Personal Statement

From ever since I can remember I have always had an intrinsic love for animation and moving image and used to rush home from school to watch the Cartoons from Warner Brothers, Hannah Barbera, Cosgrove Hall (Count Duckula and Danger Mouse in particular) and whatever Children’s Television had to offer. As I grew older and less susceptible to animations charms I began to focus more heavily on traditional artistic practices but always felt an inkling towards character based design. This interest was reinvigorated by the emergence of CG animation pioneered by industry leaders such as Pixar. I vividly recall sitting in the cinema watching the trailers preceding the film “Edward Scissor Hands” and being blown away by a short animation created in this exciting new medium. This was shortly before “Toy Story” was released – the rest is history.



When I started this course I was undecided which professional route I was to take. Having completed a number of briefs which focused on different aspects of digital media, it soon became apparent to me the natural attraction was pulling me in the direction of the diverse world of 3d animation (this pivotal moment was also swayed by the release of Pixar’s Ratatouille). From then on I deliberated over which aspect of the discipline suited me best and after researching the industry, since concluded that Character Rigging and Technical Direction is the direction I wish to take. It seemed that the most popular routes to take in 3d were either animating or modeling and students tended to shy away from the steep learning curve involved with rigging.


Character rigging involves critical analysis and observation in order to equip a 3d character with the right faculties that are essential for the animator to achieve the best possible performance. It is this technical challenge which I relish the moment. It involves gathering real life information and examples of movement from living creatures and transferring this articulation onto a 3d character. An animator can only extract the performance from the character that the rig allows.


Predominantly the industry caters for two key areas – gaming development and film and television, it is the latter I am interested in working in. I have recently been weighing up my options and currently favoring a move down to London to pursue a career. Once I have gained enough experience, and should the opportunity arise I would ultimately like to ply my trade from across the pond.