Friends Honor ‘Ash Raider’ Creator Luis De La Rosa As His Final Tutorial Is Released Posthumously

The Ash Raider World Instagram account has released the final instructional video recorded by the project’s late creator, Luis de la Rosa, who tragically died at this year’s Annecy festival back in late June.

 

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The reel starts with a brief text explanation for its publishing:

This reel was planned and film in the weeks before Annecy.

The reason for this release is to highlight the kind of teaching Luis wanted to put out into the world, as well as to honor his legacy and passion for sharing.

Thank you everyone for following and supporting Luis’s work.

🌹

It’s an exceptionally short clip for how much information De la Rosa gets across, using his own boards and drawings from Ash Raider to explain, in broad strokes, almost the full production process in just a couple of minutes. Amiably, he makes the whole thing sound as easy as his final results often made it look.

A description on the post further explains:

Luis was always looking for ways to uplift, inspire and share his knowledge for the community, so it didn’t feel right to have this last reel collecting dust in the hard drive.

A second tribute was posted Monday to the official Ash Raider YouTube channel. Titled “In Memory of Luis De La Rosa: A Tribute by His Friends,” the video features contributions from more than 60 artists, each of whom was invited to draw De la Rosa in their own style and depict how they remembered him from the time they shared. It blends Luis’s most popular studio work, his own original creations, and the real-life memories those who loved him hold on to.

The video’s description reads:

Over a month ago, the world lost an incredibly talented artist, and we lost one of our dearest friends.

Luis was kind, uplifting, and always knew how to cheer other artists up. He was deeply committed to building a healthy community of artists who cared for and supported one another, and he was always an advocate for the well-being of his coworkers on every project he joined.

He was a beautiful soul who left us far too soon. I can’t put into words how much I miss him.

For this tribute, each artist was invited to draw Luis in their own style, representing how they remember him in the different moments of his life they shared with him.

This is a very personal and heartfelt tribute, created with a lot of love by the people who knew him. As his friends, one of our responsibilities is to keep his legacy alive and make sure his art, kindness, and the community he cared so much about are not forgotten.

The tribute is set to “Set It Off, Ash!,” music composed by Germán Ballesteros and Alejandro Karo.

The Mexican animator and illustrator died at age 34 after being struck by a train while attending Annecy. He had traveled to Annecy to present Ash Raider World, an original action-adventure project he had spent years developing. According to an August 14 update posted to a GoFundMe organized for his family, his remains have finally been returned home, and his funeral will take place August 17 in Hermosillo, Sonora.

De la Rosa’s impressive credits included Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Animaniacs, Carmen Sandiego, and My Dad the Bounty Hunter. Alongside his professional and independent work, he regularly used social media to share behind-the-scenes material and practical advice with other artists.