About

// Baldur Alexander [He/Him] //

PennWest Edinboro University / Senior / Currently taking a semester off

Field of study: Mixed Media Animation [Traditional/Stop-Motion]

Contact info / baldralexanderpss@gmail.com

// Bio //

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I chose a field in animation is because I absolutely love the artistic medium of storytelling. Building a unique visual world with a style that matches the writing is something I really do enjoy. It's why I love Ghibli films so much. No one tells a story the way Hayao Miyazaki does.

I started animating when I was about 14. I had a Nintendo DSi back then that had Flipnote Hatena and it really inspired me to try animation because it gave you such a simplistic approach. From there I started creating characters for shorts that eventually turned into a whole story concept. I had little experience in digital animation until my junior year in college so my transition from paper to digital was a bit rough at the start. I had a little experience drawing with a mouse in high school on Microsoft Paint and rigging on Anime Studio Pro 9.

I've always been fascinated by hand drawn animation and stop-motion. As a kid I would watch old Disney movies on my family's VCR. I remember being enamored by movies with scenes like "Maleficent's" dragon transformation in Sleeping Beauty and "The Horned King" in The Black Cauldron. I would re-watch those movies for those specific moments, not to mention, I loved a good fantasy film. My dad would always have some Disney or Aardman Film to show me as a kid, and when a new film came out, we'd always go see it in the theater. My dad played a big role in my love for animation. Growing up, he used to teach me about the processes of hand drawn Disney films from concept to cell painting. I also had a great art teacher growing up. Since I can remember, I'd go over to my grandmother's to paint, draw, or create. She taught me the joys of creating something and just letting the art flow. My love of story telling comes from my mother. She used to read to us a lot. From the entire Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Louis to Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Vurne. I also read a lot. Some of my biggest influences come from my high-school reading lists. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini played a huge part in my high-school writing and character creation. Even to this day I find my-self coming back to that series for inspiration. In fact, a project I've been working on that I haven't released yet started as sort of fan-fiction to the The Inheritance Cycle in high school.

Today, I find myself inspired by more Sci-Fi. Films like Tron and Tron: Legacy play a huge role in my style and color scheme. Studio Ghibli / Hayao Miyazaki is another big influence on the hand drawn aspect of my animation. I would love to animate with the attention to detail that Miyazaki uses as well as his way of storytelling. Other than Sci-Fi, I am drawn to horror writing. I have written a few horror short stories and love the idea of building suspense or creating just the sense of unease as does Junji Ito.

As for my animation degree, I am currently a senior in animation as PennWest Edinboro. However, I've had a few financial struggles and personal issues which lead me to drop out twice but even in the college hiatus, I still animate/write/draw/etc. I will be back at Edinboro in the fall of 2025 / Spring 2026 to finish my degree.