Naya's Animation School Tuition Fund

Naya Williams will be graduating from high school in June of 2021!

And in case you didn't know she is an extremely naturally talented artist.

Naya has been exploring the arts for as long as I can remember, but it wasn't until she took some art classes in middle school that she really honed in on her skills in drawing and painting.

And though her classes in middle school gave her some foundations to build on, she has remained mostly self-taught.

Over the years I have watched Naya research, study and apply whatever she needed to know to become a better artist.

She has spent countless days and hours working on various art projects.

You can view a small portion of her work on her Instagram page.
https://instagram.com/lucid_artstudio?igshid=1tn8xzyxx0vm8

So naturally, as with any high school student, Naya began to contemplate her future career path, unsure of which direction to take, but knowing she had a passion for art.

Then in 2020 she did a Blender (3D creation software) tutorial on how to make a donut and started to see a career path in animation.

Shortly afterward she studied various tutorials online and applied her knowledge to create her very first short animated film titled...

"The Chase."
https://youtu.be/1b3Ef1T5ltk


Naya then knew that animation was the right career path for her.

She then researched schools and discovered Animation Mentor ("The original online animation school taught by professional animators...") and knew it was the place for her.

"Animation Mentor was founded in 2005 by three working animators: Bobby Beck, who is the CEO and president of the school, Shawn Kelly, who is a working animator at Industrial Light & Magic, and Carlos Baena, who is a working animator. The school opened on March 27, 2005."

https://www.animationmentor.com

"Students who have graduated from Animation Mentor have worked on box office features, including Frozen, Inside Out, How to Train Your Dragon, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and others."

You can check out their 3D Animation Student Showcase 2020!
https://youtu.be/KMpDF_OG2WI


Once Naya graduates high school in June she will soon be starting at Animation Mentor with their Maya Workshop ($699), which is currently paid for.

Then she will need to enroll in their 6 Character Animation Courses ($2,499 per course).

More information from their website:
https://www.animationmentor.com/animation-program/animation-basics/

https://www.animationmentor.com/admissions/7-reasons-invest-education/

After completing all 6 Character Animation Courses Naya will receive a certificate of completion, but more importantly a demo reel and industry connections which she will be able to use to secure a job in animation.

So how can you help?

Unfortunately Animation Mentor does not accept financial aid and we would like to avoid student loans as much as possible.  We all know that nothing is more stressful than debt.

As Naya's mother I am a single parent so funding her Animation Mentor education alone will be difficult, to say the least, which is why I am reaching out to you.  After all "it takes a village."

And you can rest assured that any and all donations will go directly to help pay for Naya's Animation Mentor courses.

So I hope that you will find it in your heart to help Naya to achieve her goal of attending Animation Mentor and pursuing a career as a Character Animator.

Naya has maintained honor roll status for the past two years since switching to an online school.  She has proven that she's a hard worker and works well independently.  And as I type this, she is currently "in production" on her second animated short film.

Naya is dedicated and passionate about a career in animation and you will be able to watch her career blossom and grow!

We thank you in advance!


(Note: This fundraiser will be ongoing until Naya completes her program at Animation Mentor.)


With love and appreciation,
Nakia