Artist & Animator
Tirtha Banerjee
The dilemma of the millennium is “should I follow my passion or should I go for a commercial career?”. We have stories of success which inspire us to leave that desk job and take up a paintbrush, but the failure stories exist as well. Then comes society, whose guidelines never seem to align with doing what you love.
As discouraging as it might be, there are people who fight all odds and pursue what they love doing the most. One such person is Tirtha Banerjee. Tirtha is a painter, 3D animator, screenwriter and a director. A person who dons many hats, “Soar2high” sits down with him to discuss balancing professions and passions.
Here is an excerpt from the conversation:
What is your passion and how are you pursuing it?
I am a curious kid, so anything that satisfies that curiosity inside me I will take it up. All these creative forms interested me, so I delved into them all. Professionally, I am a 3D Animator. I have been working for the past ten years. I came into animation because I was passionate towards painting and towards art. But when I came into the 3D animation industry, it felt like that aspect was not being given much importance. It was a bit too technical. I felt like I had lost touch with my painting side. I realized it is better to go back to what inspired me. So I restarted my career and delved into painting. My forte is water colour. Yes, professionally I am an animator. But I dedicate an amount of my personal time to work on my paintings everyday.
How do you manage your passion with your profession?
When you want something, you’ll make time for it. You will set it as a priority. The job will be hectic and it will take up most of the day. But you will have about three hours of spare time. Either you slack on that time or you do something productive. It takes a toll on your personal life but it is a priority. And at the end of the day I enjoy doing that. It is an escape from reality. I am a person who likes to explore a lot but due to lockdowns I couldn’t do much. This became a way to travel to different worlds.
What is the most important learning phase of your professional life?
As a creative person, there is an ocean to explore. Everyday we are learning something. Every painting I do I try to do it better than the last one. It’s a constant process. An important phase would be when I decided to not go the usual route after my +2 and go to the creative field. It was tough for my family. Naturally, every family wants a secure career for their child and art is not exactly ideal for that. But yeah, that particular decision was tough for my family.
What is the most memorable experience you have had in your artistic career?
Earlier in 2014, I left my job to direct an animated movie for a studio. We worked on it for two years but due to many reasons the project got shelved. I learnt many things during that period, the practical side of things as well as how to work in different environments. That would be one of the most influential learning experiences
What are your future plans?
There is no plan as such but I just want to keep telling stories in my own way. As an artist, that is what we all strive for, to tell our own stories. That is the goal but the future is sort of bleak. So instead of planning for the future, I plan for the journey.
To know more about Tirtha Banerjee , visit his artworks at Facebook, Instagram and to connect with him professionally follow on LinkedIn
Watch the full conversation below: