During my time at Freestyle, there were three projects in particular that I spent the most time and effort on. This page is dedicated to these three projects. I feel really proud of each of them, and I hope that by experiencing these artworks you might feel you’ve learned something about me!
Documentary Project
The documentary project was the biggest project we had at Freestyle. In February 2023, we began researching a specific topic of choice. After conducting thorough research, we found people to interview to gain firsthand insight. Once we had done all of this (early March) we began drafting a ten page research essay and magazine-style article summarizing our findings and the story our interviewees told. Finally, we took all of this and made a 2D animated documentary video, which is what I will be displaying.
For my documentary project, I chose the topic of Mexican immigration to the United States, and so I interviewed my Grandparents, who traveled together from Tampico to San Jose to pursue higher education and start a family in the U.S. For my animation, I chose to focus on my Grandpas story of his families experiences in Mexico and pursuits of education. When he told me about it, it was really emotional for both of us, and trying to capture these emotions with an animation was a really profound time for me.
Narrative Animation
The next really big project for me was the Narrative Animation. This was a group project between myself and three other classmates, and working as a team to bring out the best in each other was a really special experience.
For the project, we were supposed to tell a story without any dialogue. This project was in the 2nd semester of Senior year for Animation, and we had around 2 months to finish. However, this wasn’t the only time that went into it. During basically the entire 1st semester of the year, we had been learning how to model, texture, and color. After a semester of work for Animation, everything we had to show for it was in a singular 3D character model we each had. So when it was time for the Narrative Project, we knew we wanted to build our story around these characters we had spent so much time on. Finding ways to make our characters interactions seem plausible and genuine while building a narrative around the four of them was a really fun challenge. Working together, we were able to make our characters we had spent so much time making come to life, and this was a really special experience.
Zenith Project
My Zenith Project was my High School Magnus Opus. It was where all the skills I had put together during my time at Freestyle Academy came together. I put in so much time to this project, and my dedication to this artwork was more than anything I have put into any other artwork, project, or task I have done before. Being able to fully direct every element of the video production experience was something I had not done before and really allowed my creativity to run wild. I was also able to combine and represent so many artistic inspirations that I have encountered over the years, especially music and films I love and enjoy. Although my final work leaves a lot of room to be improved upon, I don’t think I would have done anything differently, and I am really proud of what I created.
Reel
Finally, I would like to present my Reel, which is a video I made compiling what I consider to be some of my best animations in my time at Freestyle. In editing my reel and producing the sound, I tried to capture my aesthetic I have come to acquire as an artist. It was a very nostalgic experience to go back through my work and see how I began to distinguish myself as my own artist. I think along the way I also began to become my own person.