James McDonald

Born and bred in Papaioea (Palmerston North), James comes from a family of creatives, including both his grandfathers being illustrators.

James is now finishing his second year of the Bachelor of Creative Media at UCOL Manawatū.

When asked when he began creating, he deadpans and explains that creating and storytelling is just who he is. The more you get to know James, the quicker you realise he's not kidding around when it comes to making art to tell his stories.

"When I was a kid, I'd make toys and their packaging, I'd make my own supermarket shop with all the products and then use them as props to tell my stories. I even made films, which I made my younger brother star in. From start to finish, I'd plan it out, direct it, film it, edit it - the whole lot."

"I've never wanted to pick one creative medium over another and have always thought I'd end up as a Creative Director somewhere, so the Bachelor of Creative Media is working really well for me."

"UCOL has been great so far. The teachers are incredibly agile and willing to help with all my endeavours. One has even nicknamed me the Renaissance man! I've been really grateful to them for their extra time and the face-to-face aspect – I don't know how someone could study this course online, which is what I'd been considering before coming here."

James started tutoring a local nine-year-old over a year ago. "We've covered heaps so far; they just love it," he lights up.

"We've done animation, drawing, a digital comic book (which included Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects software), photography, watercolours, and we're about to do paint pouring."

His recent Library Walls Alive project came about through an assignment from UCOL's Workhub – where industry connects with students – "Palmerston North City Council had all these kids draw these birds to celebrate Wildbase, so the goal was to show them off on the Library walls."

Speaking about his process, he explains, "Once we got all the drawings, I went through and tried to group them together to start telling a story and have some sort of flow throughout the entire animation. It was a good experience in keeping the animation exciting while showing off the artwork, I learnt a few new transition techniques that I've been able to utilise in other works since then."

The other artwork James is referring to is something he's spent over 400 hours crafting. The result? A 22-minute, 22-second cartoon animation about a robot revolution, that deals with themes like classism and existentialism. "I'll be sharing the whole thing on my Instagram (@jamesmcdonald.art) where people can find out more," he says. 

For anyone who's thinking about enrolling in UCOL's Bachelor of Creative Media, James reckons, "Make sure you have a vision and the ability to commit to the vision all the way through the creative process. Oh, and make the most of all the opportunities you can – it's great!"