Kiana Tucker

Describe the work you submitted for merits.

The work I submitted for merits was rather varied. I wanted to pick pieces that showed my growth throughout the semesters, with pieces from intro classes to my most recent works. Some pieces included characters I had created a long time ago and other pieces featured characters I had created right then and there just for the animation project. A LOT of my still images consisted of work I produced for my character design class since character designing is one of my most favorite things to do.

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

I’m excited to make just about anything! It’s so fun just diving right in and working on an animation, even if it’s super intimidating. It feels like every time I finish a project, I always learn something new, whether it’s a new tool in Toon Boom or a different process to make animating easier. I have been working on a few reanimated projects on the side and it's been really nice seeing everyone's progress and seeing all the unique iterations of certain scenes. Working on a reanimate was something that I thought I could only dream of doing but now it's a reality and I have one that's due in a few months—and then another one due after that!

Why did you decide to come to MCAD?

I came to MCAD wanting to learn how to animate. In high school I didn't think that animation was something I would be willing to learn considering the amount of patience that is required, but it was a skill that I thought would be very useful to learn. So I figured, why not try it out at college? I wasn’t sure which college I wanted to go to exactly but MCAD was one of the most affordable art colleges for me and I really wanted to spend my college days doing something I would enjoy. Plus, when they visited my high school during one of the college fairs, Forrest Wasko, along with other MCAD faculty/staff, was one of the nicest and most upbeat people to talk to despite being in a crowded smelly lunchroom cafeteria.

Favorite thing about college life (so far)?

I’d say definitely the very LGBTQ+ friendly environment! MCAD was the first place I went to where pronouns were very respected and people were encouraged to let faculty and others know what pronouns they used along with what names they would prefer to go by. Other schools probably do this too but this was my first time seeing it be so openly addressed and welcomed. All my life in high school and middle school, oh god especially middle school, it felt like I had to compress who I really was and wanted to be. But now I feel like I can be more open about myself and it's really cool seeing other people open up about themselves too.

What's the best thing you’ve got from MCAD’s free shelf?

An empty white crate! I put my laundry in there :)

Anything you're obsessed with at the moment?

The Netflix show Kid Cosmic. I remember thinking I wouldn’t really enjoy this show since it was so different than Craig McCracken’s other works but I ended up really enjoying it. I am very inspired by the really good character development and story writing. The designs and personalities for the characters are super awesome too!

What inspires you?

A LOT of things. I get inspired by peers, artists on social media, creators of my favorite shows, etc.

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

My favorite piece would have to be a project I made for my Intro to Film class. One of the assignments involved interviewing your peers/families and producing a video based on those interviews. I interviewed my friends and created an animatic based on their answers. It took a lot more time than I initially intended but I am very happy with how it came out in the end! It was a really fun and open-ended project so I went wild and tried out certain things that I had not done before when animating.