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animate the logo for the movie series, Hush. It was his first professional animation. His big break came in 2012, the same year he graduated with first class honours. During a training programme in the use of Toon Boom animation software, Canadian tutors who were on the island conducting the training noticed that he quickly adapted to the technology. Ifill credits this to his Cave Hill education. “I know I talk a lot about what I learnt at the Errol Barrow Centre, but it was Computer Science that really helped me on the technical side,” he said. Consequently, he and a select few were
These accomplishments came through steadfastness and a refusal to bow to the many obstacles he faced in his educational and professional journey. Through it all, he learnt valuable life lessons that also affirmed values instilled in him at a young age by his parents, both of whom were teachers. I fill’s introduction to computers came at a young age. Before age 10, he and his older brother Akil, now Principal of the privately-operated Ifill School , were introduced to computers and computer games by their father, Patrick. While most children his age played with toys, he was learning about the technology and the internet that was not widely accessible at the time. Coupled with that, he began dabbling with drawing cartoon characters. Although he was not very good, he persisted and improved over time. It was in secondary school where he got into digital animation, and on leaving sixth form, he immediately enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science programme at Cave Hill Campus. He supplemented his knowledge with courses in film production at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination . To gain experience and assist himself financially, he became a teaching assistant at Cave Hill and taught part-time at an educational institution off-campus. However, the workload proved to be too much, and his grade point average plummeted to a negligible level. “It really was a low point for me, and I had to leave the part-time teaching job. My mother, Corine, was a really strong force of compassion [and] she really helped bring me back up.” It was while he was at university that he began taking animation seriously. He had been approached by award-winning Caribbean filmmaker, Marcia Weekes , to
there are definitely rigging jobs, and I was able to keep a job because of that skill set.” In all of this, the motion graphics artist continues to hold the Caribbean close to his heart. He has contributed through the design of questions for and marking of the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) Animation and Game Design course offered by the Caribbean Examinations Council. Currently, he serves as Director of Curriculum Development of the Animated Arts Learning Institute (AALI) . The online training platform that he and others created seeks to help fill the training gap in the region.
chosen to work on a project. He later discovered it was the animated series, Rick and Morty . During that time, Ifill attained Toon Boom Harmony Associate Level. More work came his way as a result, and eventually, the Cave Hill graduate was among a group invited to Canada to work. He was
soon joined by Nikita, another Barbadian animator, who has become his wife. While settling into his new environment has not been without challenges, Ifill has not allowed that to deter him. He has gone on to establish Ifillium Animation & Game Studios in Canada. He explained the decision not to restrict himself by working solely as an animator also worked in his favour: “The voice actors and animators get most of the glory, but to animate something, somebody has to design the character. In order for the character to move, you have to take the design, optimise it and split it up, and get it ready for the animator. That process is called rigging. So being technical helps with rigging, and I’ve been rigging for half of my career—five to six years—and for another five to six years, I’ve been an animator. When there aren’t animation jobs available,
Looking at the animation industry in the region, he said, “It is obviously young, and we’re not at the level where people come to us to do the big projects etcetera. In the Caribbean, the industry is only taken seriously in certain places and at certain levels. I’ve been in rooms where there have been conversations about US$100,000 contracts and US$1 million contracts. However, in the Caribbean, animation is treated as an afterthought. I can’t tell you the kind of proposals or requests that we get because people don’t understand animation. People don’t respect it enough to give it what it deserves.” u
CHILL NEWS 127
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