Adriana M. Scalisi

Adriana Scalisi is a digital artist majoring in Animation, with a strong graphic design background. Italian from Sicily, currently based in the UK.

Adriana holds a BA in Audio, Video and Multimedia from the Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo. There, she graduated cum laude 110/110 while working on her first animated projects while learning how to do storytelling applied to documentaries. Winner of a digital painting contest ‘Wassilly Contest’ issued by the Accademia di Belle Arti Kandinskij in October 2016. Finalist at XII edition of PNDA (National Art Prize, Premio Nazionale Delle Arti), Design Section in 2017 with a series of Light Painting Photographies. Since then, she has worked on still images as a freelance illustrator for Italian publishing houses. She obtained one of these commissions through a drawing contest. In the UK, Adriana has worked as a Visual Designer for movie projects. Her projects have been mentioned in Italian newspapers (such as La Repubblica) and television (Rai 3).

Adriana is currently a volunteer Illustrator for Breaking Through Careers, a company that helps young people find their career paths.

Adriana’s practice at the Royal College of Art largely relies on narrative, as animation allows her to combines the articulation of a plot with the power of visuals. Her projects are strongly affected from years working as freelance Illustrator, and her style in animation includes drawing skills that have been honed while caring about details in visual design, character design and more. Versed in a wide range of animation styles, techniques and software programs, she deeply studies what the still image can offer before starting to animate: it does not have to contain all the colours, but only the few that combine with the mood. And not many lines; just enough to make a minimal and yet meaningful design.

Competitive, her passion for narrative brought her into winning the screenwriting and illustration contest “Can you frame Roger Rabbit? Draw your Cartoonia!” with the concept art for a fantasy animated series judged by Shelley Page from Dreamworks, organised by Studio Rain and Graffiti Creative during October 2018.

Part of Adriana’s work is influenced by her cultural background, which every now and then pops out as a visual reference or content. To enhance conventional narrative, she adds a twist provided by the visuals that combine in a creation entertaining for the eyes.

A film about a Moka that explodes

It is a tutorial on how to use a Moka, or so it starts. A college girl in her kitchen gives us all the instructions. A first warning anticipates the end of it all: if you forget to put in the filter, the Moka will explode. A flashback reveals a more upsetting background for the girl making the tutorial. Step after step, confessions of anxiety episodes appear. In the end, without a filter, the Moka explodes, along with the realisation that denying the problem cannot be a solution anymore.

What is coffee? Coffee is part of a routine. It is part of social gatherings with people. It is the beverage people have when they need to be more productive. And when anxiety kicks in, it is the first thing to cut out. The main character in this animated short is a girl who lives the ambiguity of trying to look cheerful and relaxed, while she had to deeply change her lifestyle due to a new problem. The story starts with her being in denial, and it ends when she finally accepts the existence of the situation and the steps she will have to take to gradually recover.

Credits

Voice Actor 1 (Main character) Amy Nic

Voice Actor 2 (Roomate) Lazara Morgan

Animation Assistants

Despina Markaki

Leonardo De Lazzer

Peiying Wang

Sheryl Lim

Umang Mankodiya

Composer Alessandro Giovanetto

Sound Designer Alby Daniels

Sound Mix Joe Hirst

Personal Tutor Rory Waudby-Tolley

Medium: 2D Digital

First Year Film – The theme of my first year work was the pandemic. Or better to say, the way our mental health was affected by the lockdown. - It touched parts of our intimate life that we do not want to share; - After being physically isolated from other people, we put a hand on our mouths and socially isolate from others, aggravating the situation. This project represents how an individual can struggle as he leaves the lockdown behind.

Character Animation

Adriana M. Scalisi

A film about a Moka that explodes

Credits

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Royal College of Art