First of all, his name is the wonderful Walt Disney. He was the founder of the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, the creator of Mickey Mouse, the world's first cartoon character with synchronized sound and a voice, and last but not least, the inspiration of Disneyland. Happy magical birthday Walt Disney!
Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse were my main inspirations for my current dream of moving to L.A. and creating successful cartoon characters and movies, as well as starting my own studio. If it weren't for those two loving men, I would still be obsessing with math and physics at chronic rates, unaware of the importance of caring for others, unaware of the big picture, and unaware of the importance of imagination. Hence, I would not have found my passion for drawing and creating characters, therefore I would still be really struggling with art and drawing right now. Yes, I still do obsess over math and physics right now, but thanks to Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, my greatest passion is my desire to creating exceptional characters and directing meaningful movies. Well, many of you out there are probably asking, how did I get so tied into these Disney cartoons?
In 4th grade, I watched my first daily Mickey Mouse cartoons on the Disney Channel. I really enjoyed Mickey Mouse's voice and personality and how him and his friends all came together as one big hit to really teach me about the importance of caring for others and how it brings more joy and happiness to this world, while relieving stress on the other hand. I loved those episodes so much that I wanted to watch more nonstop. I watched more Disney cartoons and even started watching Disney movies, such as Cars, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh, in which they all taught me very important life lessons I will never forget
As a result of my love for these cartoon characters and movies, I asked my parents to bring me back to the Disneyland Resort back in 2010. We bought annual passes, so we ended up going 4 times that year. During the first trip to the Disneyland Resort since 2005, I really enjoyed seeing my favorite Disney characters in real life. What appealed to me the most were the Disneyland Fireworks Spectacular and Fantasmic!. The Disneyland Fireworks Spectacular enlightened my heart about the importance of dreams in life and how dreams make us happy and loved everyday. Fantasmic! touched my heart by telling a very compelling story talking about the importance of imagination and how it relates to Mickey's Dreams and our lives.
I found Radio Disney a little later and that's when I found my love for movie soundtracks and teen pop music. I love listening to those types of music and attempting to play those songs from memory on my piano. I also found my love for acting and became starstruck at that time as well. I soon beg
After that trip I fell in love with those characters even more that I now wanted to be close to them and create my own characters. I decided to take animation at my middle school, and I loved it, watching a lot of cartoons I love to get inspiration for films I created and future films. I decided from that moment that I will see my real self in the future creating successful films and directing meaningful movies. I also decided to call Los Angeles my future and permanent home since L.A. is really close to the Disneyland Resort and most of the major movie studios. I found Radio Disney a little later and that's when I found my love for movie soundtracks and teen pop music. I love listening to those types of music and attempting to play those songs from memory on my piano. I also found my love for acting and became starstruck at that time as well. I soon began appreciating all types of animated films, Disney or not. I fell in love with the Universal Studios a little later after seeing Despicable Me. Those characters entertained me regarding the importance of play and laughter.
I really enjoyed the Disneyland Resort that my family and I bought another annual pass in 2012, along with a 3-day park hopper ticket in Christmas 2015. My favorite themed land in Disneyland Park is Mickey's Toontown since that area is really focused on animation and cartoons. I really enjoyed going to Cars Land for the first time in November 2012 to ride the Radiator Springs Racers, a fast car ride, and explore the town where Lightning McQueen lived. In Christmas of 2015, I saw my favorite parade for the very first time at the Disneyland Resort, the Paint the Night Parade. I really loved all the high-tech the imagineers put into that show and the live animated floats and performances.
Before 10th grade, I struggled learning how to create professional drawings. After 10th grade during that summer, I became more aware of my surroundings and started to dedicate intense amount of time to drawing on a daily basis. My drawings have improved by a very wide margin since then. I self-taught myself a lot of drawing techniques I use today, becoming more aware of my perspective and got the basics with the proportions.
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| One of my first drawings in Summer 2016, when I started my daily dedication to drawing |
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| Another drawing in Summer 2016 |
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| Summer 2016 |
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| Thanksgiving Card to My Pre-Calculus Honors Math Teacher |
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| Becoming more aware of head proportions; April 2017 |
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| Got the head proportions down and memorized; May 2017 |
After 11th grade, my family and I returned to the Disneyland Resort again, buying 2-day 1-park tickets. I got my first formal drawing class at the Disney Animation Academy inside Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure. I learned the process of rough sketching. This is a day I will never forget since that technique and process sped up my drawing rate by at least 75%. before that day, I took over an hour to rough sketch a character. Now, I take 10-30 minutes to rough sketch a cartoon character, depending on complexity.
After that great return home, I returned back to my temporary home, very depressed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Angeles means a lot to me that I never want to leave. Los Angeles always has a lot of fun things to do, rain or shine. Los Angeles is where the entertainment industry is at its largest and best. Every time I leave the city I call home, I am extremely emotional, crying. Honestly, I would be willing to transfer schools to move to L.A., even if it means separating from my good Bay Area friends. Although I love traveling to San Jose and seeing the nature of San Francisco, I feel like I do not belong in the Bay Area; too cold in the winter, not much entertainment, not too many things to do, although I did like viewing the Golden Gate Bridge later that year. I honestly think the Angelenos (especially those working in the industry), are much more open to meeting you and friendlier than many people I have met in the Bay Area. People in Los Angeles tend to understand the importance of creativity, passion, and dreams more than those in the Bay Area. The thing that pisses me off the most is the dislike and hatred many Bay Area residents have towards Los Angeles and Southern California, something Southern California residents do not have towards the Bay Area and Northern California; it's like a one-way rivalry. It makes me very depressed and sad every time I hear someone put down the City of Angels, the city I call home.
I then traveled to Downtown San Francisco 4 times a week in July to take 3 college art classes at the Academy of Art University. I learned a lot of new techniques, which further bolstered my drawing skills, perspective and proportions, and which introduced me to the basics of 3D modeling. The black board below is from my visual development class.
Drawings Before the Animation Academy
Drawings After the Animation Academy
I am really thankful to every teacher and professor who has helped me towards my entertaining creative animation dream. I am currently enrolled in Digital Arts II, expanding more of my 3D modeling and animation skills. I will either attend the CSSSA or the Otis Summer of Art next summer; both of them are located in the Los Angeles Area. Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy days to understand me and how I became the person I am today! And to Walt Disney, thank you so much for leading the light to my passion for movies and my imagination! I will love you forever and ever ever after with my whole heart! To everyone, Continue to pursue your passions (find a passion if you don't have one) and keep your imagination working! Bye-bye and happy trails! Jonathan Yip... out.
