Ziyi Alvarez, a SHS Animation strand student, has always been keen on creating her own animations. She first started small like a moving pendulum, an arm throwing a ball, and a steaming mug.
She knows it’s not an easy path as it takes a lot of practice, but she knows she can achieve it by believing in herself and learning more from CIIT Senior High School.
How did your interest or passion in Animation start?
I was very invested in the concept of art, films, and games. One movie that I really enjoyed is the live-action movie of Beauty and the Beast. This is also the reason why I took an interest in 3D animation and storyboarding.
Besides movies, I also like to watch my favorite YouTubers such as Emirichu and Daidus. Emirichu’s channel is full of her drawings, while Daidus’ channel is dedicated to fast-paced animations. I like watching their channels as they inspire me to develop more of my skills when it comes to drawing and creating animations.
What’s your favorite thing about the program you are studying in CIIT?
What I like about being a CIITeen is that I get to train and improve my skills in different Animation Softwares. One advantage that I saw when I enrolled here is that most of our instructors are already professionals in the field. That’s why we are better guided and aligned with the industry we want to work in.
What’s your opinion when it comes to Philippine Animation?
I observed that Philippine Animation has grown larger today compared to before. We already have a lot of animated films and shows that everyone can watch and enjoy.
For you, why is Animation important in our society?
Animation is considered an art nowadays as it can also be a form of self-expression. It helps to make stories come alive and helps the audience know what the artist is trying to say. It’s also a form of entertainment wherein different genres can be more appreciated by the viewers. Lastly, it can be a learning tool as it can simplify complex ideas and make them easier to understand. A lot of learning platforms are using animations to help the students fully understand the topics.
Can you share with us an animation you created and share with us something about it?
I made this artwork to practice my rendering, coloring, and Live 2D rigging skills because I was still beginning to learn digital art and animation. I was inspired by some fanarts of Fulgur (the subject in the animation). I saw it on Twitter and decided to create a drawing of him as a Samurai. The initial plan was to only draw an illustration, but when I was in the sketching process, I decided to make it an animation instead.
During the process, I had to separate some parts of Fulgur into different layers, like the arm, body, clothes, parts of the hair, sword, and head, and then render them separately. Since I was still starting out then, it took me 8 hours just to have it fully rendered. After that, I uploaded the file to Live2d and started rigging it. I added breathing movement, hair swaying, and some arm movements to make it look not too stiff. It did not take long, maybe a bit over 5 minutes.
Once I was finished, I uploaded it to my Twitter account which garnered over 1500 likes (if I remember correctly). It easily became a memorable artwork for me since Fulgur also saw it, liked it, and retweeted it, and that made me super happy! I felt like all the time I’ve used to create this artwork was completely worth it.
What are you looking forward to in your future career?
I look forward to further enhancing my knowledge and skills when it comes to my desired career and also to seeing more growth in the animation industry in the Philippines.
What is your dream?
I want to be a Game Animator. I want to push myself to be the best that I can be when it comes to creating animations in our gaming industry.
What is your advice to students who also want to take Animation as their strand?
There’s no such thing as a perfect first sketch, so focus more on making it look right than making it look good.
Do you want to go to a school that’ll help you in pursuing your dream career? Then join us at CIIT Senior High School.
Check out our different Senior High School strands here.
