Student animation highlighted in Lake Oswego art festival exhibit
Published 5:00 am Friday, June 13, 2025
- Portland Community College students work on stop motion animation. (Courtesy photo: Anneke Schoneveld)
Professionals in the field won’t be the only ones displaying their animation creativity at the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts.
Willamette University’s Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) and Portland Community College will showcase student stop-motion and traditional animation in the “Animation: Script to Screen” exhibit at the festival running from June 20-22.
“Emerging animators from PNCA and PCC will have the opportunity to display their works, engage with industry professionals, and develop essential portfolio skills through an enriching internship program. This event aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and professional industry exposure,” a press release about the exhibit reads.
Marilyn Zornado, an educator with PNCA, said the school’s four-year program includes learning how to begin animations on paper, using digital software for animation, stop-motion and computer graphics, and honing other skills like design, background layout and animation for games.
A Willamette University’s Pacific Northwest College of Art student works on a project.
(Courtesy photo: Marilyn Zornado)
The program will show a reel of student work, including 2D animation and stop-motion. Stop-motion puppets as well as information about the department will also be featured at the festival.
Zornado said students go on to work for game design companies or on feature films in Portland or Los Angeles, among other careers in the field.
“I love their enthusiasm and their dedication,” Zornado said of the students. “They are really hard workers; they love animation. I learn so much from them — what they are watching, what they are interested in. It’s great to be with them.”
PCC students created the commercial for the art festival.
(Courtesy photo: Anneke Schoneveld)
According to instructor Anneke Schoneveld, PCC students made the commercial video for the festival through an internship program which included writing the script as well as utilizing stop-motion, puppets and animation. Other work from the internship will also be on display. To see the commercial, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWmyzW2mMAI.
PCC students can attend introductory and advanced classes related to stop-motion and earn an associate degree in animation and motion graphics.
“They are learning and growing and continuing on. It was exciting, the opportunity to get their work out there and share what they can do. They are excited to keep going into the next level of animation,” Schoneveld said.
