1. Your practice (What do you do? Why do you do it? How do you do it?);
- I am a 2D generalist who also does 2D background art.
- I do it because I love looking at the world in a different dimension and I love how expressive and fluid you can be within it.
- To create my animations I mainly use After Effects to animate, and use Photoshop and Illustrator to create the assists. For backgrounds I generally use Illustrator and Photoshop, but sometimes use watercolour for the base of the background and then build it up in Photoshop or Illustrator.
2. Your skill set (What skills do you have? Are they practical, technical, academic? Are you a specialist or a multi-disciplinary practitioner?);
My skills within animation are:
- Visual Effects (After Effects) - practical and technical because it depends on what effects you are using.
- Motion Graphics (Illustrator, Photoshop & After Effects) - practical as the assets will need to be made and then technical when it comes to the rigging and animation in After Effects.
- Compositor (After Effects & Premier) - technical due to having to piece the animation together.
- Background Artist (Illustrator, Photoshop & Traditional) - practical due to the only element being drawing.
3. Your plans for the end of the course (Do you want to get a job in a studio? Or work freelance/set up your own studio? Maybe undertake postgraduate study or go into teaching? Perhaps you wish to do something else?);
My plans for the end of the degree is to look for a job or possibly an apprenticeship in motion graphics or as a background artist. Also, I would like to continue working in creative workshops teaching all ages. I currently do this for the University as a Student Ambassador and have just recently secured a permanent part-time job as a Workshop Assistant for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. With this contract I can therefore continue to peruse a career in the animation industry.
4. Your online presence in light of your earlier responses (Do you need to change your approach to social media? Do you need to start using it more/ less/differently? Are you using the right platforms for your practice?).
Recently, I have changed my name from 'DadaAnimations' to 'Cara Doodle'. The reason behind this is due to not wanting to feel I am limited to just animations, as I want to create background art, craft illustrations for stalls, teach workshops, general illustrations and animations. Therefore, with this name people won't be too confused with the different things I do. With the Instagram and Facebook page just setup, I do need more artwork on there and to make sure I stick to posting at least one post per week minimum. Also, I need make sure I interact with people within the art and animation communities on both platforms to keep my online platforms active and known. For my areas of practice, both of these platforms are perfect for as I am apart of many parent, craft and animation groups where I can share work and potential interest.
After University, I am also wanting to set up an Etsy account to sell personalised watercolour illustrations
