Colby Tassinari

BFA in Animation

Expected Graduation- Spring 2023

When I was applying to colleges in my senior year of high school, the same sentiment was repeated to me numerous times- “Whatever you do, don’t get a degree in the arts.”. I had just come out of a difficult two years prior, questioning if I would even finish high school. My escape was coming home and sketching out comics for hours at my desk. If I was going to go to college, I wanted to do something that would help other people. It wasn’t until halfway through my first semester majoring in psychology that I concluded drawing is where my passion lies. Studying the fine arts wasn’t going to cut it though, as I wanted to tell stories through my illustrations.

Taking a leap of faith, I changed my major to animation with almost no prior experience. The first few classes I took, digital media and illustration, felt like jumping off the high dive when you’re used to a five foot drop. As with most new skills, practice and patience make the height less daunting. I found footing in my sophomore year taking classes like 2D Animation with Dana Corrigan, where she taught the principles of animation in a way that didn’t make it feel like rocket science and offered constructive critique which was greatly beneficial. When I took Online Production and Creative Coding with Santiago Echeverry, I felt pushed to bring my work to a higher standard. His high expectations and feedback have motivated me not only to be a better artist, but encouraged me to think outside the box when it comes to problem solving. It was game changing learning that different types of animation could be generated through coding, and resulted with me picking up a minor in Interactive media.

I’m a storyteller at heart, so my abilities in 2D illustration and animation are where I feel the most confident. I am inspired by psychedelic and pop art, which I try to incorporate into most of my work. My passion lies in background and character design, but I also enjoy writing the stories behind them. It takes a lot of time and effort to complete an animation, but it’s rewarding to see my illustrations come to life when the process is complete. However, another rewarding experience has been 3D modeling and animation, although it is still a challenge for me.  While it does require some artistic skill, modeling is a technical process. I never thought I would be able to build nor animate a 3D character, but now that I have, it’s a goal of mine to grow in this area (mainly in topology and texturing). Many artists have been able to make amazing lifelike 3D models, so I hope to one day be at the industry standard level through more practice and learning from others.

After college, I plan to begin a career either as a 2D animator, storyboard artist, or background artist. However, part of me still wants to help other people. It’s a goal of mine to create animated shorts that help people process trauma, whether it be through comedy, horror, or a combination of the two. Further down the line, I would like to get my MFA in animation.