Sydney Fleming, Animation Major, Spring 2022, December 2022, https://fmx298.santiago.bz/fleming

Where I am from, art is not your ticket out. Virgin Islands people are hard-working but also stubborn. Of course, there are artists from the V.I., however, if you aren’t drawing like Van Gogh by ten, forget about it.  I dreaded telling my parents that I had wasted two years hating my major and getting easy A’s.  Three weeks after I switched my major, I gained the courage to call my mother. “I changed my major to Animation.” To fill the silence I added backup plan after backup plan to justify the rash decision, hoping to quell what I assumed was anger. All she said was “Ok, send me a list of supplies.” Before I could say thank you she said “Remember what you look like, ain’t no room for mediocrity”.

I dove in headfirst. Trying to learn skills in three months that my colleagues had over a decade to learn. Online course after online course. I needed to make sure I deserved the support I was getting. It took a year to get to where I can comfortably design dynamic and remarkable characters. I thoroughly enjoy storyboarding and getting all my ideas out on a page. My writing flourished under Professors Stuart Flail and Cynthia Savaglio. Even though it’s structured and rigid at times, screenwriting became a silent passion of mine. My ability to problem solve excelled during my experience in creative coding and User experience. Santi’s no excuse policy created the perfect environment for growth and perseverance.

My visual storytelling has come a long way as well as my ability to tie down my drawing in my 2d animation projects, but they could stand to grow. Even with this shortcoming, I was able to finish my first animated short film on time. Dana Corrigan tells me that this comes with more milage and practice. I need to continue producing animations, each better than the last. It will take time, there are no shortcuts in this industry.

Now with an essential foundation built, I am confident as I start applying for grad schools. Further along, I hope to fill the void that I noticed as I was learning how to create and draw. I hope to create content that wasn’t there when I needed it. I will expand and add more areas of knowledge as I progress. The skills I have learned here have already begun helping me with my Caribbean clothing brand. It is going to be an interesting journey for me in this industry as an Afro Caribbean woman. I’ll do great though, I haven’t been mediocre once.