Artist Statement

“That’s it, that’s the job I want.”

That was one thought I had while watching some behind the scenes late one night. I have always been fascinated by movie magic. Night after night I stayed up way past my bedtime, after everyone else was asleep, just to watch every bonus feature from my family’s large DVD collection. When I was watching the “Island Fashion” segment for Moana, I had the a-ha moment that solidified my career in art. Character design perfectly combines my childhood love for fashion design with my current artistic pursuits and I knew it was something I would be happy doing for the rest of my life. 

Impressionism has always had an influence on me, even though I prefer more precise media such as ink, watercolor, and digital drawing. For me, character design is all about mixing those two things: vibrant expression and fine detail. The expression is purely creative, but research is integral to implementing the details. No lengths are too great when I’m searching for specific references, whether that be travelling abroad to learn about a foreign culture or studying the way live animals move around their homes.

When I create characters, I breathe life into them -- not just in form and accuracy but in the way they immerse the audience in the larger story. Movies are the source of so much childhood wonder for me. And with every project I pass a little bit of that along to the next generation, inspiring kids to stay up past their bedtimes enchanted by the movie magic.