Welcome to my Showcase Page. I’m Letitia Popescu, a senior studying Animation at Freestyle Academy. I’ve also taken the English and Digital Media courses at Freestyle Academy to learn how to better express my voice as an artist. I’ve learned to communicate through different mediums, such as video, audio, and written pieces. I plan to continue passion for Animation at San Jose Sate University’s Animation & Illustration BFA Program.
Thank you for taking the time to look through two of my works. I look forward to receiving your feedback and hope to learn how to be a better visual storyteller.
Hollow Moon Animatic – Senior Zenith Project
A Zenith is the highest point, a climax. For our final projects as seniors in our elective class, we ha a Zenith Project to reflect what we’ve learned at Freestyle Academy.
My project is an animatic of the beginning of a story I’ve been developing. I took the character, Hollyleaf, and made an alternate universe with different plot threads. The beginning focuses on themes of omens, alienation, and responsibility. “Hollow Moon” by The Crane Wives inspired my project.
I worked independently on my project because I had a specific vision for how the pacing and staging of the animatic would be. I was responsible for making my own concept art, storyboard, editing, and completing the animatic.
Production
I incorporated my After Effects knowledge to put together the scenes I animated in Clip Studio Paint. I also learned more about the animation production pipeline from our short film earlier in the year. I applied that knowledge for focusing on the early stages of a production.
Finished Videos
Ring, Ring
In my Junior year of animation, we focused on creating 2D animations through traditional mediums. One of the mediums was flipbook. I used all the pages in the provided flipbook and chose to depict a raccoon destroying a phone. At the time, my phone screen had recently cracked. That inspired me to show my inner frustrations through a mischievous raccoon.
When my phone cracked, the exterior was replaceable, but the SIM card had the valuable information. I realized the inside is what truly matters. Raccoons are opportunists who don’t shy away from mischief. We should challenge the status quo like curious raccoons, but always remember that our morals matter most in the end. Expectations can be malleable, but our humanity defines good trouble.
The flipbook animation was later redone in a week to be a digital version. I worked from the ground up to create the animation. My main focus for the animation was the character acting. There’s no dialogue (unless raccoon chitters count), so clarity in the story was very important to me.
Reflection
Freestyle Academy’s Animation program encouraged me to explore different animation mediums. I chose to highlight my digital pieces here, but my new knowledge in traditional and 3D animation has influenced my work. I now know better to think of the sets in a three dimensional space. I better appreciate the process of animation.
I deeply enjoyed my time at Freestyle Academy. I’ve found a community of artists to work alongside and share our mutual passion of animation. Our teachers understand what’s happening in other classes, so projects naturally led into one another and encouraged us to use multidisciplinary skills.