I am a Dublin-based artist and animator from Slovakia with a special interest in 2D animation and character design. I aspire to build my skills to breathe life into my animations and make them relatable to the viewer. I loved being able to work on my first own film and being part of a team - I would love to continue working on as many animated projects as possible in the future!
Artemisia Gentileschi has been one of the most intriguing artists I've stumbled across. When I decided to make a film in my final year, I was most drawn to being able to tell her story. This is one of the first concept art pieces for the film.
While my classmate Yvonne McElroy was working on what turned out to be an amazing storyboard, I worked on Artemisia's design and model sheets.
I wanted to make sure that her design is easy to animate but also realistic enough to highlight the seriousness of her story.
The final look is based on old renaissance sketches, with colours inspired by old yellow paper and ink. The animation has the same sketchy style to it, making it feel very lively.
When I started working on animation, I would often draw the key drawings on paper, and then add it into my chosen animation program.
When it comes to a sketchy style, nothing beats actual paper and pencil.
With the key drawings done, we moved on to completing the animations and colouring.
And then using special effects to tie everything together - using textures and the boil effect to achieve that sketchy but alive style.
My graduation film is about a female baroque painter, Artemisia Gentileschi. Her story is one of torment and perseverance, something that I empathised with a lot. I was surprised that not many people know of her and her work, so I decided to make a film about her to "spread the word" and make people aware of her amazing story.
Cosy Dens and the People of the Czech Republic
Cosy Dens (1999) is a popular Czech comedy/drama film that has entered the cultural canon of the Czech republic. However, it has been criticised for being historically inaccurate, as it takes place in the 1960s. I am proposing that the film is inaccurate because it reflects the Czech society and its values from when Cosy Dens was filmed. The thesis is an analysis of the film's parts and how they relate to the values of the 1990s Czech republic.