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From a young age I have always loved art and being creative, but it wasn't until I was about to go to school for a STEM degree that I realized I wanted to go into a creative field instead. I saw how passionate the other students were about going into Forensics, and I realized that the thing that made me that passionate was design and animation.
I have loved drawing and watching animated movies since I was little. Hayao Miyazaki was one of my favorite film directors who greatly influenced my passion for art. When I was around 13 years old, I stuck an A4 paper on the wall next to my bed with the words "I want to become the second Hayao Miyazaki" written on it. That was the first moment I realized I wanted to work in creative industries.
From a childhood carefully crafting virtual flipbooks on my Nintendo DS to my very first part-time job at my hometown movie theatre, I have never found myself straying too far from the art of motion pictures. I spent a majority of my free time throughout the years putting paint and pencil to just about any material I could get my hands on. When I reached high school, I allowed myself to fully embrace my dream of pursuing a career in the arts.
As I grew older, I found myself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with simply drawing locations, and began to create characters and build stories around them. This led me to consider becoming a costume designer, but as time passed, I realized that I was more interested in exploring the stories behind the costumes and delving deeper into the characters themselves. It was then that I realized my true passion was in animation.
The first time I ever watched Wall-e I knew that animation was what I wanted to do. Telling stories that affects peoples emotions with a medium that has endless creative liberties was what appealed to me in animation. After starting my education in Ringling College of Art and Design I was even more certain that this is the path I want to take for the rest of my life.
I found my love for film in middle school, where I took video production / photo courses. Always grew up in visual + performing arts, and after I was accepted into Ringling College, I blended right in. At my current school, I pursue Branded Entertainment film with the hopes of going Narrative much later down the line and I also pursue animation techniques. Stop motion and 2D are my personal favorite forms of art at the moment. I don't have experience in 3D art yet. I admire Tim Burton's work.
All the way back in elementary school, I began to teach myself stop-motion animation by framing through my favorite animated films. I started experimenting with Legos, clay, and then eventually building my own characters. I have not stopped learning since. Now, I am further developing my skills in 3D character animation. Through my hard work, discipline, and determination, I strive to continue learning and bettering myself in this awesome craft of animation!
In the winter of 2014, I finally understood exactly who I was supposed to be as an artist. The night I watched “Big Hero 6” was the night I knew I was going to be an animator. I remember being completely awestruck and being a trance until the credits came on, I noticed I was sitting 4 feet from the screen on a footrest ... for nearly two hours! I knew I wanted to use my art to be a part of these beautiful movies that made people feel this way. I knew that I HAD to be an animator.
When I was younger, I've always wanted to tell stories in a more interactive and engaging way, and I knew that path would lead me straight to the game design industry. I've now fallen in love with the entire process of concepting, creating, then finalizing my environments, props, and other assets to get it where I want it to be.