Hi! I’m Vaibhavi Venkataraman (also called Vai) and this is the start of my reflective journal for my two year MA Character Animation course at Central Saint Martins UAL.
I’m an artist and I am absolutely passionate about drawing! I love creating portraits whether it be of celebrities or friends and family. I also happen to love figure drawing which translates perfectly into my current character animation course! I am also looking forward to animating animals for the first time!
I previously completed a BA in Animation from the University of Westminster and graduated with a first class honours in 2019. During my BA, I created 3 animated documentaries based on inspirations from my home town in India. I liked working with my family and friends to make the audio come to life in these films!
In my second year, I worked as an assistant to a Master’s student studying at the Royal College of Art for two months, where I hand painted printed frames in acrylic for his film. I also undertook some part time work during my third year at uni; working for the National Saturday Club for Animation under two of my course tutors. I worked as a Student Ambassador in a team with other students from my course, where we would help the tutors deliver classes tailored to 13-16year old students as part of the free Saturday program.
After the completion of my BA, I ended up taking a year off and returning home to figure out my future plans. Taking a gap year really helped me narrow down my focus on what I wanted to do and so I decided to take up this exciting postgraduate course at CSM!
I’m finally happy to be continuing my love for drawing and animation, alongside relearning the basics to help me be a better animator!