Don’t Croak

A girl decides to leave this world. Her body and soul have one last conversation as she walks through the path she has been for one last time.

Director

My name is Daun Kim. I am 25, from South Korea, and a May 2019 graduate in Computer Animation from Ringling College of Art and Design.


Growing up with an encouraging and supportive family, I was able to have opportunities to experience learning in different fields to discover where my interests are, and it helped me figure out that my passion is art. Although I’ve always loved drawing and painting, I did not consider having a career in art. I was insecure about my talent in art, and was afraid of competing with those who practiced many years in advance to become an artist. In 2013, I was accepted into college as an engineering major, and spent a year focused on Mathematics, Physics and Programming. It was a demanding curriculum and I was desperately unhappy. I started thinking about what I wanted to do seriously. Meanwhile, sitting in a theater to see Frozen as an escape, I found myself inspired watching how affected the audience was by the story and animated characters. Immediately, I decided that creating story driven animations that can have profound effects on people would be my career.


In 2015, I discovered Ringling College of Art and Design through an internet search, applied, was accepted, and began enthusiastically studying computer animation. Their rigorous, challenging program demanded I experience a variety of art classes, out of my comfort zone, that contributed to the animator I am today.


For four years, I have worked hard on my education in Computer Animation mastering my required classes and also applying them by earning Best of Ringling my sophomore and junior years. This hard work earned me a summer 2018, 3D animation internship at Gasket Studios, and culminated in my thesis short animated film, called Don’t Croak, an emotional thriller about a frog escaping a determined, frenzied girl in a middle school science lab to avoid dissection.


As an animator and artist, I entertain and communicate with audiences of all ages. My animations address social, developmental and educational challenges through comical situations that everyone can relate to. It brings me great pleasure and satisfaction and I will continue working on creating animation that make people happy.