When Kylar told us of his interest in animation, we began the hunt high and low for the perfect role model. When we met Jonathan, professor of animation and visual effects at Point Park University, we knew we had hit the nail on the head! Kylar and Jonathon met at Point Park University, where we got to spend the day in the animation lab.
Jonathan gave us three options of animation projects we could choose from- a line drawn animation, a 2D project, and a 3D project. Kylar chose the 3D project, so we got to use a program called Cinema 4d. Jonathan walked us through every step of the process and we were able to create our very own animation! After our projects were completed, we spent some time talking with Jonathan about his experiences, different career paths in the animation field, and what it takes to succeed as an animator. Jonathan told us about how he got his start in NYC making commercials after finishing school at Edinboro. He offered Kylar a lot of advice and things to think about for the future. He had prepared an “animator’s starter kit” for Kylar complete with a sketchbook, pencils, a zoetrope, and an instructional book that he said all animators start with, along with some cool t-shirts and stickers of work that Jonathan has done! Check out the animation Kylar made!