Nicholas Rivera

BFA in Animation/Minor in Interactive Media

Spring 2022 – Junior

Expected Graduation- Spring 2023

Growing up, Animation was a true fascination in my eyes.  By being a huge gamer, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer, my love for animation was becoming greater. I found myself researching this type of work consistently throughout my childhood school years, to not only learn what it’s about but simply find the inspiration to help express my creative ideas to those around the world. By then, I told myself this is where I wanted to be, this is where I belonged.

During my college years attending the University of Tampa, I found myself surrounded by professors with the same creative ideas.  With a BFA in Animation and a minor in Interactive media, my journey toward succeeding in my goals in this field has begun. With the help of my intelligent Professors, there were two that stood out the most in giving me that motivation to do better. Professor and Advisor Marcio Gonçalves, who is specialized in Visual Effects, and 3D animation 1 and 2, became my favorite Professor after seeing how my skills and knowledge can be truly impacted by my future work. Professor Goncalves, not only taught very well, but simply made me understand how to go above and beyond when expressing my creativity, and with a great understanding of what needed to be completed. With his professional desire to show a great amount of support, I found myself very experienced in Adobe After Effects. From day-to-day tasks, class projects, and homework assignments, I knew that visual effects is where I wanted to pursue my career in Animation.  My second Professor, Professor Santiago Echeverry, who is well specialized in Digital Media and Creative Coding, made me learn what reality is all about in this field. From direct critiques to beneficial feedback, he always saw the passion and capability I had in my work. His direct work ethic led me to realize what companies would look at in strengths and weaknesses. His great teaching skills in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Dreamweaver, have made me well experienced in all three, from using all three software’s and implementing them into code, to creating something that I have never done before.

From freshman year to my current junior year, I’ve noticed what are my strengths and weaknesses in this field of work. As for my strengths, I find myself greatly motivated and experienced in Visual Effects and Digital Media. With the creation of my own Gaming YouTube and twitch channel, I developed large amounts of work that were school and not school-related, requiring much knowledge in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe After Effects.  My strength is my true comfort zone in expressing my creative thoughts and creations for my future work. However, with strengths there’s always a weakness, making 3D character modeling my least favorite in this field. Even though I fulfilled my work for my Professors in my Motion Capture and 3D Animation classes, I didn’t have the passion as much as I did for visual effects and digital media. These two classes were beginning to make me question if I wanted to keep pursuing this major.  To overcome my struggles, I started to gain more knowledge to understand what I’m doing wrong, and what I needed to do to find inspiration to complete this type of work. I never quit simply because I know that I contain the ability to develop new skills and creations despite the struggles that I experience throughout my journey.

As expected to graduate in May 2023, I find myself at the beginning point of getting closer to my dream job. I see my future in participating in big projects with big-time animation companies such as Rockstar, to help share and express creative ideas through my work and others as well. With the passion that is shown through my designs, I will continue to do what’s best for my future skills and tools in achieving my goals. My patience and passionate hardworking skills in fulfilling my dreams in Visual Effects and Digital Media are going to become a true highlight out of my four years attending the University of Tampa with a major in Animation and a minor in Interactive media.

Thank you,

Nicholas Rivera