thesis overview

In December 2014, I presented my final thesis project to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2D Animation through the online program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

My thesis film, “The Search for the Monster of Lake Quannapowitt,” is a three-minute, digitally hand-drawn animated short about the candidate search to fill an open lake monster position.   The layouts are based on the landmarks of the real Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, MA. I used TVPaint and a Cintiq for most of the animation, as well as Photoshop to paint the backgrounds, Garageband for sound and Premiere for editing.

Throughout 2015 I’ll be submitting the film to festivals. Once the initial run is over, I’ll post the film on Vimeo and link it here (likely in early 2016).

For more information about the project and process, check out the final review book & portfolio PDFs below with background info, production schedule/challenges, storyboard and initial designs. The character designs and concept art are posted separately as well. You can also find past production updates on my regular blog .

The midpoint animatic, presented in March 2013, can be seen here. In this version, all sound effects are by Zoe Yang.