Native American Youth Animation Workshop

The Native American  Virtual Youth Animation Workshop is a three-day interactive and educational workshop for indigenous teens and youth. The goal is to encourage Native American youth to explore careers in animated film, television and new media. 

The workshop takes place Tuesday December 28th through Thursday December 30th, 2021 12p PT – 2p PT.

Application available here: 3rd Annual Native American Youth Virtual Animation Lab Application . Please forward completed applications to contact@laskinsfest.com

The workshop offers a fun, career building experience creating animation and exposure to animation careers. The program gives each participant an opportunity to work with software, create elementary movement, and be inspired to continue with an animated project. The workshop also features Native American professionals working in the industry who can speak about aspects of animated film and television.

This year, we are excited to have the following artists participating in the program:

Chad Martin is a Native Hawaiian multimedia artist and life-long resident of Hawai’i. A graphic designer by trade, Chad refocused his energies in 2014 from freelance to creating engaging content that aligns with his passion for Hawaiian history and culture. Together with his wife, Chad created the Maka’iwa Keiki Youtube Channgel, which teaches basic Hawaiian language through songs and family-friendly animated content.

Chad’s latest project is WAO AKUA – Realm of Gods, a young adult animated series inspired by the rich mythologies of Hawai’i and the Pacific. With the WAO AKUA series, Chad aims to create dynamic, enduring property that shares the core values, keen cleverness, and the framework of layered meaning instilled in Pacific Island storytelling.

Marie Bower is a freelance storyboard artist and character designer from Pawtucket Territory (Massachusetts) and has worked for Comedy Central, Netflix, Disney Television Animation, Fox Animation, and Cartoon Network. Marie is a non-enrolled Native with Mi’kmaq and Cherokee heritage, who graduated with a BFA in Animation from the Laguna College of Art and Design.

Nicolette Ray is a storyboard artist and member of the Acoma Pueblo tribe of New Mexico who graduated from San Jose State University in 2015 with a BA in Animation/Illustration. She has worked professionally in the animation industry since 2016, starting her career as a storyboard revisionist at Wild Canary on the first season of Disney Jr’s Puppy Dog Pals. Nicolette has worked as a storyboard artist on the same show for the following five seasons.

Shantal Begay is a graduate from New Mexico State University where she studied Animation & Visual Effects with a minor in Digital Film. She grew up on the outskirts of a tiny town on the Navajo Reservation before relocating for her education. As a Native American, she’d like to see more representation in her community, which is what helped push her in her decision to break into a creative field. She has experience working as a freelance artist various projects, including joining a startup company to help develop 3D assets for a kickstart game starter set to debut on the site later this year, as well as helping to animate the introduction for the 2019 Las Cruces Film Festival with a handful of other animators. Most recently, her animated short Familiar is to be screened at the 2021 LA SKINS festival this year. As an animator, storyteller, and freelance artist, Shantal has a particular love for 3D design. She would like to work in the animation industry – either as a 3D modeler or 3D Rigging artist. Both are technical aspects in their own right, but a challenge is always up for grabs in Shantal’s book.

The workshop is in partnership with: