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SHOWREEL
GET TO KNOW ANNA
Can you describe the extent of any relevant work experience you might have?
I have previously worked at 'Canal Once' in Mexico as an illustrator for their social media platform, working alongside a team to design and create under a Senior Lead.
I also did some 2D animation and attended some filming and photography shoot days as part of my experience for 'Radio IPN' in Mexico.
Aside from this, I haven't had much experience in the industry aside from attending lectures and talks surrounding my subject of interest.
How would you describe your contribution to your group project?
The inspiration for 'Little Pirates' really came from how we imagined a kid's imagination to be. I was fortunate enough to write and direct this film and I really wanted the world to seem as though it had come from scribbles, doodles and their toys in real life. A theatrical set made sense to me and so we made it look like it was made by the kids. I created the previs for the team to use and reference throughout and also designed the set for the sky and ocean scenes, creating tests of how the waves might move and ensuring each scene flowed nicely from one another.
As the director for 'Ongo', I was looking for a magical vibe to the world, while keeping some goofiness and fun within my designs for the mushrooms. I took a lot of inspiration from the animated movie of the Gruffalo, especially for the lighting and texturing - I loved that there was always a soft glow throughout. I was also reminded of the old Winnie the Pooh movies and how everything looked so rustic and simple in the woods - I wanted to bring some of the nostalgia I felt watching those movies into this one! I once again took on the role of doing the previs as well as using ZBrush to model some of the characters in the film.
I worked as an animator in 'Set in Stone' and one of the main things I had to focus on was combing the grace of a ballerina with the weight of a statue. There were a lot of posing rules and references I had to follow in order to portray this successfully, such as not overlooking the hand positions and how the weight shifts in the body as it travels in a dance. So much more of the movement is in the hips and the arms than I thought!
What do you specialise in and what made you choose that specialism?
I specialise in character and creature animation because I love the satisfaction of bringing an inanimate rig to life and giving it its own personality. You can create such huge and meaningful stories from a few poses, facial expressions and some lighting (among the other disciplines) and there's something so magical about that!
What would your ideal first role in the industry be?
A humble animator working at Dreamworks working on the next Shrek or How to Train Your Dragon.
Which of your student projects are you most proud of, and why?
Definitely Little Pirates and Ongo.
Little Pirates was my first group project and I was nervous about doing a good job in a leadership position. There were definitely mistakes I made and things I could've done better, but the moment my team and I sat and saw our creation for the first time created an immense sense of pride I had never felt before. Seeing the shots go from a shabby previs to a fully lit and rendered scene made us realise we - like the kids in the movie - could make our own imagination come to life.
The same goes for Ongo. The project challenged me to take initiative and learn techniques and software I had never previously used before. An example would be using Unreal to render - there was a lot of trial and error involved and a LOT of problem solving, but now I'm able to confidently light a scene! I also took a shot at modelling characters in ZBrush - I had so much fun adding the details I had imagined when I drew the characters for the first time and seeing them come to life with the animation was the cherry on top.
These projects came with their fair share of challenges, but overcoming them alongside my team and building on my experience led to something so rewarding. I can't choose between these projects as they were truly a fruit of labour.
What’s a piece of media (film, game, animation) that changed the way you think about your discipline?
I think it would be shorter to list all the films and games which haven't inspired me, but at the top of my list would definitely have to be WALL-E. I always wondered what kind of fairy dust they used to be able to evoke such emotions through two little robots. Very little dialogue, yet a million words were said through animation and how you can express feelings through body language. It makes me pay attention to the minuscule details people usually wouldn't notice and apply them in my own work - such as how someone might bounce on their feet while standing, or fiddle with their fingers while bored. You're able to give life to practically any object with the right tools!
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