Why you chose to study on this programme?
Over the last few years, there have been a few things I've wanted to do as a career; these changed between game designer, animator, comic book artist and illustrator. It depended on my interests and course at the time. In early high school when I first started reading comics, I wished I could make art as gorgeous as the art I saw in Infinite Crisis. The I wanted to be an animator, after getting into anime for a year or two, and then back into western cartoons. I got an Xbox in early sixth form, and I had always loved to look at concept art already, but the games I found on that console made me really wish I could make them. Towards the end of sixth form and into my foundation I realised how much more versatile my work could be if I was to do illustration - that could cover so much of the stuff I wanted to do in one neat course. I applied for all illustration courses in the end, with the aim to go to Leeds since the course sounded like it involved a lot of what I wanted, and had the opportunity to collaborate closely with the Animation course. On my interview I was told I was better suited for Animation, and after some consideration I thought that sounds about right - I want to be able to make characters that last for more than one or two images, with the chance to bring them to life and put them in a world of their own, and I think that Animation would probably be the best medium to do that it.
What do you want to learn during your time on the programme?
First and foremost - to animate. But beyond that, I want to be able to make great character designs, and also get better with anatomy and consistency. I think learning to manage my time and to motivate myself would be great to learn as well.
What skills do you think are your strengths?
I'm very versatile when it comes to my work; I'm always happy to try new things and experiment, and I can switch between styles to suit the task at hand. I'm also very organised, and I'm good at prioritising things I need to do.
What things that you want to improve?
Mostly what I said two questions up - anatomy, consistency, time management and designs for characters.
What ways you will evaluate your progress?
I will mostly use peer/teacher input and put my work online to get input from other people as well. I will also use grading and formal assessments to see how well I am doing.
