ABOUT ANTONIA
Since a young age, I often found myself working creatively. Art has always been a huge interest of mine, as evidenced by the countless activities I have taken part in. I’m an easily inspired individual, so with my curiosity, I never hesitated to try new things: an instrument, a genre of dance, or a self-taught drawing technique.
Drawing, specifically, is one of my greatest hobbies I choose to devote my time to. At a young age, I was very drawn to cartoons. I’d practice drawing my favorite characters like Hello Kitty, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Pink Panther, The Powerpuff Girls, and more. As I grew older, my art developed, and I was constantly looking for ways to improve my artwork using tutorials on Pinterest and Youtube. It wasn’t until eighth grade, I began practicing with digital drawing.
While searching for tutorials on these platforms, I came across an entire community of animators. It was completely different from my traditional artwork. I was fascinated with animation and the fact that I could make my artwork come to life with dimension and character. Immediately, I was inspired to begin smaller projects on my own. My early experiences with animation started with flip books and lego stop-motion. I found the process exhilarating, and the final outcome always made me feel accomplished and proud. I hopped into 2D short films soon after, using a series of frames to depict things like a ball bouncing or a man swinging a sword.
Throughout my experience, my artistic curiosity trickled into newly introduced medias. I began getting involved in creative roles at school. I would produce films for school sporting events like soccer and football and posted my work on social media for students and parents to view. I also illustrated for the Kaneland Krier, our school’s newspaper. Outside of that, I took up photography as a hobby and shot senior portraits for my classmates. I experienced all of these activities with such genuine excitement that it furthered my compulsion to create.
As my interest for digital medias grew, I decided to try out a beginner’s course in graphic communications. I learned to use programs like Adobe and Procreate to design different visuals, logos, motion graphics, and products. Out of pure curiosity and excitement, I continued working my way up into our advanced class, grew my knowledge, and gained new skills such as better time management, working with customers, and physical production jobs. I enjoyed working in teams and combining everyone's ideas into one, succinct piece. Even better, I began taking on small art assignments at my workplace to advertise our products.
All throughout my life, my aspiration to create never failed to shine through. Whether I’m assigned a school project, making a gift for someone, or have time for myself, working creatively is one of my strongest characteristics. My continuous strive for improvement keeps me motivated and eager for the projects that lay ahead. I strongly believe I would thrive working in the field of digital media. The career suits my artistic talents and greatest interest. When I pursue this passion, working within the world of animation and interactive media won’t feel like a job; it’ll feel like an exciting, progressive outlet where I can release my zeal for artistic expression and interpretation.