Fiber Arts

I’m exploring fiber arts (knitting, crochet), and finished my first sweater last week – the Step by Step Sweater by Florence Miller. I was compelled to make a little gif to celebrate!

2026 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day

The 2026 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day took place last month! Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a success, and to all of our studio colleagues and students for their time and energy!

Photos by Rafael Hernandez

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Quoted in CBC article about Pixar's feature film Elio

Thanks to CBC Senior Writer Jackson Weaver for including me in his article: “Did 'bean mouth' really kill Pixar's Elio at the box office?”

Screencap of CBC website article, taken on June 28, 2025

Voice of "Peanut" in Amy Boisvert's new short animated film!

I’m fortunate to voice the character “Peanut” in Amy Boisvert’s new short animated film “Death is a Giant Peanut” (2025). Thank you to Amy for thinking of me for this! Check out the film:

2025 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day

That’s a wrap for the 2025 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day! We're thankful for everyone who took part this year – from our guests representing animation studios to students from the Character and Experimental Animation programs. Our students’ portfolios are posted here.

Digital Life Drawing

CalArts MFA student Riya Lakshman (School of Music, Performer-Composer program) visited my Adobe Animate class last week to play violin for a digital life drawing session. Check out the short video excerpt below!

"Imagination takes flight at the 2024 California Institute of Arts Producers’ Show" →

Many thanks to Procreate for writing such a kind article about the 2024 Producers’ Show! This is the second year that Procreate has been a sponsor of the CalArts Animation Showcase, as well as juried the Procreate Award for Creativity in Animated Filmmaking. We’re thrilled that Jennifer Busey, Partnerships Manager, co-presented the award at the event with our guest of honor, CalArts alumnx Pete Sohn.

Check out the two films that have thus far received the Procreate Award:

• 2023 Procreate Award: The Bowl, by Si Yi Lee

• 2024 Procreate Award: Testimony, by Su Min Ha

Thank you to all of our Animation Showcase sponsors, including Procreate!

2024 Character Animation Producers' Show

We returned to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures for our annual Producers’ Show on April 30, 2024 to screen 23 of the films our students made this academic year. Check out the list of films here. It was great to see everyone and celebrate our students’ films! Thank you to everyone who made this event possible.

Edited to add: thanks to Cartoon Brew for this great write-up!

2024 Producers' Show video recap

2024 Character Animation YouTube Playlist

Guests arriving at the Academy Museum

Photo by Rafael Hernandez

Photo by Rafael Hernandez

Justine King (left), Shea Territo (middle) and Su Min Ha (right)

Photo by Maija Burnett

Guests taking their seats in the David Geffen Theater

Photo by Rafael Hernandez

Guest of Honor, Pete Sohn (left) and Guest Presenter, Jennifer Busey (right)

Photo by Maija Burnett

Audience watching the show

Photo by Rafael Hernandez

2024 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day

The 2024 CalArts Animation Portfolio Day took place last week! We’re very grateful to all who participated, from animation studio representatives to students from the Character and Experimental Animation programs. Special thanks to our team at CalArts for their work and dedication! Check out our students’ portfolios here.

Thanks to the CalArts Communications team for this video recap!

Jorge R. Gutiérrez visits CalArts

CalArts alumnx and acclaimed filmmaker / artist Jorge R. Gutiérrez visited campus on January 18, 2024, and spoke to our students in the Bijou! Jorge gave an inspiring talk about his experience as a student at CalArts, his career, and advice for our students about artistic perseverance.

Jorge was kind enough to make his own poster for the talk; I took the photo below while the poster was projected on-screen, and Rafael Hernandez (CalArts’ Institute Photographer) and Jorge were on stage.

See more photos here.

Rafael Hernandez (left), Jorge R. Gutiérrez (right), Bijou Theater, CalArts, January 18, 2024.