At the age of 7, Julio Valdez created his first animation work by using the setting sun’s glow as a makeshift lightbox while making a flip book.
Now 46, with credits on Cartoon Network shows, he’s working to inspire others to become animators in his newly adopted home of Rio Dell. On Nov. 22, Valdez taught the first of his five free classes at Emerald Z, the city’s official visiting center and only game room.
Valdez, who has animated for many popular shows, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Time and The Loud House, as well as the film The Polar Express, alsoprovides all the materials, including pencils, paper and coloring supplies.
During his first class, students learned how to draw SpongeBob SquarePants and Sonic the Hedgehog, with more than 20 people of all ages taking part. Among those was 64-year-old artist and Scotia resident Liv Barker.
“What I loved was [how] he talked about how easy it was for us to create our own character,” Barker said. “It sort of opened up my mind as to something that I might want to try.”
Barker, who’s disabled, said art is a way for her to cope with her pain.
“One of the ways that I deal with my pain and deal with what’s going on with me is that I get excited and I delve into things that are artistic and creative to remove myself from what’s going on,” she said.
Valdez said that he tries to spread art in every community that he becomes a part of.
“Even in the smallest little town, the best stories come from actually living it,” he said. “Even though a lot of opportunities are not available to them, they can utilize their imagination to have them, and that’s how it starts.”
After receiving an education grant while serving in the Marines in 1997, Valdez began studying animation at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
There, Valdez said, he was mentored by many professional animators, including Edward Harvey, who he credits with giving him “the absolute foundation of what I’d wanted to do for the rest of my life.”
Another was Sheila Sofian, who has worked on films like 10 Things I Hate About You and Closetland. When Valdez attended the animation program at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, she was the chair, and he credits her with teaching him the foundations of traditional art and storyboard scripts.
The late Stephen Hillenburg, a Humboldt State University alum whose time as a marine biology major helped inspire his beloved cartoon characters on SpongeBob SquarePants, also mentored Valdez and was a factor in Valdez’s decision to move to the region.
While his main motivation was to reconnect with his children, Valdez said he also wanted to explore the place that was an inspiration for Hillenburg’s show.
“Coming back to this area, especially where my kids are at, and showing my skills of how I started through these individuals, this is where it begins to inspire the next generation of children,” Valdez said.
While a towering figure at 6 feet 2 inches tall, Valdez said the character he chooses to represent himself in his artwork is a rabbit because he was bullied as a child and connected to the rabbits he saw at ranches where he worked growing up in Monterey County.
“ I always drew myself small, and that’s why I embraced the rabbit, because he was small, but he was fast to get away from stuff, and oh God did I get away from stuff,” Valdez said, adding that to this day he still considers himself small. “ I had to get away from stuff ‘cause I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna fight this monster. I’m gonna run for the hills.’”
Aundrea Vaughn, co-owner of Emerald Z, says she’s giving Valdez free space because he’s teaching the animation classes at no cost.
“ It is a venue, but if somebody wanted to come in and do something free to the community, I would donate that space to them, depending on what it is, as long as it’s age-appropriate,” she said.
Although the focus for every class hasn’t been planned yet, Valdez said he will demonstrate how to break into the animation industry in the last one, where the goal will be for every participant to create their own original character.
Valdez plans to teach four more classes throughout the year, with the goal of completing them by winter. More information about future classes and sign-ups can be found at Emerald Z and the next one will take place at the store on Jan. 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.