My name is Mariana Costa, I’m a 20 year old
luso-brazilian comic artist and I’m applying to the CA (Character Animation)
program. You can visit my portfolio by following this link:
This is my second time applying to the CA
program at TAW, and my conviction that it’s the right track for me has only
grown since last year. I’ve always been fascinated by animation from a very
young age, and I cherish it deeply as an art form. The ability to breathe life
into a cartoon has always appealed to be as I’m sure it has many others who
pursue this career path. I have no prior education in animation but, luckily, a
while ago Clip Studio Paint expanded its software to allow for animation tools
and I’ve been experimenting with that. I found that I really, really do enjoy
animation and especially storyboarding, and I’d love to branch out from
webcomics and gain skills as an animator, maybe even pursuing it as a
definitive career path.
I don’t have any formal or professional
experience with animation aside from playing around with some very rudimentary
softwares and doing a few fan-animatics for The Adventure Zone podcast back in
October, but I attended TDA in the second half of 2015 and the knowledge I gained
from the guest teachers and lecturers on animation and storytelling was
invaluable to me, and only made me want to know more and pursue animation
further.
Right now, I’m in my last year of University
for translation, and a lot of the work that’s done there involves working in
groups! I’m comfortable either following or taking the lead on any project that’s
given to me, and I’m fairly confident in my ability to delegate tasks and
listen to input from my peers. I work well with others and, although I’m a
naturally introverted person, I like to think I connect with people easily. I
know there’s a lot to be learned from working as a team.
I have basic knowledge of Photoshop, Movie
Maker, and Audacity and advanced knowledge of Paint Tool SAI and Clip Studio
Paint (including the animation tools). As well as, if that’s at all useful,
knowledge on how to use subtitling programs from my background as a translator.
I’m also a fast learner and I take to new software in a fairy short time.
My current job is as the author and artist of
the webcomic Peritale, a job that I am very lucky and grateful to have. Being
paid to do your own original story is like a dream. However, I would also like
to branch out into the animation industry, hopefully as a storyboarder or,
another great ambition of mine, as a character animator for videogames. I don’t
see myself staying in comics forever and, having quite a few friends and peers
who work in animation, I think I would take well to working in a studio. Giving
other people’s visions life is rewarding in its own way and I’d be more than
thrilled to do that as a career.
The animation industry, like any industry
closely tied to technology, can only grow from here. With every passing day,
animation gets closer to being recognized globally as a storytelling medium not
only for children but for all ages, and it gives filmmakers and showrunners the
opportunity to do things live action simply cannot achieve. Especially with
this new generation of teens and young adults, I think the future of the
animation industry is bright, and I’d like to be a part of it.
I’d describe my art as fun and lighthearted,
and my artistic influences reflect that as well. I look up to artists like
kerascoët, Gigi D. G, Maurício de Sousa, Alphonse Mucha, Hayao Miyazaki, Cory
Loftis, all of them having a whimsical quality to their works that can be
appreciated, for the most part, by all audiences.
My favourite works are Howl’s Moving Castle, my
favourite movie from Studio Ghibli’s excellent lineup, Legend of Zelda: A Link
Between Worlds, which is by far the most charming and well executed game from
the franchise to me, and I have a soft spot in my heart for the works of CLAMP,
for their art, storytelling, and their take on magic and culture and
exploration of interpersonal relationships.
It’s hard to pick works I don’t like, because I
don’t usually consume media that I know I won’t have any interest in. I’m not a
fan of shows like Family Guy that rely too much on shock value and crude
humour, as well as static animation. Archer has that same problem for me. And
although it’s beautifully animated and has been very well-received, I didn’t
really enjoy the storytelling and some of the designs featured in Kubo, but I
feel like that’s more a question of personal taste than anything objectively
wrong with the movie.
My first and only other time applying was last
year. I’ve already been to Viborg and visited your campus and facilities in
2015 when I was a student at The Drawing Academy. My professor was Maria
Pedersen and my time in Viborg at TDA provided me with invaluable knowledge of
life drawing that I still use today, as well as additional formative
experiences with guest teachers and lecturers.
Being a luso-brazilian child of University
professor parents, I’ve spent most my life between countries, from Portugal, to
Brazil, to America, and back again. I’m living stably in Portugal now, but my
childhood was spent travelling, and I’m very fluent in both Portuguese and
English. I’ve also gained a sense of independence and am able to live and
travel just fine on my own. The varied experiences I’ve had in each of these
countries shaped me as a person, and gave me a broader view of the world, as
well as language skills that’ll last a lifetime.
I’ve already stayed in Viborg for an entire
semester with TDA, sharing a room at Camp Logos, and my parents were able to
support me just fine, this shouldn’t be any different. I also do freelance
illustration and comics work, so it’s not like I’m completely dependent on my
parents. If possible, I’ve also considered applying for a scholarship.
Attending TAW would be life-changing for me,
and would open many doors to an industry I once though was unattainable. I’ve
been described by friends and peers as determined and hardworking, and I’m
ready and eager to learn and absorb whatever knowledge TAW has to offer.
Thank you so much for reading.
