Animation Club, founded by sophomores Nashita Bhuiyan and Angela Yu this year, has already met twice and members are beginning to learn about the basics of animation in these meetings.

Club president Bhuiyan said that she “was surprised by how hard it was to find information on something so mainstream. With this club, I hope to make it much easier for people to learn how to animate.”
Since animation is rapidly growing in popularity online in places such as YouTube, she wants to “teach people how to animate and give them a chance to create animations of their own.”

The club, meeting every other Thursday, has met twice, however, according to the club’s Google Classroom, the second meeting “[ended] at 3:30 instead of 4:30.”

Despite only having two meetings, the club is already working on teaching their members the basics of animation. According to club member Catherine Lim, there are currently “a bunch of tutorials for using Synfig, a free animation software.”

The club has many plans for the future, as well. Bhuiyan has already created a YouTube channel, which she claimed is still under development. “However,” she said. “we do have an Instagram: @wootton_animations.”

Bhuiyan hopes for there to be content on the club’s social media soon, and club members can upload any artwork they would like to be posted via the club’s Google Classroom. In the future, Bhuiyan hopes “that we can create and release quality animations on a regular basis. I want to be able to tell stories which are unique, with plot and characters which you don’t typically see in media today.”

Bhuiyan said that she created this club to have a place where artists can learn how to animate and showcase their work, and because “it gives me room to express myself and it allows me to create something that others will enjoy.”

Bhuiyan does, however, have some concerns. “There is a lot of work and time that needs to go into this project,” she said. “If we want this all to work out, the twice a month meetings won’t be enough.”
Lim has similar concerns. “I attend meetings and am encouraged to post artwork,” Lim said. “But I am also pretty busy with homework so I feel like I am not participating enough.”

Despite the concerns, both Bhuiyan and Lim remain hopeful and enthusiastic. “My plan is to take it slow and break down everything into smaller steps so it seems less overwhelming,” Bhuiyan said.

Lim has a positive outlook on the club. “I’m excited to be a part of the club because it revolves around some of my interests and hobbies and the people in it are nerdy like me,” she said. “I feel like it’s a really fun idea and an awesome chance to collaborate with friends on projects or learn something new.”

Although Bhuiyan said that the club has not yet created anything of substance, “We are planning on making a web series, a comedy/satire.”