In the fall of 2023, animation major Lizzy DeHoff interviewed with two Digital Corps Design Team Leads and the rest is history. As an avid, talented animator, Lizzy was an obvious pick when her application came through the hiring process. Since starting her work at the Corps, Lizzy has had the opportunity to design, animate, problem-solve, and learn basic development skills.
In three words, Lizzy describes herself as curious, observant, and creative. As she described herself as creative, she smiled and said how it was “sort of basic.” But knowing Lizzy, this word could not ring any truer.
“I’m one of those people, if something is not necessarily getting done, I will get it done myself. I will be well-rounded and have skills in everything.”
Oftentimes, when speaking to Lizzy, it is evident that she is working extremely hard and tirelessly on whatever project she has up her sleeve. Whether it is designing pieces for The Loading Zone (the Digital Corps cross-collaboration children’s cartoon on PBS), client projects, school projects, or creating the newest piece for the mutt board, she constantly is putting her all into making the best quality version of it.
When asked about her favorite Digital Corps project, The Loading Zone was at the top of her mind. She grew up as a proud PBS Kids lover and thinks that having her work published on such a level is such a cool opportunity.
“I’m a pretty quick learner, so I feel like I can pick new skills up pretty easily. Like the other day I tried felting for the first time, and I picked it up pretty well! Like, ‘Guys look! I made a little dinosaur!’”
Prior to college, Lizzy was an avid percussionist who was in almost every type of band you can think of. It is obvious that this collaborative experience has found its way into her work at the Corps. Lizzy merges well with people from each Corps team and finds herself learning about each step of the project process.
In her school projects she is working with a bunch of animators, who admittedly are winging the rest of whatever they are working on. They don’t necessarily have the skills to develop their pieces or be a project manager. With Lizzy’s experience at the Corps, she gets to understand some additional skills and understand what an actual workplace may look like post-grad.
In response to the questions, “What do you like most about animation?” Lizzy notes, “I just like the idea of bringing my art to life. Like I’ve done painting and drawing and that’s cool, but what if it moved?”
Lizzy’s growing interest in movies is an additional love she has for her major. Blending her passion for movies, art, and basic studies like math and science, makes her choice for animation clear.
As her final days at Ball State and the Digital Corps come quickly, Lizzy is, of course, going to go out with a bang. Recently, she was given a special shoutout by Brandon, our Director, and all the Project Managers for all the work she has done on The Loading Zone. Outside of the Corps, she also was a part of an award-winning production for an animation piece called “Party Monster.” It was a senior animated film submitted by another animation student that won various awards from Ball State’s College of Fine Arts.
Lizzy’s work accompanied by her attitude is incredible, and we know she is going to do fantastic things following her graduation this May. Not only has she been a wonderful asset to our team, but she has also been a leader and friend.
