Daisy’s Experience at Studying Animation at Emily Carr University
Hi there! My name is Daisy Rutter and I’m currently a 3rd year 2D & Experimental Animation student at Emily Carr University, located in Vancouver, BC. I studied with Garth through one-on-one tutoring sessions, which greatly assisted with strengthening my portfolio and advancing my skills in various areas in animation, such as character & layout design, figure drawing, storyboarding and visual development. By taking the time to expand upon my understanding of animation fundamentals, I was prepared to take this next step in my artistic career and finally study what I’m really passionate about.
My parents have always said to me that I was born with a crayon in my hand, and I often spent more time doodling over my homework rather than focusing on it.
An early artwork of Daisy’s!
I would always get lost in my own world, vividly imagining the adventures that my characters would go on, and all of the places I wanted to explore. Animated films and tv shows captivated me. I find the idea that you can create anything you want in film completely fascinating. Where real world film is limited, animation can go beyond. However it wasn’t until I discovered process videos online from artists who were working in the industry, that this is a real job that you can do. Creators like Rebecca Sugar and her work on Steven Universe, who shared storyboard, background design, and character design, provided me with more insight on what production in film is like and inspired me to find a way to work in the animation industry.
Daisy’s Sketches during high-school
Some more high-school character designs of Daisy’s
However it wasn’t until middle school that I started to take art seriously. When I got my first digital tablet, I immersed myself in the online world where I created characters with friends, and wrote our own original stories. It was through these early experiences that really solidified what I’m most passionate about, and what draws me towards animation. Towards the end of high school, I was indecisive about what I wanted to do in post secondary. I knew I wanted to study something related to art, but I didn’t feel satisfied by painting or drawing independently. I attended a portfolio review in my senior year for the BFA program at the UofA, and that was enough to inform me that I wasn’t interested in that field of fine arts. It was through a friend of mine that I learned about the Sheridan Animation program, and after looking through portfolios posted online and student films from the program, I knew I wanted to study Animation more than anything. I ultimately decided to take a year off from school post-graduation to work and take extra time to prepare a portfolio for the following year.
Going through this gap year came with its difficulties. I was essentially navigating the process entirely on my own. While I did create lots of artwork through high school, I hadn’t received a strong education around fundamentals and principles, which was required to enter a prestigious program like Sheridan. This was reflected in my skills, and unsurprisingly I was rejected that year. But despite this, I was undiscouraged and decided to enter their Art Fundamentals program and go through the portfolio process once again. This turned out to be a great decision, because the program challenged me to work through art fundamentals, and improve the areas where I was lacking the most, such as figure drawing and perspective. With some hard work and dedication, I ended up being waitlisted for the Animation program that year. Unfortunately, I was not able to acquire a spot, but it let me get close enough to success to taste it. With the credits I held from Art Fundies, I decided to continue to their Visual Arts Diploma program and to reapply for their Animation program once more. I actually ended up applying the year after I finished my two year VCA diploma, since I decided I needed to focus more on my classes before applying once more. I’m glad I did this, because my mental health was strained under the pressure of preparing a new portfolio and studying full time. In addition, it allowed me to enjoy the process of my projects and experiment with more mediums. I was able to reignite my passion in my second year of VCA at Sheridan after falling into some burn out. In Fall of 2022, I was prepared to return to working on my Animation portfolio. At this time I began taking tutoring lessons under Garth, which was an amazing opportunity, because our tutoring sessions provided me with the accountability I needed to get my work done, but also helped me to review my progress critically and improve my work as much as possible. Garth has done so much to encourage and support my journey through Animation, and this was exactly what I needed to gain the confidence to press forward. I learned so much about the principles of animation, layout and character design, which has truly enhanced my work more than ever before. At the end I was proud to submit my completed portfolio, and I eagerly awaited the results.
Some of Daisy’s portfolio artwork:
But despite this, I was rejected once again from Sheridan. I was shocked and confused by the results, especially since I had gotten a higher grade on my prior portfolio, and was waitlisted as well. My work certainly wasn’t perfect, but I could see the differences and the improvements since my previous portfolio. I won’t lie, I was absolutely crushed. However, at the same time, I had also applied as a transfer student to Emily Carr University’s 2D Animation bachelor's program, as well as Capilano University’s 2D Animation diploma program. Not a week later, I was accepted at ECU and Capilano soon followed after. Though I was hesitant to rearrange my expectations, I was done fighting to try to get into Sheridan, and I was ready to follow my dream of studying Animation. I decided to accept my offer at ECU, and now as a third year student I can say that I couldn’t have been happier!
Becoming a part of the artistic community at ECU has opened up my eyes to the possibilities of what I can create beyond my own expectations. I think that solely focusing on my skills in creating portfolios for Sheridan Animation narrowed my personal view of what constitutes ‘good art’, and that the only possible way to achieve my dreams was to study in that one program. But this simply isn’t the case, what matters is being able to believe in yourself and to continue to practice what you love. That is more important than anything else.
I don’t regret spending the time to work hard on my portfolios either, it challenged me to look at my work critically and improve in the areas I was lacking the most. It also gave me the opportunity to discover new passions! Before I was too intimidated to draw backgrounds in my work, but through working on the portfolios, I found that I loved working on layouts.
Drawing in perspective is the kind of creative problem solving that has fueled my inspiration like nothing else. I am glad that despite the peaks and valleys of this journey, I have continued to move forward. I am immensely grateful for all the guidance and support Garth has given me as tutor. I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without his thoughtful critique and encouraging feedback. I believe it is possible for anyone to find their own success, as long as they are committed to working hard, being receptive to feedback, and following their own passion. I am very excited to see what lies ahead, and I hope to find my place in the animation industry.
