Balasubramanian Rajasekaran [Bala]
“Achieving emptiness gives unlimited access to everything”
The Artists Journey-
I would like to begin by saying:
“Art for me is a language on its own, it could transcend anyone beyond all known boundaries. A mere sketch or a painting can tell a multitude of stories, which can subsequently evoke emotions and transport us to our past, present, future, or often to a unique world.”
Born in the quaint but artistically revered town of Tanjore, most of my childhood was spent outdoors and in amongst the grandeur of mother nature. Her beauty had engulfed me in my childhood, and I wanted to express this. That’s how I took to art. Not to mention, the rich art culture of Tamil Nadu only nurtured and fuelled my passion for this innate talent and inspired me in my early days of becoming an artist.
In order to actualise this dream, I did my BFA in visual communication design. This helped me in a large way into fine-tuning my painting skills and explore many different avenues and adapt a plethora of skills.
Through the language of art, I started to actualize myself, which instilled confidence in my otherwise introverted nature. I dedicated more than just my heart and soul, trying to become one with the universe. In this flow state, I found bliss. Here the lines of reality got blurred with my imagination, and I tried (still trying) to encapsulate this unto the canvas.
Painting at first humbled me, making me a self-critic. I started to surrender and meditate, connecting dots, solving puzzles, translating energies, taking risks to name a few aspects. Each painting paved the path to the next. Suddenly, painting started to challenge me, It made me feel like I know nothing. I knew then that I needed to further my knowledge, and began exploring a wide range of mediums like traditional watercolour, acrylic, oil painting, photography, digital painting, sculpting, animation, filmmaking & gaming, and a host of other areas.
As I continued the pursuit of art, I became more experienced in its different forms, which in turn got me more and more entrapped in it. Today I try and take a more holistic approach in my creations, sometimes making bold and impulsive decisions, which I believe has enabled me to surprise people and create art in a wide range of media- whether it be a painting, character design, animation, or film- allowing me to seamlessly transition between traditional and digital mediums.
My personal goal is to continue to learn, create, and refine my work. I strife to reach a point where my artwork would be a medium to inspire others, and hope to be remembered as an artist, who puts themselves, their experience, their pride and their heart into each and every piece
Professional Journey-
I entered the Animation & Gaming industry right after I had completed my BFA in visual communication design in 1996. With an experience of over 2 and half decades in this industry, I have had the opportunity to work on a multitude of projects, in the categories of 2D+3D Animated TV Shows, Ads, Short Films, Mobile + AAA Games, and Feature Films. Few of the notable clients that I have been associated with are Disney, DreamWorks, Zynga, Ubisoft, EA, Gameloft, Scopely, and Starbreeze, etc…
A few specific projects in my early portfolio that I had the immense pleasure of working on were:
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The BAFTA award-winning series “PABLO THE LITTLE RED FOX”
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Walt Disney's “HIGGLYTOWN HEROES”.
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Designing & directing the BAF award-winning ad films of All-Out Mosquito Repellent + Coil in 2004.
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Designing & directing the BAF award-winning ad film for Veneta Cucine Kitchen in 2006.
These projects compelled and trained me to become well versed in a multi-faceted role, allowing me to get rid of my tunnel vision. This chartered the path to a personal milestone in my career by enabling me to make the short-animated film “THE BAD EGG”. This won the outstanding film award at DIGICON 6+2 Tokyo, Japan in 2006, and the World Gold Medal at New York Festivals in 2007.
I then went on to direct the Art & Animation for the multiple award-winning TV series “LITTLE KRISHNA”. And developed a web series called “WARLORD” in 2012 with the critically acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur.
I also had the chance to collaborate directly with the UBISOFT creative team, and I directed art for assets on projects like
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RAINBOW SIX QUARANTINE
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RAINBOW SIX SIEGE,
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ASSASSIN’S CREED ODYSSEY,
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ASSASSIN’S CREED VALHALLA,
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GODS & MONSTERS,
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STEEP,
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PRINCE OF PERSIA,
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IMMORTALS FENYX RISING, to name a few.
I Art Directed the teasers along with the MPC [London] creative team for the “2018
FIFA WORLD CUP- RUSSIA” and “2019 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP-FRANCE”. Recently a project that I enjoyed working for was with the DreamWorks creative team on the TV series “FAST & FURIOUS SPY RACERS”.
I even worked closely with the GAMELOFT creative team and directed art for creating Characters, Cars, and Buildings for games like SPEERSTROM [For Disney], ASPHALT, and OVERDRIVE.
Currently working with Zynga as an Art Director, handling a wide range of Slots & Match games simultaneously and seamlessly. Fixing various barriers, raising aesthetic standards for all the games, and strengthening the art team. I have been collaborating with the entire team [in-house, vendor, and US teams] & making a significant contribution to improve the overall art quality.