If you have any inquires, please contact me:
EMAIL: mayamendonca101@gmail.com
Hiya! I'm Maya.Growing up in Brooklyn, NY with Saturday morning cartoons, movies, video-games, and a family full of personalities, they all inspired me to pursue animation. Although I didn't quite know how animation was made, I still told stories through doodles, comics, and a bunch of stick figure flipnotes.
Over time, animation became my diary. Through my own experiences and observations of people around me, I use that to bring sincerity in characters and make people feel emotionally connected throughout each pose, each moment, each story.
In 2020, I won a student Oscar - Academy Award for my thesis film “Hamsa”. I’ve also freelanced for companies such as Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, Hornet, and Cartoon Network; I learned so much from each studio. Recently, I finished Season 7/8 of Blaze & The Monster Machines as a senior animator.
My next step in life is to continue growing at a feature film studio and take my family to the movies I work on. I’m also interested in teaching when the time is right :)
In my free time, I explore photography, chill with family + friends, and catch up on movies & shows. I’m a fan of corny jokes, anime, soccer, video-games, and anything Spider-Man related.
Keep scrolling to see more!
“And that’s what people want to see when they go to the theater. I believe at the end of the day, they want to see themselves - parts of their lives they can recognize. If I can achieve that, it’s pretty spectacular.”
FEATURED ARTICLES AND EVENTS
INTERVIEWS (click image)
Ruel Smith (VFX Animator), Shawn Martinbrough (Comic Book Artist) / Illustrator, and Harris Wu (VFX Artist)
Nickelodeon Studios in New York
Paw Patrol billboard I animated on in front of the Viacom building at Times Square
Q&A in the American Pavillion at the Cannes Film Festival, France. This was followed after a screening of our thesis film, Hamsa for the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase.
Spies in Disguise Wrap Party
Comic Con 2018
Cartoon Network interns and myself
SVA 3D Animation Club with Nicholas Christie, Gabe Aguirre, and our founder MontaQue Ruffin
