I am a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) with a bachelor's in animation. My intended field of work is storyboarding and rough animation. My expertise lies in software like Toon Boom Harmony and Storyboard Pro, but I also have experience using Adobe products (i.e. Photoshop and After Effects).Something you'll come to learn about me is that much of my passion for art comes from the shows and films I watch, which is part of the reason why I wished to become an animator. Being able to create works of art like the ones I was raised on is my biggest dream and one that I plan on achieving.

Storyboard - 10 Minute Power Hour

Arin finally gets to play with a toy he wanted "the absolute most".

Storyboard - Game Grumps Animated

A truly underrated Game Grumps moments in which a tired Arin loses it to a simple observation made by Dan.

Storyboard - Expedition Log: Western Air Temple

A flying mouse lemur, bullied by others of his kind, happens upon a strange new visitor.

Storyboard - Fight Scene

Watch as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen confronts Kingpin in a warehouse.Characters used belong to Marvel Entertainment.

Storyboard - Childhood Story

A retelling of a moment of my life that I still remember to this day. It involves a father, a son, chores, and brownies.

Storyboard - Radio Drama

Audio is from VocalLAB Productions' "Doctor Who: The Lost Stories" Radio Drama".Character models are from Smiling Friends.

Storyboard - 10 Cuts 10 Seconds

A ninja jumping from one block to another. This project was an exercise in connecting a sequence of 10 shots in 10 seconds.

CHARACTER DESIGN ASSIGNMENTS

A collection of finalized character sheets from my Character Design class at the Cleveland Institute of Art.For my roughs/sketches, click below.

COMIC VARIANT COVERS

A collection of fan-made variant covers for comics.For virgin variants, click below.

INVINCIBLE

A collection of illustrations depicting characters from the Invincible Universe.For bloodied versions, click below.

BEN 10
"ALIEN-SONAS"

A collection of illustrations depicting friends and family members as alien species from the Ben 10 series.

POKÉMON "TRAINER-SONA"

A collection of illustrations depicting me as a Pokémon trainer and my team.

TRANSFORMER DESIGNS

A collection of illustrations depicting several original Transformer designs.

THE MARVELOUS ESCAPADES OF ACE

A collection of concept images for a superhero comic/show I am developing.For the full collection, click below.

COMIC COVER

Hypothetical variant cover for the first issue of The Marvelous Escapades of ACE.

PROJECT INFO

My thesis film is the story of a young mother running from home for an unspecified reason. On her travels, she meets a shadowy creature that seemingly guides her to her desired goal, but the cost of her freedom may be too great a sin.

ECO (ee - koh) is a four-and-a-half minute long short film about resentment, trauma, and not letting your past define who you are/how you act. Likewise, the film’s target audience are those dealing with self-hatred, resentment, and/or struggling with intrusive thoughts. My role in this project was lead director, in charge of 2D animation and character design. I was also the creator of the original screenplay that the film was based on, simply called The Shadow. One goal we had for our process was to maintain an organized work schedule. Another goal that has stuck with us throughout the entire process is developing a world for the short film that is inherently empty/lonely and devoid of outside influence.

CONCEPT EXPLORATION

Our main inspirations, from a design perspective, were the games developed by Team Ico of Sony Interactive Entertainment, namely Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The way Fumito Ueda was able to portray such an oppressive sense of loneliness, was the perfect blueprint to design the world of ECO. These games were also the inspiration for the fictional language the characters speak, Sotcish, using a mix of reversed Latin and Japanese romaji.

As for the narrative, what inspired us the most was Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and its use of Jungian archetypes. Concepts like that of the shadow, a version of you in which all the parts you wish to hide from the world exist, intrigued me greatly when I first played the game as a kid and has seemingly stuck with me to this day.

As I have stated previously, the original concept for the short film came from a screenplay I wrote called The Shadow. Several aspects of the story remain quite similar to that script, with the idea of a young mother running from home and meeting a shadowy figure remaining through every iteration. The sequence of events and role each character plays, however, has changed and/or shifted after every rewrite.

CHARACTER MODEL SHEETS

MINA
The main character of ECO. The goal behind her design was to convey having gone through an abusive situation without feeling tasteless or exaggerative. We also wanted to make sure that there was a physical similarity between her and the Shadow. Hence, we designed her with somewhat raven-like qualities. In the canon of the world, “Mina” is the Sotcish word for “mother”.

ECO
Mina’s son and the namesake for the title of the film. With the idea of using animals as a basis for designing these characters fresh in our minds, we based Eco off of a salamander due to their cuteness. In the canon of the world, “Eco” is the Sotcish word for “I/me”; driving home the idea that the child represents Mina’s ego or her best qualities.

SHADOW
The main adversary of ECO and Mina’s darkest thoughts and deepest desires made manifest. To further connect the design of Mina with the Shadow, we included the cross scar and bruised eye; symbols of Mina’s abuse. It was an intentional choice to mirror these aspects between the two to more clearly represent how the Shadow is a reflection of Mina.

PROCESS

I started with Storyboard Pro 22 to convey shot layout and timing. Once finished, Jason would then design the background in Autodesk Maya while I animated in Toon Boom Harmony 22 Advanced. Once the animation was cleaned and colored, Jason would take the animation and background and compile them together in Adobe After Effects.

EPILOGUE

With my thesis finally completed, I look back with a sense of pride with how far I have come, yet also a desire to do it again but better. Much of the stress I experienced over the course of developing ECO was self-inflicted. From procrastination to overcomplicating problems, many of my grievances could have been resolved if I worked sooner rather than later. I wish I didn’t grow so attached to certain story beats that it ended up impeding our progress. I wish I came better prepared for defending my work. There are a million and one things I would’ve done differently if given the chance. But as I said, I am still proud of the finished product, as it taught me which parts of the animation process I am best at. And on top of everything, I can confidently say that ECO truly does feel like a collaboration of both what I have learned over the four years I’ve attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and my personal philosophy on design and storytelling.

If you wish to contact me, feel free to message me with the information provided below via my email, phone, or discord. If you wish to contact me another way or see more of my work, click the social media links at the bottom!DISCLAIMER: I am currently not doing commissions. Please contact me if you have a job offer for storyboarding or character design.