My thesis film

Wouldn't It Be Nice from Derek Desierto on Vimeo.

It’s here! It’s here! I can’t believe it’s here! My thesis film from Sheridan’s Animation Program!

After four years, it’s hard to believe that my school career is finally finished and this chapter has now come to a close. Being here has changed my life I cannot be more grateful for the experience. 

Thank you for all the support of those around me, especially my family and friends. Thank you. 

Here’s to an all new adventure! 

Knit Fit!

Knit Fit from Derek Desierto on Vimeo.

It’s here! It’s finally here! Our baby! Our group film! 

It’s a wild and wacky story about a sassy grandma who gets interrupted during the season finale of her favourite tella novella. Not one to miss an episode, she figures out a way to see what happens to Maria and Valentino. One way or another. Dun dun dun!!!!

A big GRACIAS to everyone who participated in making this beautiful bundle of joy. It was an experience I won’t soon forget. 

Square, circle and stick!

I also worked on some character designs for our film. Again, working on a big emphasis in simple silhouettes that would read clearly. 

*Grandma and evil villain co-designed by Kathleen Martin & Rosanna Lam.  

Scene mockups

Some scene mock ups for the group film. They’re kinda looking like a Storycorps episode which I’m kinda into! 

Yaya's apartment interior

I made a conscious decision last month to have a break from social media. Mostly that meant taking Instagram off my phone and I have to tell you, it has been most refreshing! 

I thought I would have FOMO more than I did but after the first few days, I really didn’t miss it at all! I actually allowed me to see even more than before. I know that sounds funny to say but I think it has to do with being present more often instead of looking at my phone. 

Now I have to admit, the addiction of Instagram was then replaced with Facebook but I’m working on that. I’m not saying I won’t ever be back on Instagram again but just gaining more of a balance than before. To be sure, I’ll be posting pictures of me and my little nephew come Christmas because we have matching Christmas shirts and I cannot wait for us to wear them together. :)

Anyhoo, here is my first post about our group film, Knit Fit. It’s about a grandma trying to watch her soap opera who then gets interrupted by some commotion outside her apartment. Above are some sketches of her apartment interior. The composition comes from the amazingly talented powerhouse,Rosanna Lam. 

Love Long Distance - Leica Reel

Great showing at the 24 hr Film Festival tonight! Some really great stuff coming out of Sheridan right now. Here’s my little entry. Lots of fun doing this leica. Hopefully I’ll turn it into a film soon! 

Astronaut Jack!

Hello everybody! 

Reading came and went and I hoped that I would have more personals to post but I ended up storyboarding all week. That’s ok though because I enjoyed myself. 

However, here is something new! I had a lot of fun with this character design assignment. We had to create a character line up based on a theme. We had to decide from either Western, Sci-fi, Horror or Pirates. I was going to choose Western since it’s a genre I’m not very familiar with but then my friends convinced me to do Sci-fi since they knew I would love it. They were right. 

This assignment got me so much into the Sci-fi groove that I even started re-watching Star Wars starting from Episode 1! Watching them all now is so much more satisfying! Getting all the references and geeking out over the shots is so much fun! It’s also making me want to finally read Joseph Cambell’s book, “Hero with a Thousand Faces” which the narrative Star Wars is based on. 

Real talk, today I spent didn’t get out of bed until 6pm because I was watching Star Wars since waking up. I am disgusting. 

My second assignment for Storyboarding. Our class had to come up with a line for a story idea and we came up with “Mine is better” or “It’s not what it looks like”. I chose the latter though I don’t think what I ended up with totally fits that brief but I still like it. There are some corrections which I’ll do at the leica stage but here is what it looks like now. 

Run Hilda Run!

Finally finished my walk & run animation! This was a really fun project and I really enjoyed doing it which is kind of a surprise to me. I never really imagined myself to be an animator (except for when I was a kid) but after doing this I’m kind of entertaining the possibility of becoming one! 

A dream is a wish your heart makes!

Finally got some time do some personal work tonight. I decided to push my layout assignment further and do a painting of it. Worked some Mary Blair/Eyvind Earle inspiration together and this is what I got. 

UPDATE: I reworked my painting after Angela, my fairy godmentor gave me some tips. Looks much better! Thanks Ange!

Exciting news!

WÜNDERKID's film, Leggo My Preggo just got accepted into the Ottawa International Animation Festival!!! We will be part of the Student Showcase! So excited! 

Forest and Waves preview!

Here’s a little preview of Forest and Waves’ new summer catalogue! Ed designed tin camping mugs inspired by the animated short, Hedgehog in the Fog. 

Find more of us at ForestandWaves.com!

Roughs

Leggo My Preggo

Oui Oui Napoleon

Monster Makeover

Monster Makeover from Derek Desierto on Vimeo.