Alanna Hango and Kiri Brewer are provincial silver medalists in 2D Animation after competing at the 2024 Skills Canada British Columbia Provincials held at the Abbotsford Trade and Exhibition Centre on April 17, 2024.
Alanna and Kiri specialize in 2D Animation, also known as “traditional animation.” Alanna had already won gold in the regional competition for 2D animation on March 8 in Cranbrook, which qualified the duo to compete at the provincial level.
“It is no surprise to me how well our team did at the provincial level once Alanna teamed up with Kiri to take on the competition in Abbotsford. We have incredible talent and determination in our programs, and when our students set their mind to something, they’re unstoppable,” said Digital Arts and Media Teacher Trestan Shunter.
Mount Sentinel Secondary (MSS) student carpenter Nathan Koorbatoff, photographer Zoe Oversby and the videography team of Phoenix Allen and Isaiah Fraser also placed in the top 10 at Provincials. Many Salmo and Mount Sentinel students placed in the top three at the regional competition as well.
2D animation is a technology that goes as far back as the early 1900s when hand drawing individual images created motion and shape change through a sequence or frames in a two-dimensional space, and gradually evolved to include colour in films such as Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willy that first featured Mickey Mouse. As digital drawing tools evolved, frames were drawn on computer, but animation was still painstaking and laborious.
Recently, the artform has made a comeback with new software tools and technology available to streamline the drawing process while still requiring the creativity and artistic skills of the animator to build the final product. 2D animation is used to create characters, creatures, FX, and backgrounds for video games, film and commercial use and is a skill in high demand.
Digital media program teachers Tresten Shunter, Danny Leeming and Jacy Schindel prepared students for and accompanied them to both the regional and provincial competitions. SD8 Trades Training Coordinator Brent Firkser registered the students and liaised with SD8 schools and regional college trades and technology partners Selkirk College and College of the Rockies, and the district Innovative Learning team provided financial support to schools to pay for travel for students to showcase their work.
“I’d like to congratulate Alanna and Kiri for their amazing accomplishment and kudos to every student who participated in this year’s trades and technology events. I think this is our strongest showing to date overall, and more importantly, our students are taking the first steps toward rewarding careers in trades and technology,” said Tamara Malloff, District Principal – Innovative Learning.