How to Apply to 🖌️ Animation School (without a portfolio)

When Sasha applied to the Rhode Island school of design, she had no idea she wanted to be an animator. In fact, the first animation she ever made was for her application to the esteemed art school.

January 29, 2023

Fast forward to today, and Sasha has become an ambitious and terrific storyteller. Sasha’s story combines her passion for her craft, her ability to quickly learn new skills, and the courage to pursue her dream career.

Eye Catching - RISD Application Animation

âś… Eye Catching is being screened in film classrooms across the United States.

10s

Sasha’s initial soiree into animation forced her to improvise.

  • Instead of a peg board, she cut out papers and placed them on a piece of cardboard

  • Instead of a down-facing camera rig, she threw her phone on a casserole dish on top of two stacks of books

Eye Catching, while seemingly simple, is a good reminder that students who wouldn’t traditionally see themselves as “filmmakers” should try their hand at the medium.

Playing with Narrative - Down the Drain

🟡 Down The Drain has brief animated nudity

RT 5:10

Originally, Down the Drain was a story about a woman who flushed her goldfish down the toilet when she was a child.

The film's core, however, grew to focus on the inner turmoil our main character was grappling with. 

Her professor encouraged her to create individual vignettes that could capture her main character’s grief better than a 4-minute story.

Plans For The Future

As a college student who comes from a low-income household, there were definitely times I felt limited in my future as an animator.

Especially at an art school, I encounter many other students who not only had the privilege of getting an early start in art, but also the privilege of having fewer financial worries post-graduation.

Sasha is still optimistic about her career, though, citing the explosion in career opportunities the rise of streaming has created.

Her open-minded passion for every facet of animation has guided her thus-far, and if her work is any indication, Sasha has a bright future.

👋🏼 Editor's Note

In just the past couple of months, we've covered short films from Emerson, NYU, USC, RISD, LMU, and many more acronyms. What school do you want to learn about next?

-Eric Villa, Co-Founder, Stuudeo

What is Stuudeo?

Stuudeo is a technology and media company that enables creators to build an online platform with their education

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