Today we’d like to introduce you to Maya Andrews.
Hi Maya, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Maya Andrews, and I am a senior at the University of South Florida. I’m currently studying animation and I’m working towards becoming a character designer for the animation industry. I didn’t always know I wanted to work in the animation industry. I started out studying architecture at Hillsborough Community College back in 2021 but discovered that I loved drawing characters and stories more than buildings. Many of my favorite childhood movies, anime, and shows influenced and inspired me to pursue a career in animation. Now I’m in my second to last semester of the animation program working on my senior thesis film- The Dreamer. It’s about a little flower boy who dreams about being an astronaut, so he starts to build his own rocket ship. Through trial and error, he accomplishes his dream and starts his new adventure. The story reflects my own journey of persistent and determination to follow your dreams and see where the adventure takes you.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
This journey of mine hasn’t always been smooth. Imposter syndrome and doubt still haunt me even now as I rap up my senior year. I put in a lot of effort, determination, and skill to become the artist I am today but that feeling of thinking I’m not good enough or “that artist is better than me” still turns in the back of my head. However, the love and support I get from my family, friends, and classmates keep me going to pursue this competitive career path. It’s all about passion and putting your all into something you love.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The type of art I create revolves around character design for feature films and tv shows. I love drawing characters ever since I was middle school and it hasn’t stopped. Currently, I’m creating characters for my portfolio and still exploring my artistic style and process to create appealable and believable characters. I’m most proud of my personal projects that I use to practice my character design skills and prepare me for my career. One of my projects that I’m most proud of is called Detention & Dragons. It’s about a group of 5 teenagers that get trapped in the famous table-top and role-playing game Dungeon & Dragons. This project has helped me discover that I love doing explorations and character interactions. My biggest inspirations style wise for this project is Spider-man across the Spider verse. It’s one of my favorite films because of the experimental comic book style and the complex story. So, I like to reference that art style in my own work especially when it comes to doing character explorations. I think what sets me apart from other artist is my style versatility. I’ve taught myself from a young age how to switch from different art styles. So, I can go from drawing really cartoony characters like sonic the hedgehog to anime characters like Bakugo from My Hero Academia to semi-realistic characters like Gwen Stacy from Spider-man into and across the Spider verse. And on top of that I have my own unique artistic style.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I see the animation industry changing drastically over the next 5-10 years. It’s a complicated situation because of everything that’s been happening over the last 5-6 years. When the pandemic happened there was a big spike of job openings in the industry and many young people were getting great opportunities at studios like Netflix because of remote working. Since the pandemic, unfortunately, studios have been laying off hundreds of workers left and right and the opportunity to get internships and entry level jobs have become more competitive and harder to get. Now with the rise of AI taking over the creative space, it’s going to be harder to not only get into the animation industry but to be a human artist. I hope that the next drastic change that comes to the animation industry is going to be good and benefits many. We are thankfully already seeing it within the indie animation studios like Glitch Productions as they gain more popularity with audiences and artists alike. All I can do is hope that things will get better as time goes on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mayaandrews.work/work
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_cactusketches/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maya-andrews-a2b247332
Image Credits
Maya Andrews (@_Cactusketches)
