The artist, designer and ECU student recounts his journey from freelance designing for local performers to branding marquee Pride events and promoting shows including Canada’s Drag Race.
Perhaps it was a childhood spent caring for livestock on his family’s farm. Or maybe it was because he had no cable television, video games or computer as a kid. Certainly, the fact that art and the outdoors were Samuel Carter’s main sources of fun had something to do with it.
Regardless, the artist and designer gravitated toward a life in the arts as soon as he graduated high school, spending years on the road as a travelling stage tech with bands and music festivals.
“I did that for a long time until at some point I stopped doing and looked around and asked, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’,” he recalls. Fortunately for Samuel, life had an answer.
Now on the verge of beginning his second year in the 3D Computer Animation program at Emily Carr University of Art + Design (ECU), Samuel says things took a turn in late 2022. Long since a Vancouver local, Samuel had embedded himself in the city’s queer community until the pandemic shuttered many of the spaces and events he’d grown to love.
Drag performance, however, had long been on the rise aided by pop-culture hits including RuPaul’s Drag Race, which began to reach its mainstream stride in the late 2010s. Post-pandemic, as venues began to reopen, drag artists began to tour again. And they needed someone with a keen eye to help them design their promotional materials.
“Being in the queer community and sometimes performing, you make friends,” Samuel says. “One of those friends was like, ‘Can you make us a poster? Can you make us some merch?’ One person recommended me to another and now it’s been my job for almost four years.”
Samuel quickly catapulted from freelancing to a full-time position with TFD Presents, one of Canada’s premier event production and talent management agencies for the queer community. He is now the creative force behind tours for performers including Jewels Sparkles and Joey Jay, and for shows and events including Canada’s Drag Race, The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, Vancouver Pride and Whistler Pride Festival, with his work seen across North America and in the UK, the Philippines and Australia. He creates assets ranging from tour posters and merch to full brand identities including maps, logos, wayfinding and animations.
But having spent nearly two years relying on his self-taught skills, Samuel wanted to take his abilities to the next level.
“This job pretty much fell into my lap and eventually I thought, ‘I need to do the school route and get serious. I’m at a point where I want some stability,’” he says. “I applied to a bunch of schools, but I’ve wanted to go to Emily Carr University since I was in 11th grade, so when I got in, I was like, ‘this was meant to be.’”
He says Foundation year helped him hone the fundamentals, while the second-year courses he’s been doing over the summer provide a strong introduction to animation basics.
“They gave me a structured way to go for it and shoot my shot and then have an experienced artist say, ‘This is how you can improve. This is what you can work on,’” he says. “I’m excited to get into my third and fourth years.”
Meanwhile, he’s maintained his position with TFD, proudly noting his work delivering a full rebrand for Whistler Pride Festival this year and festival branding for Vancouver Pride in 2025.
“Even just with what I’ve done in school in my first two years — things like working on cinematography and designing multi-scene compositions like short films — I’ve seen my work evolve,” he says. “I’m able to make things more dramatic and polished and stand out a little more. I’m very competitive so I when see what other designers are doing, I always think, ‘How am I going to outdo you?’ And I don’t always do it, but this year I think I got ‘em.”
Samuel plans to continue working with TFD for the foreseeable future as he completes his degree on a part-time basis.
“I’m coming into ECU as a mature student, and my ultimate goal is to settle into a nine-to-five. I’m ready to be boring,” he says. “At the same time, I’m very much going into it with an open mind. If I end up working at a real estate agency making 3D house setups, that’s cool. If I keep building the posters and flyers and little animations for events, that’s awesome. I just don’t want to go back to mucking out stalls.”
Follow Samuel on Instagram to keep up with his practice.
More About 3D Computer Animation at ECU
ECU’s 3D Computer Animation program is recognized as one of the best in the world, offering an unmatched education in a fast-growing industry.
As the only school in B.C. with a bachelor’s degree in 3D and CG animation, the program combines hands-on training, world-class faculty and access to cutting-edge studios, all rooted in artistic innovation and storytelling.
This program equips you with the creative and technical skills necessary to excel in the competitive field of 3D animation.By working with industry-standard tools, you will refine your craft through collaborative projects and mentorship from leading animators.
The program culminates in the creation of your own graduation film, equipping you for careers in film, gaming, visual effects and interactive media.
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