kportfolio2018

[kportfolio2018]

My name is Kristine Hjortholm, I am 21 years old and I live in Copenhagen, where I was born. 

I am applying for the CA programme at The Animation Workshop and this will be my third time applying as I also applied in 2016 and 2017.

Since I can remember I've always had an interest in drawing. When I looked through my family's old photo album, I noticed that I'm always holding a crayon or a pencil in at least half of all pictures taken of me when I was a child. 

I grew up with a mix of western cartoons and Eastern European cartoons. I watched Disney and Cartoon Network in school and on TV in Denmark, but I also remember watching a lot of Polish cartoons when I lived in Poland. My mother always told me that she loved them when she was a child and naturally she wanted to share them with my sister and I. These cartoons were fascinating and very different from western animations and because of that they seemed very magical to me as a child. 

As I got older my interest shifted more towards anime and video games, now that I was able to decide what to watch and play for myself. I started watching a lot of different anime series and I was shocked the first time I watched it because of how mature it seemed and even though I was surprised, I was also intrigued and wanted to watch more.  This was also the time I started playing more video games aimed for a more mature crowd and I think this is actually what inspired me to wanting to become an animator today. What I loved about anime was the amount of violence and dark themes it could hold and still manage to carry an amazing message. I fell in love with the idea that animated films could also be directed at adults and contain really heavy concepts. So my ambition for the future is to work on projects that tell great stories while also being visually beautiful and I want to create them for adults as well as for children to enjoy. 

I realized that styles of drawing could be incredibly versatile and this inspired me to wanting to work in the animation industry, because I wanted to add my own personal touch to animated movies. 

But before this realization came to me I struggled with what I wanted to do in life. 

I'm sure everyone has doubts about their own future and career paths. I was certainly in doubt too as it took me a really long time to realize that I wanted to make what I love most, drawing, into my profession. I thought about many things; doctor, veterinarian and even a tailor, but I always had a feeling that I would regret it if I went down the wrong path. 

Some time ago, I experienced the unfortunate but rare incident to get struck by lightning. It wasn’t severe and I didn’t suffer any injuries, but I had to spend a day in the hospital to get some check-ups. I remember the doctor telling me that I was lucky for still being alive and well. This whole experience made me rethink what I really wanted in life and I came to the conclusion that I need to do what I truly love and enjoy, which is drawing. 

When I see a drawing coming to life, I feel really happy. I truly enjoy seeing a character I love moving and experiencing the world around them. I always found it really magical that a drawing was able to feel so alive to me and I hope that I am going to be able to give the same feeling to other people in the future. This happy feeling I have is what is driving me to become an animator and be able to work together with other people to create magical work. 

I feel that the industry will only grow bigger and I hope to see a lot of smaller studios growing in the future. I feel really overjoyed when I think about all these different companies producing amazing content for the world to enjoy.

I would love to see future productions focusing more on making animation that adults can enjoy. I feel as if a lot of people think animated movies are solely for children and I hope that the future industry is going to bring a lot of content that people from all ages can enjoy. One of my earliest inspirations is Milt Kahl, who created some of my favorite movies that I have watched a hundred times as a child: “The sword in the stone”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Robin Hood”. I've looked up to him and his work for some time and I feel that he's very skilled. 

Another one of my influences is Kim-Jung Gi, who is an artist from South Korea, making incredible illustrations and amazing sketches. 

I also love the Japanese animation studio called "Studio trigger". It is one of my absolute favorites when it comes to producing great stories and art. The characters they create are filled with personality and the shows they produce have a fast paced to them as well as making a lot of amazing fighting scenes which I absolutely adore. I really enjoy watching everything they create and they inspire me a lot. 

The “Silent Hill”- game franchise is one of my favorite works ever made. I have always loved creepy games and horror movies, so I naturally fell in love. Some other works that I have really enjoyed throughout my childhood was the TV- show "Ed, Edd n Eddy". Its animation is lively and entertaining and the art style is truly one of its own. 

 As for works I don't enjoy, definitely really pushy sitcoms, such as "Family guy", "American Dad" as the over-all humor is bland in my opinion and I also think that the animation lacks originality.

As my family struggled with money when I was growing up, I couldn't afford many drawing courses, therefore I am almost completely self taught except for being in an art class for a year at my high school. 

When I started to earn my own money I began to take some croquis lessons in Copenhagen and I enjoyed them a lot. I did this after getting feedback on my portfolio in 2016. I decided to take these croquis lessons as this was what I was lacking in last year's application. Then in November of 2017 I participated in the weekend course in classical drawing at The Drawing Academy to learn proper techniques in Life Drawing. It was absolutely the right decision to take part in the course and what I learned in those two days was more valuable than what I have learned any other place.  I felt as if the whole school had an aura of professionalism and creativity and I didn't want to leave after spending two days there. I already miss it and I really feel as if The Animation Workshop is the right place for me. 

My software knowledge include: 

Clip Studio Paint: Advanced  Paint Tool Sai: Advanced Photoshop: Intermediate 

Even though I was born in Denmark, my family and I didn't stay for long. I spent the first three years of my life here, until my sister was born and we decided to move to Poland. This is where I spend most of my time watching Polish and other Eastern European cartoons. When I was 9 years old, we decided to move back to Denmark and this meant that most of my childhood consisted of getting adapted to new places and countries quickly. For that, I am very thankful, as it has lead me to love traveling and living in other countries. 

I have also traveled to London two times and my family and I have also been to some other East European countries besides Poland, such as Slovakia. I have also had the opportunity to travel more to countries as Sweden and Germany, since they are close by. Traveling is something I truly yearn for. One of my many biggest dreams is to travel around East Asia and visit countries such as Japan and Korea. 

I plan on financing the education with SU, my savings and I know that I will always be able to ask my wonderful mother for support should I feel the need to. 

Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you will enjoy my portfolio. 

Sincerely 

Kristine Joanna Rosenfeldt Hjortholm 

[kportfolio2018]

Freestyle

[kportfolio2018]

Movement

[kportfolio2018]

Perspective

[kportfolio2018]

Storytelling