Senior Spotlight: Daniel Cantu II

I will detail each of the five candidates in why is this happening? (2013 Senior Thesis, ART455). Please look for expos on Lauren, Elizabeth, Kayleigh, and Jen in the coming week. 

Daniel Cantu II (Born in Texas, raised in a military family) worked on a 3D animated short featuring a robot. The protagonist, who after discovering a peculiar object in the ground, goes onto a journey of determined, almost stubborn, self-realization. For this project, Daniel has taken on multiple roles -- as a director, collaborator, sound designer, actor, and animator -- only to pursue this character almost six years in the making. Some of those initial sketches will be exhibited alongside of the many behind-the-scenes, showcasing various stages of production. The screening premiere will be Friday, March 22 at 5:30pm in the Wilson Art Building, WAB room 104 (no reservations, but the seating is limited). Daniel hopes to join the ranks of Pixar Animation Studios.

This project seeks to narrate a visual story that once existed only in my imagination. Visuals play a large part in my project because I personally respond to imagery, and in this case moving imagery. The realm of 3D animation has always intrigued me ever since I took an animation class in high school.

This project involved several computer animation programs, some were used for motion capture, one was used to model the character and world, and each spanned across both Windows and Macintosh operating systems. This project also involved a dedicated team of talented individuals. While I wrote the story and animated, Meredith Cave was the talented actress who performed the scene, and Evan Harrell composed the music to match the animation. 

-- Daniel Cantu II

*an animation still, image courtesy of the artist.

why is this happening?

Senior Art Exhibition 2013 

March 22 - April 5, 2013

reception, lecture and screening: Friday, March 22, 5 – 7 PM

For more information please follow Anne Wright Wilson Fine Arts Gallery, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY http://www.georgetowncollege.edu/galleries/ or https://www.facebook.com/whyisthishappening2013

Jeanette Tesmer, Director of Art Galleries and Curator of Collections
E-mail: jeanette_tesmer@georgetowncollege.edu
Phone: 502-863-8399

Boris Zakic, Professor of Art

E-mail: boris_zakic@georgetowncollege.edu
Phone: 502-863-8107