Amin Abbas

DUBAI: Nigerian animator Gabriel Ugbodaga has worked on major Japanese anime projects such as Boruto, Heion Sedai no Idatentachi & Takt Op. Destiny.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News Japan, Ugbodaga shared his inspiration for anime & manga, saying that his main inspirations were Naruto and Attach on Titan.

The animator established his career in 2018, when he started taking the practice more seriously and began learning the concepts behind animation. “Back then I taught myself through YouTube tutorials like ‘Draw with Jazza’ and the 12 principles of animation,” he said.

Ugbodoga created animated videos in YouTube Storytime animation style. “From there I moved on to making videos in the style of some of my favorite animated shows like ‘Adventure Time,’” he told Arab News Japan. Afterwards, the animator said he found himself more interested in the Japanese animation style.

“The first semi-big project I worked on was a short fully colored animation in the style of ‘Adventure Time,’ I designed my own characters, backgrounds and storyboard,” Ugbodoga explained. The Nigerian animator faced a few challenges, however, at the beginning of his career.

“I was still in the learning stage, but I grew from my mistakes,” he said. “The more you train and experiment the more you build this eye.”

Ugbodaga is currently working on many more anime titles as well as Western animations.