2023 Merit Scholarship Recipient: Cade Janvrin

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

I make short story driven animations that are fun and lighthearted. I mainly do character animation utilizing weight and bounce. I animate both rigged and hand drawn in order to accomplish this goal. I also focus heavily on sound and color in my pieces in order to immerse the viewer in my craft and create a feel good experience. 

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I decided to come to MCAD in order to pursue an animation degree. I've always wanted to incorporate art into my life and go into it as a career. I'm someone who doesn't like the idea of remaining stagnant; I want to work on ever changing projects and be able to put my own creative spin on them. I loved cartoons growing up and animation just seemed like the right match for me. So, I moseyed on over to MCAD and here I am. I've been having a wonderful time, met a lot of great people, and am excited for my future. 

What's next for your practice? Anything you're really excited to make?

I'm hoping to combine more hand animation alongside rigged animation in my work and create even more seamless experiences. I also want to learn some 3D animation, both for characters but also backgrounds. I would really love to incorporate 3D backgrounds into my animation, as it would give me a lot more freedom on camera placement. I've learned in my storyboarding class, I'm someone who really likes setting up cinematic shots, so hopefully an extra dimension will help this. 

I also plan on trying out the AICAD Exchange next spring. I'm hoping to go down to California and expand my reach there. I'm excited to meet new people and hopefully set up connections where jobs are. Also escaping the Minnesotan winter. No one likes the Minnesotan winter.

Favorite thing about college life (so far)?

I really enjoy the community. There's a lot of great people here, and it's been a joy being able to meet them and become friends with everyone. I came to this school knowing absolutely no one, and now I'm thriving as a part of the community. This also isn't just limited to students, the faculty are also an amazing part of MCAD. I love being able to discuss all different kinds of art and topics with my professors. They're so cool!

What inspires you? 

I grew up watching 2000s Cartoon Network and Disney Channel. I absolutely loved the presentation of each cartoon and the fun experience they would create. I would I also watch Boomerang and would see all the older cartoons and how they would progress. I think the animator that has inspired me the most is Genndy Tartakovsky. I absolutely adore his approach to cartoons. I love the way he creates such cinematic shots in his work, and also his character design. He's able to take such simple shapes but push them to the extreme and truly give each character a life of their own. 

Cartoons are able to create these immersive worlds that we as a viewers are able to get lost in. The worlds of animation truly have no limits and that's the beauty in them. When I was growing up, animation was often an escape from the harsh realities of life. I want to be able to create worlds and experiences for others the same way those worlds were presented to me.

Do you have a favorite piece you've made? Describe it!

My favorite animation so far is probably my Monkey Walk Cycle from 2022. It was the first ever walk cycle I made and there's still a lot of charm with it. The way the monkeys all worship the giant one in the middle is still super comical to me. It was also the first time I really combined bounce and weight into a piece, and I'm proud of what I accomplished. 

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment? 

I've been obsessed with terrible, old school cartoons. One I've watched a little bit of recently was called Bananaman. Bananaman is so bad, I love it.