Arielle

Ever wonder who actually dresses up like a cartoon character and attends those massive animation conventions? If you have then you probably haven’t ever met Arielle.

Born in Long Island, Arielle is a BAFA student studying animation and liberal arts at the New School. She loves Disney characters and cartoons and has no problem telling me that she is “like the biggest dork ever.” Arielle hopes to one day become a concept artist for a company that does projects similar to Disney’s but is a smaller size company.

Arielle is the first to admit that although people sometimes assume she is shy she is loud and passionate about the things that are important to her. She considers herself somewhat of a theatre geek although she hasn’t done much theatre since high school. Instead she believes her work as an animator allows her to channel some of the exaggerated energy of musical theatre into her drawing. For Arielle, animation is all about capturing the nature of human movement and adding a little to that for comedic effect.

“Good animation is a way to draw human movements effectively but also make them funny,” she said. “I think that musical theatre is kinda like at the roots of any kind of animation”

She is also a commuter –living at home saves her money but she does not like lugging her work to and from school every day. On the other hand she is grateful that her food is paid for and she never has to do her own laundry. Even though the New School does not have the more competitive animation department Arielle has been enjoying her time here and is grateful to be near home.

Before coming to the New School Arielle was warned that the animation department isn’t the most reputable and that other schools might be more suitable for her career goals. Still she felt is was the best place for her because while the animation department may be lacking, she is committed to the idea of having a well-rounded education. She is surprised by other students at Parson who have chosen to completely abandon academic endeavors and tries to keep both art and academia part of her schedule each semester.

“How can you just do art?” she asked explaining why she chose the New School. “Reading is so important.”

Along with academics and animation, civil liberties are truly important to Arielle. She is the author of a blog about subtle forms of racism within our country and says that she has always felt a connection to the civil rights movement.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was really influenced by underdogs,” she notes in reference to learning about the black community in the 1960’s. “It would have been awesome to be there.”

Whether she is doing a new animation, reading her favorite book or blogging a new story, Arielle does what she does passionately. Perhaps this is best shown by what Arielle does on a typical night home alone after a hard days work.

“First of all, I take off my pants!” she said, laughing. “I like to belt Disney songs at the top of my lungs.”

She also enjoys settling down with a good movie, doing some online TV trivia research and sliding around the house in her sock feet.