Insecurities are often the root cause of why we stop ourselves from pursuing possibilities. And often, our relationship with our identities—our personal history with it—builds that insecurity. My journey to self-acceptance and self-love has taught me two significant realizations. 1) That we all have a personal relationship with insecurity, and 2) that we’re never alone in feeling alone. Battling that nuisance called insecurity (or whatever is holding you back), having it knock around in your head like a little annoying cloud of doubt, it’s easy to think we’re the only one. It’s when we open up to one another, when we are vulnerable and say, “This is the real me,” that’s when we realize we’re all on a journey and that we're not really alone. And that’s a beautiful thing. 

The idea for “Skater Girl” came from a compilation of my own "origin story" as a queer youth living with a disability as well as the journeys of my closest friends and family (racial and queer identities). I wanted the film to embody their stories of struggle (such as the sentiment of not feeling like “enough” and needing to compensate) and how each overcame and now finds pride, camaraderie, and joy in their “otherness.” 

The art style and technical direction were experimental, a sweet spot between what my team already had the capability to create and what new techniques we could learn for the film. I was inspired by maximalism as well as the ridiculousness of 90s/early 2000s cartoons. “Skater Girl” used double geometry for props and environment, one being the offset linework and one being the solid-color “sub-layer.” Each 3D prop and character was carefully hand-painted. In comp, some 2D elements used a subtle drop shadow to mimic cell shading to boost the organic feel of the visual development while others were more seamlessly integrated. The film was animated on 2s for the most part, with fast action and effects being on 1s for detail.