Junior Charlotte Anthony was recently named a 2025 YoungArts winner with distinction in film. Anthony won the award for her animated short film “Illumination.”
YoungArts is a national organization that awards high school students across the country. Out of nearly 11,000 applicants, only 185 were selected as YoungArts Winners with Distinction and invited to attend National YoungArts Week in Miami.
Anthony entered YoungArts hoping to meet other artists and find new opportunities. “I’m so grateful to have gotten to meet and befriend so many amazing artists at National YoungArts Week in Miami,” she said. “It was really inspiring to see performances and exhibits every night from high school musicians, writers, dancers, actors, and artists. It really motivated me to keep making films and art.”
Anthony taught herself animation during the pandemic when everything was digitized. She started experimenting with art using Procreate, a digital art software, to develop her scenes after creating a storyboard.
Her first film, “Hatching a Plan,” follows a chick hatching from a carton in the grocery store. Her new film, “Illumination,” follows the story of a creatively burnt-out dad who gets inspiration from his daughter’s love for art.
“My film is about the creative process,” Anthony said. “I always do storyboards for my films, where I sketch out everything on paper.”
“I hope that it brings hope and joy to people and they can emotionally connect,” Anthony said. “I love how animation allows me to combine art and storytelling. It lets me tell narratives through art.”
“I started to animate during the pandemic, where I had a lot of time to explore lots of art styles and art mediums,” Anthony said. “For Illumination, I drew each scene, then compiled all the shots in After Effects and started editing.”
Anthony is interested in studying art and animation in college and wants to continue to make and produce projects for others to see.
