I’m Jose Balbuena, artist, writer and creator.
I grew up in Torremolinos, a small town in the south of Spain where, without knowing, I started to feel interest and passion for art and storytelling. I was always drawing and creating stories with the characters of my imagination.
In Malaga, I had my first contact with art and I decided to move to Madrid to study filmmaking and animation. There, I made a few short films that further awakened interest in storytelling.
In Madrid, I had my first job in the animation industry. After a few years working freelance and in small studios, I wanted something else. I decided to move to Los Angeles to keep expanding my knowledge and asking and learning directly from the storytellers and artists I admired. My last move was to Ireland, where worked as a layout artist and location designer in Cartoon Saloon.
I’m now back in Spain, where I’m currently producing the trailer for the original idea “BFFS!” which has been pitched in several studios around the world. It is been in consideration for development for several studios.
The trajectory of my life, and the exchange of knowledge with different people, has shown me how appealing and interesting my own culture could be. This has motivated me to tell my own stories and experiences, and share them with everybody that would love to hear them.
Jose Balbuena /2D bg layout artist/vis dev/show creator
» Work Experience
Independent production, Torremolinos, Spain. Sept 2019/ Currently working
Director, Trailer of “BFFS!”
Writer and Creator, “BFFS!” Original idea for a TV Series
Cartoon Saloon, Kilkenny, Ireland. May 2017/ Aug 2019
Layout Artist, Apple feature film “Wolfwalkers”
Location designer, Nickelodeon TV show “Dorg Van Dango”
Layout artist, Amazon prime TV show “Pete The Cat”.
The Frank Barton Company, Madrid, Spain. Apr 2017/ Jun 2017
Background and layout artist, advertising campaign “Trina”, “ING Direct Spain”.
The Impossible Journey Studio, Madrid, Spain. August 2016
Background designer, movie trailer “The impossible journey”.
Monografo Studio, Madrid, Spain. Apr 2015/Oct 2015
Illustrator, concept artist, several openings for TV shows
Tomavistas studio, Barcelona, Spain. September 2014
Background artist, shortfilm “Water Path For A Fish”.
Cinanima Festival, Porto, Portugal, 2009-2011
Director/Artist, Opening clip
» Education
MTC, “Film and TV Series Executive Production”, Online, 2019
Animation Skillnet, Ireland, “Developing an idea”, 2019
East Los Angeles College, Los Angeles, CA / Animation degree
Mentorship by Manuel G. Galiana, 2011-2015
» Extra
Currently developing “BFFS, Best Friends Forever Stranded” an animated TV series project, selected in Cartoon Springboard and 3DWire where it got a special mention in 2019. It has also been selected for the Ibero-american Animation League at the Quirino awards in 2020. It is in consideration for development in different studios.