My sketch blog: sketchblakey.blogspot.com
My comics site: members.shaw.ca/blakey

Artist's Statement

You could say I never grew up- cartoons have always been a big part of my life, since I was a little girl devouring Disney movies and TV shows. I would try to animate on my own on computer paper until my parents signed me up for kids animation classes at Arts Umbrella. This is where cartoons became a permanent fixture in my mind. Those classes are where I first got a taste of Flash, and I have since kept exploring it, along with other techniques, at the Animation program at Emily Carr University of Art and Design where I am currently digitally animating my character-driven senior animation film.

My personal style is simple, yet expressive. I love to observe and draw people; speech and interactions particularly interest me. When I animate assignments at school. I make it a point to try and make the assignment into a self-contained story, no matter how small. For example, a walk cycle assignment could become a tense moment in a suspense film. The work I create is quirky and full of character; each creation with its own history and purpose.

When I want or need to animate, I start with the purpose. If it is an animation assignment, I take the requirements and try to find interesting ways to interpret it while still following the guidelines, often going for ideas that no one would expect. I usually begin with character design, then once the idea is set, I head straight into Flash and start drawing, setting out the proper poses for what actions I'm trying to describe, then watch it a thousand times until it is appropriate enough for me to continue. For me, Flash is the perfect program for this, as I can get instant feedback on animation timing and sound synchronization, and it allows me to make changes quickly to help better create my interesting characters.