Meet Jimmy Arca | Independent Animator & Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jimmy Arca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jimmy, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
In 2020 during lockdown and I had a lot of time on my hands, I started experimenting with creating hand drawn animated GIFS on small pieces of paper. Sort of like when a lot of us would try making flip books on sticky note pads, except I was doing them on loose pieces of paper and scanning them into the computer to digitalize the animation. After a year of making these I had a lot of these pieces of paper accumulating in my bedroom and thought I should sell them as works of art. I knew there was already a business for classic animation cels from old cartoons that people like to buy and collect, and I figured I would market my work the same way but as an independent animator. Although I don’t animate on celluloid paper, I still market the work as “animation cels.” Over the last couple of years, the way I present the work has undergone an evolution and a lot of things have changed.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I know I’m an introspective person who wonders about a lot of things. I think a lot about why things are the way they are and about my own feelings and motives. This habit of being deep in thought and the answers I get carry into the themes of my work. In the last year or so I thought a lot about the idea of impermanence and detachment from things that don’t last. This idea may lead people to feel anxious about their existence but I have found comfort and freedom from it, and to not take things too seriously or to worry so much. I also take inspiration from other artists who are business minded people that work hard. As simple as it sounds, the lessons I’ve learned from these artists is to just get started and learn as you go. I sometimes used to believe that you had to learn and become an expert first before you do something. But the reality is that you only become an expert after taking chances and learning through trial and error. At times things might get difficult and discouraging, but that’s when it’s important to have fun with what you’re doing.
Any challenges I’ve faced in my artistic journey have been overcome by having fun and they joy I get from creating.

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.
There is a lot of hidden gems in Dallas/Fort Worth. After living here for 22 years I’m just now realizing how large the art community is. My friends are also into art so we would go to a lot of the museums and explore the galleries. The Fort Worth water gardens are always fun too, especially when it’s not so packed, I’ve gone there a couple times with friends. Another thing I would explore for the first time with a friend is the many hiking trails around town.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I find a lot of success in running my business in the different pop up markets around town. Tiffany Parish and her Lola’s Rock n Roll Rummage Sale is my “home base” market where I found the most success. And a more recent market that you can regularly find me at is Greg TeGantvoort’s Weird Wednesday.

Website: https://www.jimmyarca.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inoiseaguy/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-arca-b50055161

Twitter: https://twitter.com/inoiseaguy?lang=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClO4t938ENFLP6mlKvoqR4g

Other: https://giphy.com/inoiseaguy

Image Credits
Jimmy M. Arca Jim B. Arca Debbie Arca