Orla Friel

As a 2D Animator, my love for animation comes from my love for storytelling. Being directly involved in bringing characters to life is an extremely rewarding experience. Through exciting visuals, it is easy to become absorbed in endless worlds.

In my final year, I primarily focused on films ‘Astray’ and ‘Nucleus’. I was drawn to these films for their strong settings. In telling a convincing story, it is crucial to consider how a character will move and interact with their surroundings. In Nucleus, for example, the protagonist becomes trapped as she falls into an unknown environment full of disturbing discoveries. When animating her character, therefore, I often kept her movement tense and hesitant. Striving for a degree of realism in my work, I often record video references to aid in my understanding of a movement. Through this, I achieve effective gesture in my animation. Where possible, I enjoy using smear frames to exaggerate movement. My goal is to create an emotional yet believable performance.  

Alongside animation, I also specialise in character design. In my 3rd year, I was the key character designer for my team in the production of the short ‘Eggscellent Timing’, for the Dingle Stings Festival.  I also created character concepts for Astray, including collaboration in the design of “Round dad”.  Working with my team to bring these films to life has been an incredible experience. I am eager and available to work on new projects as an animator and character designer!