Kenna Camire will graduate in June 2022 with a BFA in Animation
Why do you create/participate in design?
I really love doing the art/design side of the animation program, but what made me stay were the people. Animators are the funniest people you’ll ever meet. I also like being able to draw what I see and being able to make my thoughts come to life on a page. Storytelling through art has been a big motivation for me to pursue design. I love being able to capture moments that people experience, whether they be real or fictional. I’ve loved telling stories ever since I was little, and now I get to draw them!
What inspires you?
People all around me inspire me. The stories that I enjoy telling are about people. That’s where the real moments are. It doesn’t matter if the stories take place in real places or in a made-up world; what makes them real are the things that you feel during them. It’s the most fun thing to just look at someone, even if I have never talked to them a day in my life, and picture what they’re thinking and how their day is going and what happens next. It’s just so interesting to see minute stories taking place all around me and to try to capture them!
How have you found belonging during your time at BYU?
Everyone in the animation program is literally my social circle. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to as many movies and gone out to eat with friends as many times as I have with my friends within the program. They definitely have made being in the animation program fantastic. I also can’t forget my amazing faculty. They’ve helped all of us as students by teaching us and helping us when we’re going through hard times. They are so kind. We really wouldn’t be where we are as students without them.
What’s your go-to study snack?
Peanut butter—just give me a jar of it and a spoon and it’ll go fast!
What was your favorite project you worked on as a student?
“Cenote” was the coolest but definitely the hardest project that I’ve worked on so far. It was something that we in the BYU Animation senior class had never done before as students. Something that was way cool was being able to do both the storyboards and the 3D layout, which is where the cameras and composition of the shots in a CG animated film are developed. I loved being able to work on early production, and it’s so fun now to see how the work that we did in the beginning has had such a huge impact on the final look of the film. This is the first group project where I’ve made such fantastic and eternal friendships. The project was fun, but I’ve especially loved being with my friends in the animation program. They really made working on “Cenote” something special.
Who is your favorite artist and why?
Roger Deakins, because he gives the best cinematography advice and makes really gorgeous movies. He helped advise on the “How to Train Your Dragon” movies, which I grew up watching, and you can really see by how gorgeous both the lighting and the camera work are in those films. I also love the work of Shiyoon Kim. He worked on “Tangled” and “Big Hero 6,” which is the movie that inspired me to be an animator, and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”! He’s just so good! There’s a beautiful expressiveness and storytelling gesture to his concept work that inspires me.
What are your future goals?
I want to work in story or Rough Layout (CG Layout), or both! It would be super fun to work on a project and do both. I don’t have any set plans now, but I know I want to keep making stories and making people laugh.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.