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, which is my stylistic take on reality. Although I didn't quite know how animation was made, I continued to tell stories by drawing doodles, comics, and a countless amount of flip-notes with stick figures on sticky pads.
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, moment, and story.
In 2020, I won a student Oscar - Academy Award for my thesis film “Hamsa”. I also did freelance for companies such as Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, Hornet, and Cartoon Network; I learned so much from each studio. Currently, I’m a senior animator on a nickelodeon tv show.
My next step in life is to settle down 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)
Red Carpet at the Cannes Film Festival
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.
Paw Patrol billboard I animated on in front of the Viacom building at Times Square
Spies in Disguise Wrap Party
3D Animation Club with Nicholas Christie, Gabe Aguirre, and our founder MontaQue Ruffin
2018-2019 3D Animation Club with Nicholas Christie and Gabe Aguirre
Cartoon Network interns and myself
Comic Con 2018
Reference vs Animation
