.

The Luna premiere was held at the 25th Guadalajara International Film Festival 2010, where it won the award for Best Animated Short Film. Later on, we were invited to be part of the official selection in the Palm Springs 2010 International Festival. With these recognitions, Luna started its festival tour around the world.

“After winning at several film festivals, we were told that The Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences nominated our short film in its 53th edition. Being recognized with the Ariel award was unbelievable!”

Congratulations, Rafael, on all of your success!

You can keep up to date with what Rafael and his brother are doing by following their studio on Facebook.