Khetmani

Personal Statement of Khetmani Behan

My mind is like an ever-moving theatre, the continuous ebb and flow of stories from an overflowing bank of ideas. I see them all, my character's stories, their lives, are told to me like a stage play. Sometimes I embody my characters, sometimes I am sitting in the audience watching their tales unfold, over and over. I often tell my stories to my friends and family. Ever since I was a child I dreamed of breathing life into my characters and saw animation as the perfect medium to tell my stories.

I was always fascinated by animation. Whether it be a large scale production from a company like Disney or Cartoon Saloon, or a small-short animation posted to Youtube by someone who animates as a hobby. It was always a skill I wanted to learn, yet never really did make time for it. For the longest time, even though I knew I really liked animation, I never thought I could make it my career path. I often had family tell me, “Oh you're so kind and sympathetic, you would make a perfect nurse!” or “Biology is one of your favorite subjects right? You should look into becoming a doctor or nurse, you would be perfect for it.” I even had my grand-aunt, who went to art college, tell me that I should forget about art, that it isn't something I could make money from or have a future in, and for a large portion of my life, I believed it. All these adults, who have lived their lives, and have been in the working world were telling me that art isn't something I should pursue. Who am I to think otherwise?

It was only in recent years, when confronted with what I wanted to do with my life, that I really sat down and looked at myself, what I was good at, and what I enjoyed. Only then, did I realise that art and animation was what I wanted for me. Eventually, my parents asked me what I wanted to do once I finished school. To which, I said, in hesitance, “I don't know.” I did know, but I was afraid. My dad replied, surprised, “Really? I thought you would have said art or animation.” I was shocked, I thought they wouldn't be happy if I said that. He continued, “You were always obsessed with animation and your characters. I thought that was the only thing you'd consider” I looked at him and said, “But people said,” and I told them about all the things that have ever been said to me about art. “Ah but you shouldn't listen to them, they have a very old way of looking at art as a career. They don't see that it is something that loads of people make a living from. And shur, didn't you say your mom thinks you're amazing at art, that you were better than her when she was your age.” As he talked, I finally saw that what my relatives said shouldn't have affected how I felt about my passion.

I looked at the piles of filled up sketchbooks, the doodles I made in my notebooks and the mini flip books made from the corners of those notebooks and smiled. From that point on, I promised myself I would do whatever it takes to get into the universities I wanted to go to and began to take my art more seriously. I asked my dad to sign me up for multiple courses I was interested in. A couple of them include: a character design course with Gary Erskine and a portfolio course at NCAD. These courses broadened my understanding of art and design. My teachers taught me fundamental drawing skills and how to communicate through design but also taught me that what I drew didn't have to be exactly what I pictured, that art was simply another way of conveying an idea, like speaking but through imagery.

I'm captivated by animation's ability to depict simple actions with emotion. From a person walking to entire character arcs, animation puts motion into emotion. I'm eager to study the fundamentals of animation in a university setting to fully express my ideas as an animator, artist and storyteller. With a background in academic study, I relish the research and creative collaboration animation offers. It is an art form I'm committed to exploring, for life.