Cartoonist and animator set sights for the future

    Have you ever sat in class with a paper and pencil on your desk to take notes with, but your mind starts to wander and you begin doodling instead? This happens to be one of the first steps for creating art such as cartoons and animation. It allows the artist to come up with and develop their ideas.  
   
    Junior Corinne Reinert finds inspiration all around her, even in class. “I have to keep my hands busy. If I am bored in class, then I just start drawing. The ideas just come out of nowhere,” said Reinert.
Junior Katherine McDermott has similar experiences of how doodling helps to get ideas flowing. “I draw during school a lot and usually just random thoughts of what to draw come out,” said McDermott.
   
   Although they have many similarities, Reinert concentrates more on animation and McDermott focuses more on cartoons. Animation and cartoons are related, but the processes for creating them differ.
  
  Animation begins with concept sketches of a character, followed by sketches of the character in different positions on a story board. Then the sketches are drawn with more accuracy and detail. Finally they are scanned onto the computer to be outlined and colored with Adobe Photoshop. They are usually displayed with movement.

    On the other hand, the initial step in creating cartoons is drawing basic shapes and then filling them out. The sketches then progress with more detail and guidelines are used to keep the picture proportional. Lastly, color is added to the cartoon. This continues for every new action or character introduced in the cartoon.

    Reinert’s style of animation has a touch of realism it and exhibits neutral color tones. She especially likes to draw scenes from wildlife. “I mainly draw animals because that is what I am more comfortable with,” said Reinert. In her art class, she is currently working on small drawings of humanistic animal characters. “I have the animals wearing glasses or something ridiculous like that,” said Reinert. She uses animation as a way to express her inner feelings through the characters she creates. “I have a cat character that represents me and how I feel,” said Reinert.

     “Cartoons are what really got me interested in art,” said McDermott. Her cartoons resemble anime characters with bright colors and vivid details. Since she was young, McDermott has retained a soft spot for anime. “I draw people a lot, but I like drawing everything,” said McDermott. She uses the Internet as a source of inspiration to see how professional web artists create and publish their cartoons. One of her favorite anime artists is Hayao Miyazaki who directed the film Spirited Away. Currently, McDermott is in the process of creating a comic that will incorporate ideas of Christianity.

    Both girls began to take their art careers seriously in high school. They both enrolled in classes that would help them pursue art further such as Art1, Art 2, IB Art, and Computer Graphics. They plan to follow through with these courses into their senior year.  Their art classes provide them not only the time to create animation and cartoons, but also the materials, since art supplies can be expensive. They receive one on one instruction with the teacher and learn new techniques to improve their art. They also gain an insight from their classmates through peer critiques.
“Other people’s styles are rubbing of on me as I see different ways of doing things,” said Reinert.

    By starting to experience and practice the process of animation and cartoons, these girls are preparing themselves for a future in the business. They both have dreams of becoming professional artists.

    McDermott plans on continuing her education at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) or at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She intends to study illustration and sequential art. “I really want to become a comic book artist,” said McDermott.

    Reinert has two major influences in her artistic quest. When she was a freshman she saw her grandfather working as an animator. Reinert’s grandfather worked on the animation for Winnie the Pooh and Precious Moments. “Ever since then, I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” said Reinert. She is also inspired by the creator of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney. “I really like that type of art,” said Reinert.
She hopes to become as well known and proficient as Disney in the future. Reinert is also contemplating a career as an illustrator because it is more freelance. She finds it exhilarating to work freelance because she would be able to decide what she wants to draw more.

    So far Reinert has had her art displayed in the AHS Filament magazine and has submitted several more entries this year. She also competed with artists in grades 6-12 nationwide in the Scholastic Contest last year. Reinert was awarded with a Silver Key for drawing.

    Reinert and McDermott share the same passion for animation and cartoons as some of the greats such as Walt Disney, Charles Schulz and Stan Lee. Together their zeal and talent will take these aspiring artists far.