I started my animation course at Cardiff Met in September 2019. I hadn’t done much art previously – the only skills I had were photography, media production and my enthusiasm for animation.
In the beginning it was mainly stop-motion animation that I was interested in, but the course helped me to broaden my horizons. Now I have a passion for 2D animation and environment design in animation, as well as set design – though I do still love stop-motion animation.
The course gave me the opportunity to collaborate with Fine Art students in my first year in what’s known as a Field module. We worked together to create a zoetrope in the style of a carousel. The Fine Artists created the sculpture, while I perfected the illustrations and edited the footage, turning it into an animation.
This was something I really enjoyed and would not have had the opportunity to do this if I did not attend Cardiff Metropolitan University, which encourages different courses to work closely together. In later years, I collaborated with my animation course mates to create a trailer for an animated television show concept that I had come up with. This was a wonderful experience because I got to work in a team that emulated a professional environment and also explore what it means to be a director.
At the end of the first year the pandemic hit. Although we were not able to go onto campus, I still found a way to stay creative. I invested in a small second-hand drawing tablet and practiced my animation, as well as creating miniature sets. If the pandemic hadn’t happened, I would not have become interested in 2D animation. The lockdown in 2020 pushed me into finding time to learn more about it, and it eventually convinced me to create my final graduate film using mostly 2D animation, with some elements of 3D set design for the environments.
My final year on the course was also a great experience. Although it was hard work, the results were very rewarding and the tutors were so helpful and encouraging.
I created a music video about a whimsical character who has to find magical water in order to regrow the earth because the humans had destroyed it. It was her job to go on this journey and encounter these beautiful hybrid creatures so that the earth could be restored.
My film won two awards. One was the Cardiff School of Art and Design EDGE (Entrepreneurial, Digital, Global and Ethical) award. My film represented climate change and its impacts, and so the award was given for the ‘Global’ part. I also won the BA (Hons) Animation award for creativity, professionalism, and exemplary student leadership.
It is amazing how I progressed through my time at university. Not only have I become more confident in my artistic abilities, but I have also become more confident in myself. Being able to be an outgoing individual and confidently put my ideas forward was a great skill to develop, and my tutors helped me realise my potential throughout the course.
When talking about my experience at Cardiff Met, I have to talk about the friendships that I have made. The way we helped each other gain more confidence within our creative pathways and provided constructive criticism and motivation if we felt drained is something I am, and always will be, grateful for. I cannot wait to see where their creativity takes them next.
I will definitely miss being at university, but I know that my lecturers are still here to guide me even after I have graduated, and therefore it will not be so scary to be released into the real world! I am truly grateful for the experiences, the problems and solutions I have encountered and of course the friendships and connections I have made throughout my time at university – and I am glad I made the decision to study here at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
See more of Georgia’s work at @georgia_animation on Instagram, or check out some highlights from her course in the showreel below:
