By Sarah Police

Staff Writer

There are multiple ways that one can express themselves. While some choose to vent into a diary, others choose to take out their frustration and emotions with a paintbrush and a canvas. The prestigious art program at Coppell High School allows students to dive into their individual expression and explore various techniques to find their own style.

Here’s a preview at two graduating seniors who plan to pursue art as a major in college.

Michelle Yi

Next year, while other students are taking more traditional classes such as math and science, senior Michelle Yi will be attending Ringling School of Art and Design in New York, majoring in computer animation.

“It’s the No. 1 computer animation school in the country and I wanted to go to the best school,” Yi said. “I saw a lot of good reviews from there and I know a few people who go there and they’ve talked to me.”

Ringling is one of the more prestigious art schools in the country and it is known around the country for its excellent animation program.

“Many of the alumni work for Pixar and DreamWorks and I’ve seen the senior works and its just amazing,” Yi said.

Yi has been refining her drawing skills since she was young and has only improved.

“I’ve been drawing since I was little, probably since I could hold a pencil,” Yi said. “My parents saw that I really liked to draw so they put me in art classes.”

Animation company DreamWorks made one of her favorite films, How To Train Your Dragon, and someday she hopes to be able to work alongside its animator.

“I just love it and how at the end Hiccup loses a leg, because it’s so different than the happy endings that other people make,” Yi said.

Although she has not studied animation in-depth yet, last year in art teacher Ann Clark’s class, she was able to dabble with it.

“I animated a little in Digital Graphics and Animation it was really hard work but I really enjoyed it,” Yi said.

Yi is not sure where her degree will take her but she aspires to study animation to make movies and hopefully get a job in one of the big animation companies like Pixar, DreamWorks or Disney.

“I just admire the stories you can tell with animating and the way you can make your characters move,” Yi said. “It’s always been so fascinating and I just want to do that and make things come to life.”

Christina Wagner

Like Yi, senior Christina Wagner will also be studying art when she goes away to college.

Wagner will be attending either Virginia Commonwealth University or University of Texas at Dallas and she plans to major in animation. Ideally, she would like to be a video game designer and animator.

“It would be really cool to make video games; its what I’m really interested in,” Wagner said. “I just really like playing video games, and I don’t care who knows it. I just think it would be really cool to animate.”

“I really like how the are a public school but they also have a really good art program so I was really impressed by that,” Wagner said.

Wagner has had a passion for art since she was little.

“I guess all through my life I had just been the artsy child.” Wagner said. “In fifth grade when we were trying to decide what classes to take, I almost took choir and I’m glad that I took art.”

Wagner has been recognized several times for her award winning artwork. All four years of high school her artwork has advanced to state Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE). This year, one of her pieces was featured in the Dallas Museum of Art in the Young Masters show. Wagner believes that the acknowledgment she has received is motivation.

“I feel like if no one ever recognized me, I would feel like ‘OK, what am I doing?” Wagner said. “If I wasn’t majoring in art, I would probably do still do something creative, maybe advertising.”