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Randy Chriz Perera and Portia Ratnayake are the Founders of SL Creatives, a new dot com directory of Sri Lankan creatives, which offers a fresh (and much-needed) way for businesses, organisations and collaborators to find local creative professionals and services. From Animators and Illustrators to VFX artists and UX and UI web designers, the new directory highlights Sri Lanka’s best and budding creatives to the world.

In the creative industry, Randy Chriz and Portia need no introduction. Randy, an award-winning visual director, artist and animator and Portia, communications specialist and production manager co-founded Meraki United, a production house that specializes in art and animation while working together with other creatives on projects for local and international clients. With Randy on art and design and Portia on operations, the duo has a diverse creative portfolio in animation, design and art and has notably produced music videos for Hollywood artists the likes of Eminem and Ann Marie. 

For all their incredible milestones and creating a name for themselves in the international creative market, the two, navigating the waters of the Sri Lankan creative industry since 2004, are not strangers to the struggles that come with the job. While Sri Lanka boasts skilled design and creative talents, the community is largely undervalued and unsupported.  “There’s no real industry in Sri Lanka for the creatives” comments Randy. “We are paid minimum wage at companies; we have no proper job definition for the variety of creative skills we have and there is little to no career growth”. Too many obstacles in the field, he shares, noting that nothing has really changed from when he first entered the industry. 

In contrast, the international creative industry is thriving with a massive demand for skilled creative talent sourced from anywhere in the world. For artists and designers struggling to find work in Sri Lanka, this could be their big break, the chance to engage in international work that can fund, support and grow their careers.  Making this happen is Randy and Portia and the SL Creatives platform, that now allows Sri Lankan artists to reach a wider international audience of clients who can peruse their work and engage their services. 

“When we started Meraki, the idea was to always collaborate with as many creatives as possible and do some really creative work and conquer international markets. Since day one we have been headhunting, approaching people, trying out doing work with them, teaching aspiring animators and artists, training them, interning etc. But we always knew that there are more artists than we can ever hope to tuck under our wings” shares Portia, “There have always been efforts to unite the creatives in Sri Lanka, lots of different concepts that came about but never took off. When the pandemic hit, it was a tough time for artists because the creative budgets were the first to be scrapped. We wanted to do something to help during this tough time and that’s when it dawned on me – the idea of a website to simply link all portfolios of creatives in Sri Lanka. This way we would have one link to share the entirety (hopefully) of Sri Lankan creative talent with the world”. 

SL Creatives offers itself as a one-stop directory for creative talent in Sri Lanka with a gallery of images that link to the portfolios of each individual creative. The website currently hosts multiple creative skill categories that go hand in hand with animation and video production: Animators 2D/3D, Brand and Logo Designers, Creative Writers, Filmmakers, Illustrators, Doodlers, Music and SFX Producers, Painters, Photographers, Sculptors and 3D Modelers, UX/UI/Web Designers, VFX Artists, Video Editors / Compositor, Voiceover Artists, SFX makeup and Prosthetics. SL Creatives is not a commissioning platform nor are Randy and Portia agents of the listed talents. The website operates purely as a directory, where anyone interested can directly get in touch with the talent by following the portfolio link. 

Sponsored by Randy and Portia under their moniker Meraki United and designed by their long-term friend, colleague and UI/UX designer Tyronne Devotta (Tyno), SL Creatives is the answer to a gap in the market that many have been trying to fill – a place for artists to be recognized and approached and a place for clients to search for a talent quickly and conveniently. “We launched this website with 75 artists onboard last month, and now we have over 150 and the hope is to grow it to cover as many creatives as are willing to get on board with this platform. There is no curation, even beginners can join”. 

While SL Creatives is a platform that aims to connect local creatives with clients, largely to an international audience, Randy and Portia also hope that it will improve Sri Lanka’s own response to the creative talent industry. Given the current economic crisis and the dollar crunch, Sri Lanka would do well to follow suit of countries like China, Hong Kong, India and the US and consider supporting the growth of an exportable creative economy in order to produce jobs, growth, fuel tourism and bring currency into the country. “Sri Lanka itself offers very little support. We have been trying to speak to authorities to help move things a little faster, remove the obstacles we have, and to get our governments to pay attention to this industry which they are still ignoring rather foolishly. We believe if they gave the same attention to us that they give to shipping our mothers and sisters abroad for what is considered unskilled labour, this country would be well on its way” comments Portia.  “Regardless of support from the government, we are doing whatever we can to make this a reality. We would like to see local brands and private companies hop on board and support the local talent.” 

On a closer look, perhaps behind Sri Lanka’s lack of support in creating a demand for work by local creatives is the undervaluing of the local talent by its own people – can Sri Lankan artists and creatives actually measure up on an international level? “Yes, absolutely” answers Randy. “We have always had the skill; the exposure was what was lacking. We also need to polish our skills a bit and know how to sell it. That is what SL Creatives hopes to help with.” 

“The ‘lack of support by locals’ is also because there is no industry, there is not enough value created for art. Therefore, local buyers are psychologically not prepared to pay a reasonable price for art. On the other hand, artists give up on trying to push their boundaries, the obstacles are too many that they lose their creative soul and just do the job for the money, the “agency talk” teaches creatives to “just do something – fast!” and I have often heard creatives talk badly about their clients. There is no respect both ways. Where there is no respect, creativity is not 100%. It is a vicious cycle. Portia and I personally fought really hard to break this cycle when we started Meraki and we are really proud that we actually managed that. It is a paradigm shift in thinking, and Portia and I intend to advocate it to whoever is willing to listen.”

Ultimately, SL Creatives is a fantastic platform that’s set to change the game for creatives in Sri Lanka. Not only does the website function as a platform for potential clients to scope out the talent and engage their services, but it also creates a sense of community among the creatives – to skill share, reach out to new artists engaged in similar works or collaborate on projects, all through one platform.  

“The best feeling personally is when we add new talent and you see so much creative expression on one page! That is incredibly satisfying and motivating. We have already done more than 3 projects together as a collective, re-directed several video projects to other artists and we have received messages from fellow creatives saying they were contacted by clients overseas via the website.” 

On a final note, Randy and Portia share that SL Creatives is their gift to the community. “The platform stands alone and will grow and grow along with the creative industry in Sri Lanka”.