Still in his mid-20s, local special effects artist Darby Faccinto has an IMDB page with multiple smash hits from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Beyond being an immense talent, Darby is one of the kindest guys around and it’s been a goal of mine to feature him in Cookeville Lifestyle Magazine since I came onboard in 2022.

“I think I always knew I’d end up doing something like this. I remember doing part-time jobs in high school and thinking about how much I did not enjoy the rinse and repeat. It felt like I went to work, did the same task, and left—with nothing changing. It made me realize how bored I get if I’m not making something. I always knew that I’d rather take a risk to do something I loved, than play it safe and end up at something I do not enjoy,” Faccinto stated.

“Nothing that has happened to me has made sense. It was a lot of perfect timing—meeting the right people through email years prior and not even pursuing this as a career—that has placed me where I am. It’s completely where God has placed me (for now) and it’s hard to talk about any of this without mentioning His goodness towards me. I remember making a prayer early in high school where I was earnestly asking for Him to help me make movies. I wanted to do it so bad, and I didn’t seem to really care about anything else as a career trajectory.”

In a city not known for filmmaking, the term “special effects artist or SFX artist” reads like hieroglyphics to most. I asked Darby to elaborate on what he actually does and to share some of his favorite projects to date (spoilers—you’re going to be blown away).

“I technically am a designer. So, more of my work involves traditional graphic design/UI design principles than it does actual VFX (visual effects). However, there’s lots of carry over for holograms and compositing tricks. Most of that I picked up on through YouTube during my time in high school/college. I was making short videos to try different effects I found online. I didn’t understand that I was actually building a skill set until much later. I would say that learning REAL techniques (not my made up stuff) came within my first year of working.” 

Faccinto continued, “I’m sure everyone I know is so sick of hearing about this, but I honestly think my time on the *Loki* TVA  graphics (television adaptation) is always going to be my favorite. Season 1 was my first job in the industry, and in Season 2 I was made the main designer with Cantina Creative, so that whole TVA retro world quickly became like a child that I watched grow up. Plus, it was my first gig with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), which was an absolute dream. I never thought it would have happened that fast. Like most nerdy men, I grew up on that stuff, so to be a part of it was surreal.” 

“I’d say another (favorite) would be *Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.* First of all… I mean it’s *Star Wars*… enough said. But the second reason was the people I got to interact with on the Lucasfilm and ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) team. These are the guys I grew up knowing for things like Davy Jones in *Pirates of the Caribbean*, Optimus Prime, and the designs of ships and planets in the *Star Wars* prequels—I mean… literal LEGENDS in our industry.”

With credits that range from *Deadpool & Wolverine* to *Aquaman*, Darby has cemented his place as one of the bright young minds in the film industry. Along the way, he’s used his platform to creatively (and sneakily) celebrate Cookeville using his art. When asked, Darby was hesitant to share all the “Easter eggs” he’s hidden away in major works of TV and film (you’ll have to find those yourself), but quick to celebrate the city that helped form his creative identity.

“Me? Hiding an Easter egg? NEVER,” Faccinto quipped. “Cookeville was where I started working on all these shows (Jan 2021), and I think the pace of life was really great for me. It honestly can get pretty overwhelming, and I think if I had to be in LA for this I would’ve said ‘no.’ There’s something about Cookeville’s quietness and simple rhythm that I love. I really do think that helped me be in a great creative space for these jobs.”

To wrap up our interview, I asked the newly married Faccinto how the addition of a partner has re-shaped his career and creative life.

“I think it’s made me put healthy constraints on myself. It’s very easy to let this stuff consume your entire world, and I’d find myself having a hard time stepping away. Not because I was barely able to get stuff out by deadlines, but because I would keep having ideas I would want to try. It didn’t need to be this way though, because I would zone out from like 8 pm–1 am and only eat a piece of bread or something and pace around the house like a mad scientist until I hit gold.”

He concluded, “Now I want to spend time with my wife who I love, not practice habits of insanity, and I structure my time in a way that allows me to experience all of what I just mentioned, without it being my entire life. While, most importantly, making sure I make my wife the highest priority in my daily rhythm.”

I so enjoyed getting to learn more about Darby while writing this feature. He is a genuine, warm, insanely skilled artist, and his work deserves more recognition than we could ever provide. Consider this our small attempt at celebrating the genius that is Darby Faccinto.

– written by Andrew Buckner, photos by Abby Weeden