Letter of Intention

Letter of intention, animation workshop.

My name is Tone Julskjær, I’m 26 years old and my portfolio is available at: 

http://tonejulskjaerportfolio.blogspot.dk/

I am applying for the Bachelor in Character Animation at The Animation Workshop.

I am originally from Denmark. I moved to Scotland at the age of 18 and completed an HND in illustration/visual communication from 2009-2011 at Edinburgh's Telford college. In 2014 I graduated from a 3/year BA(hons) course in animation at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.

I am applying to the character animation course at The Animation Workshop because I believe it would be an important step for my career within the field. While I have already received an education within the field of animation, I feel that the core of the profession was neglected in favour of specialisation. I still don’t feel proficient in character animation, and I hope to improve my skills to a professional standard as well as getting a chance to try out new areas of animation productions. Creating lively characters is one of my greatest interests, so refining my character creating skills in this area is something I am sure The Animation Workshop can help me with. I hope the program can help me discover new creative and technical skills, as well as improve my chances for a professional career in the creative industry.

I have a range of practical experience within the animation field, as I have worked on different creative projects.

During my educational course I have also worked as a commissioned artist on the first issue of the Scottish graphic novel “Saltire” by Crystal Comics, published in 2013.

After finishing my degree, I moved to Glasgow to work at Tsumanga Studios Glasgow as a modeller and texture artist for Android and IOS games. At the same time I worked as a freelance texture/modelling artist along with PhD archaeologist Alice Watterson on an interactive environment reconstruction project for learning purposes as well as various illustration jobs including the book cover for the novel“Miasma” by Pete Alex Harris.

At my course in Dundee I was in the role as co-director and art-director on one of the two short films I worked on for my final degree. My art directing role consisted of managing and designing the look of the film we were producing. I was the lead concept artist and I experimented with the concept art, storyboards and the 3D software, models and textures to create the final look for the film. I guided my team to produce textures and 3D assets for the film and making sure that everything was consistent and suited the style of storyboards and concept art.

My primary software are Autodesk Maya (modelling and texturing, since Maya is a broad program with many different functions), Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign. Additionally I have used sculpting programs like Mudbox and Z-brush and I am still improving my skills in these software. Finally, I am familiar with After-effects, mainly for compositing.

For my future work I want to create original visual storytelling and explore how to use the 2D and 3D software to create interesting and experimental imagery and animation. I want to be able to work in different kinds of projects like films, comics, games and concept art and adding a bit of my own personal creativity into my work.

The creative industry including animation is a very broad platform used in many other project besides creating films, games and other entertainment. Animation and digital visualization is used in science as well as learning, for visualizing medical learning methods, or used to reconstruct archaeological sights to provide audiences with new insights into subject-matters. Therefore I see lots of opportunities for animation and digital art as a medium to combine with other areas within academia and learning. Its a very resourceful medium with lots of opportunities of experimentation and creating new visual forms.

I am influenced by a number of different creative mediums. Literature, fine art, traditional paintings, films and comics. I pay attention to all sorts of narrative visuals and written works. I also practise classical painting techniques and place a big emphasis on fundamental skills, even as I work primarily as a digital artist.

I also find street art culture and visuals to be hugely inspiring, alongside comics and graphic novels that have an edge in the visual style and narrative.

One of my favourite artists is Dave McKean. I love his very significant style using collage paint and digital media. His strange and surreal characters all suits each other so well, that they transform into a “thing” of its own. He collaborated with author Neil Gayman on the film Mirror Mask which features real life acting and animation, all done in Dave McKeans significant style, which I find catching and impressive.

Another favourite artist of mine who also have influenced me is Jason Shawn Alexander. His comic series 'Empty Zone' is one of my favourites. His use of ink and colors fit well with the narrative of a dystopian future. His way of creating graphic novels where each panel is a nice piece of artwork that could stand alone.

Additionally, one of my favourite graphic novels is “Blacksad” by Juan Diaz and Juanjo Guarnido. I love the universe and the characters who are human-like animals (a bit like the new animation film Zootopia) The artwork is beautiful, traditional ink and watercolor, which I think suits the 1950 film noir style very well. Pages are well composed and storylines really interesting.

I lived, studied and worked in Scotland for 7 years, So I do still consider it as my second home. I grew up and became independent there, so these years are a big part of my life as an individual and artist. I learned a lot and acquired a strong creative base. However the education I received in animation pushed me towards a specialisation in texture that was not necessary my goal. I wish for a return to the roots of my passion in animation – the character work, bringing characters to life and allowing an audience to live through them. I believe that studying at The Animation Workshop will elevate my skills within the field and bring me closer to this original goal of mine. My background within the artistic field proves my dedication to the craft, and I am determined to return to the fundamentals of the animation field. I believe that these factors would make me a strong and focused student at your school.

I am still entitled to SU that will cover the entire duration of the course as well as savings from previous works I have done.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tone Julskjær