51视频

03/17/2025
By Ed Brennen

Along with such names as John Cena, Post Malone and Ayo Edebiri, you will find art and design alumna Katie Lucas 鈥�20 in the credits for the 2023 animated movie 鈥淭eenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.鈥�

Lucas, who earned a bachelor of fine arts (BFA)聽degree with an animation and interactive media concentration from 51视频 (UML), worked as a 2D visual effects (FX) animator on the film, which earned rave reviews for its unique visual style.

鈥淓verything in the film is very jagged, like it鈥檚 scribbled in with crayons or pencil. It looks gorgeous,鈥� says Lucas, who was hired to work on the movie as the first 2D FX animator at Cinesite, an animation studio in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lucas considers 2D FX animation, her specialty, the 鈥渓ast bastion of traditional animation.鈥� Drawing by hand on art tablets connected to computers, 2D FX animators add elements like fire, water and electricity to scenes frame by frame, bringing movement and life to the animation.

Lucas recently returned to campus to talk with students in Associate Professor聽Yuko Oda鈥檚 senior studio class about her fledgling animation career, which has included work on Cartoon Network's 鈥淩ick and Morty鈥� and Netflix鈥檚 鈥淐arol & the End of the World.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to be able to come back and share my experiences. I鈥檓 glad I can give back to the school that gave me so much,鈥� she says.

Lucas was among the first graduates of UML鈥檚 animation program, which launched in 2017. She credits the mentorship of Associate Professor聽Pouya Afshar, in particular, for helping her flourish.

鈥淗e took me under his wing from the moment I stepped on campus and let me work on my art,鈥� she says.聽

Lucas traces her passion for animation back to the Disney storybooks she read as a child. As a pre-teen, she enjoyed watching 鈥淢y Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic鈥� on TV, and then going online to find behind-the-scenes content shared by the show鈥檚 production staff.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized, 鈥榃hoa, this is a real job. This is something people do,鈥欌�� she says.

Homeschooled through high school, Lucas began taking classes at Middlesex Community College at age 13. When she transferred to UML at age 17, she initially pursued a double major in computer science and art before narrowing her focus to a BFA in animation, with minors in computer science and German studies.

鈥淎n important thing that UML gives you that an art school can鈥檛 is that breadth of education. You can pursue other interests and other thoughts, and that develops a well-rounded artist,鈥� says Lucas, who was deeply involved as an Honors College student, organizing screening events for animated films at O鈥橪eary Library.

Among the internships that Lucas took on as a student was working with former UML faculty member Javier Barbosa on the feature film 鈥淟yd in Exile.鈥� But graduating from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, made breaking into the industry a challenge. To stay active, Lucas started a motion graphics company with fellow animation alumna Madison Hines 鈥�20, creating book trailers and short films while continuing to build her portfolio.聽

Lucas鈥� perseverance paid off when Bardel Entertainment, a studio in Vancouver, offered her a spot in its 2D FX boot camp. That led to her first major job, working on 鈥淩ick and Morty鈥� for Bardel.

Relocating to Vancouver, which is often called 鈥淗ollywood North鈥� because of its thriving film and TV industry, was easy for Lucas, as that鈥檚 where her family is originally from. But when projects dried up last year because of the writer鈥檚 strike, she returned to the Lowell area. She is now teaching art at St. Patrick鈥檚 School.

鈥淚 really enjoy it,鈥� says Lucas, whose long-term goal is to teach animation in college, preferably at 51视频. 鈥淚 loved being here 鈥� it was very inspiring to me 鈥� and I want to give back.鈥�

In the near term, though, Lucas hopes to return to Vancouver鈥檚 vibrant animation scene for more industry experience.

鈥淚t鈥檚 wild to be able to say that, yeah, I accomplished exactly what I set out to do,鈥� Lucas says. 鈥淏ut I worked very, very hard to get here, and I hope to keep working hard in the future.鈥�

Hard work is something that Lucas emphasizes when speaking to current art and design students.

鈥淭here's a term in animation called 鈥榩lussing up,鈥� which is the idea that whatever you鈥檝e been given by the previous team in the pipeline, you want to make it better in some way,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what students have to do with their assignments in school. How can you make it even better and learn more from the project?聽 Because once you're in the industry, you need to stay up to date with not just the technologies, but also with your skills. You need to be continually improving and learning.鈥�