This is my final post…ever! This post marks the end of my college career so I’m beyond excited!

Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed taking this class and had a lot of fun. It was a rewarding experience. It definitely helped me see the bigger picture of why I enrolled in to college in the first place. Glad I took it.

My digital presence can be found on Hastrideportfolio.com. I took it upon myself to create a personal portfolio website this past summer and I’m so happy I did it. I spent a lot of time customizing the layout and made every detail exactly how I wanted it to look. In the end, all that time & effort paid off as I was able to land in internship & even job offers from the school just from seeing my website. If someone wants to create a website that represents them, I recommend using the Elementor Editor. Elementor makes life soo much easier if your are very particular about your designs.

Based on all the future peers research I did such as searching how they display their digital presence and what platforms they are using, I decided that a portfolio website is a must first step. My future peers also use social media but I won’t start on that right now. I did created an Instagram to display my animations but I deactivated it because I find social media very overwhelming and stressful for me. I’ll try to use it again next year…maybe.

Lastly, please see the basic checklist of my readiness below.

To summarize, I really need to email Larry soon so I can make sure I graduate next semester. I’m not trying to spend another year in York…no offense. I need to get on with my life already!! I’ll admit I’m a little lost of how exactly to get approved to register for CT 490. This is the time I wish we were in person so I could have a face to face meeting with Larry as my situation is different. I already have an internship and want to apply that internship as a class credit for the internship class next semester. The internship may end early next April and that worries me that it may not be approved because of that. I hope I don’t have to look for a new one.

But That’s a conversation I need to have with Larry. Happy Holidays everyone! Happy New Year Too! 2020 is finally over. Lets cross our fingers 2021 will be the best year ever!

In our second to last class, we were asked to find some future peers who had good and stable digital presence. I found many but I think the three I stuck with really look like they are already in the direction I’m heading.

jakobhauser have a pretty solid digital portfolio where you can see all his animation works and graphic design skills. He is a graphic designer, animator & illustrator like me. I plan to be the jack of all trades and he is somewhat close to that right now. More on his work is posted on his Youtube page as well.

The other two honorable mentions are more successful in the animation field than a future peer but I really love their work and hope you’ll check them out. I’ll also use their level of skills as inspiration to keep practicing animation. I don’t feel like I’m experienced at all right now to land a job as a animator.

agungugang…yes, that’s the name he goes by. I don’t know he’s real name but I do know he lives in Indonesia and that he is a very talented 2d motion graphics designer. I found him through YouTube when I was looking for Chinese New Year animation inspirations. He also has a Vimeo page and Tumblr page, where he post his extensive list of animations he has done. He even sells animation templates, which I found so interesting and will look how I can do that too in the near future. It would be a great way to make some extra income while potentially adding the templates I make as freelanced work on my resume.

Zoe Hu is the last person I found with a very nice digital presence. I stumbled upon her work on a random but very mesmerizing website called moreofsomethinggood.com. I think I was just looking for website inspirations then I found it. The website is pure art and an online market to get cool snacks. I recommend visiting the website to find some very cool artists and unique Asian snacks. Now back to Zoe Hu. I chose to add her to the list because she doesn’t use many platforms like the other people I found. She only shows her reel on her portfolio website and then link her instagram. I like the minimalist approach and think I can learn a few new design tricks from her.

Our very own Ryan Seslow is also an honorable mention. The way he displays his work is soo appealing and just satisfy the senses. He’s website is very organized and have a clear mission. I will definitely see how I can incorporate some of his layout techniques to my website. More of his master pieces can be found on giphy.

Today’s class made me realize the power of networking. I’ll admit, before this class, I didn’t like this idea of networking as it made me feel odd to start an friendship/ a simple conversation with someone for the sole purpose of getting a job. I thought it was a cold approach at first. This class thought me that networking it a must. Of course I can always stay stubborn and try to land job opportunities on my own but I realized that someone who networks will always have a higher chance of getting that job then someone who is independent and relying on their resume to speak for it self. Networking is a skill and I need more practice in obtaining that skill. Having a shy, quiet, but observant demeanor kind of makes it hard to put myself out there and make contacts with future peers but I’m going to start trying.

Since I have the email format now, I plan to use it one day in the future. Maybe after 1 or 2 years after graduation. It never hurts and the least someone can do it say no or just ignore my email. But yes, I learned the power of Networking today. I even realized the power of LinkedIn. One of my classmates thought me the tricks on how to properly use LinkedIn. She has over 500 connections. Basically, the trick is to send a “hi I would like more information on you job” type of message and then building a conversation so the connections are actually familiar with you instead of being a stranger that randomly adds them.

The idea sounds superficial but the method actually works. As my classmate is a living proof. She has gotten job offers just for being connected with one person that the hiring manager also have as a connection. Anyways, what I learned is networking is important and that I really need to start building a networking circle to fall back on when finding job offers get hard.

October 30th class focused on final project proposals. Since I’m currently taking the class, I gave some of my group members advice on how to create a successful project proposal. It was a really nice experience and it’s crazy sometimes for me to think that I’m actually a senior now. Anyhow, my group members have some really cool ideas. One is thinking of doing CCS animations. That would be awesome to see. Another needed help with thinking of a topic to make a film about. The group helped him with possible making a news feature about the pandemic and it’s effect on businesses in Jamaica,Queens.

Since I am already in the final project class, I thought I’d give some advice on what information you should add in you proposal. First, make sure you do a lot of research. Research never hurts as you get more ideas the more you do it. When I was drafting my proposal, I included a lot of visual examples of what I hope my final project should look like by the end of the CT401 class. You can see examples in my google slides presentation here. Even though I have since reduce the work load of my final project and just focused on only 1 out of 6 mini projects, I still think my presentation can help you. You can use my Questions & Concerns portion as a reference for your future proposal. In all, you first proposal should include as much details as possible to helps Michael to get a clear idea what your plans all. After all, nobody can read your mind.

Good Luck with making your proposal!