“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is” ~ Jedi Master Yoda.

I can recall myself at a very young age, with eyes wide open, playing video games in front of the T.V. Playing, for a child equals experiencing with full mind and senses a partly real and partly unreal situation. And through that surrealistic prism it discovers and explains the world. Letting my imagination free, I fully lived and experienced every animated film, every electronic game, every group game and fairytale. I realize now the importance of the aesthetics, or a character’s personality and qualities, or the cultural backgrounds that each of them had in context. I remember wanting to change or add details to every story/world, wanting to participate somehow in the magically hidden from me Creative Process behind it. It was such an intriguing mystery were all this imaginary-alternative universe was. Today I know I want to be part of this Creative business following a course that will allow me to built my own ideas and make them real. Playful creativity is what describes best my daily interests and activities. I have many interests, like music, (I take piano lessons) and I read many books, comics and manga, watch many movies and play games. Above all I enjoy the time I share with my friends because we have the same interests, so we go to Cosplay parties, Comic conventions, we spent nights dedicated to our favorite games and anime and share our opinions on the plots, or the graphics, or on the changes we would make on everything. I am also a regular of the Japanese Embassy here in Athens, for borrowing books, discussing with the people that work in the Embassy, and attending events, because I deeply admire the Japanese Culture and I love being involved. For the last two years I have been spending most of my time taking a full time portfolio preparation course at a Visual Arts Studio. After school hours are always filled with creativity. There I have developed my skills in drawing, I have had the opportunity to use all kinds of different materials like pencil, charcoal, colored inks, watercolors, acrylics, soft pastels, and experiment with them in many ways, making mixed media pieces in 2D and 3D. I have also advanced my skills in photography, and I value the many techniques and crafting of all kinds that I have learned as they can all become ways of expressing ideas cleverly. Moreover, I have learned how to plan the process for a project from scratch, first doing my research, then brainstorming and tracking my ideas to finalize the concept, then realize and reflect on it. Another important thing that I gained from my Visual Arts course is the experience of team work, because we always collaborate with my classmates for the making of every project, idea, photo shoot, etc. In about 5 years, I like to think myself as part of a big studio in Japan, working feverously for the production of electronic games, or an animated film, and using all my energy and ideas for it. Here in Greece, we don’t have that kind of studies or the companies in that field. So studying and working abroad, for me, is necessary but also an opportunity to explore different environments and cultures, knowing people, and make my background richer. I have a dream that maybe after many years I could return here in Greece and open a school for Animation and Games Design, so that others would be given the chance to study their dream course. I realize that this field of work is very demanding, and I am determined to give it all I have in order to be able one day to communicate to others my love and passion for Animation and Games Design.