Animation grad tells how she found success by getting out of her comfort zone

“Getting out of your comfort zone is the most important step when you come to college. I think if you don't get out of your comfort zone, you just stay in that bubble and you don't really learn, you don't really grow. You need to experience both bad things and good things to be able to grow as a person.”

This is the philosophy of Jiya Dubey, a graduating senior at Arizona State University who majored in animation at the Herberger School of Design. Getting out of her comfort zone was something she was forced to do to surmount the trials and tribulations of college.

Dubey came to ASU as a 17-year-old who flew across the world from India to the United States. It was an intimidating transition as she came here alone and had to adjust to a new culture and lifestyle far from home. She says one major factor that helped her adjust was the community  of ASU.

“Being able to interact with so many people, so many different backgrounds, cultures and countries, making friends all over the world and having connections; it's really helped me become more educated on everything, and it's really helped me grow as a person,” Dubey said. 

Another way Dubey got out of her comfort zone was through her study of animation. Although she had a background as a traditional artist before coming to ASU, she quickly became inspired to study animation upon realizing its potential as a mode for storytelling. She has always had a fascination with the art form, having watched  films as a child with her dad, like the “The Adventures of Tintin.” 

“I remember watching animated movies and cartoons, and I realized that (art) isn’t just limited to cartoons,” Dubey said. “You can make amazing, deep, thought-provoking animations, and you can use that to combine film and traditional art.” 

Dubey has studied the ins and outs of animation, learning about 2D and 3D animation, character designing, storyboarding, production and different animation styles across cultures. She credits her capstone professor, Sandro Del Rosario, as a great mentor for her throughout her college journey.

“He’s somebody who really holds me accountable for my work and gives me such good constructive criticism,” Dubey said. “I believe that in the art world, constructive criticism is really important. You should surround yourself with people who have different perspectives.”

Dubey’s work culminated in her capstone project at ASU, “Porcelain,” a short film symbolizing the difficulties of living with bulimia, an eating disorder that involves uncontrollable binge eating and purging.  

“I came up with it because I’ve had my own struggles with bulimia during college, and I really wanted to explore that and get closure by making this project.” 

Porcelain will involve two characters, a girl and a monster that represents the eating disorder, and the film will act as a metaphor for how bulimia can feel like a host in someone’s body that has taken control. 

Dubey says the process of making even just a short film takes a ton of effort and resources. For “Porcelain,” she had to storyboard the film’s look and camera angles, choose the right color keys to evoke the right emotion, create each animation frame-by-frame and collaborate with composers and voice actors. She says that although the process is daunting, the results of the hard work always make it worth it. 

“Being able to put in that hard work and really give your all in a passion project, it’s just so rewarding to finally see your work pay off,” Dubey said. “And then also being able to share that with classmates and to see their projects, I think that it’s really inspiring because everybody does things so differently.” 

Dubey is still in the process of completing “Porcelain” and plans to have it done before the end of the year, when she will upload it to her YouTube Channel, Meriilune. In addition to finishing the film, Dubey’s post-graduation plans include exploring game design, growing her social media presence, working on passion projects and connecting with the art community more. 

Dubey advises anyone just starting out in college to try to find a community that motivates them to become better. She referenced the many different communities and opportunities at ASU that can make that process much easier.

“Maybe take a class at the SDFC, try cycling or boxing,” Dubey said. “They have so many different types of opportunities here. They have such amazing clubs on campus. I wish I had joined more clubs.”

She also credits her time as a student worker for helping her connect with others. She started as a front desk assistant at University Housing before becoming a community assistant, which involved living in dorms with first-year students and helping them learn their way around campus. She has most recently worked for the Educational Outreach and Student Services’ Vice President of Administration Services, assisting the organization with various projects.

“Getting an on-campus job really helped me get out of my comfort zone and get to know new people,” Dubey said. 

Dubey also advises her philosophy of trying new things in order to grow. 

“Just get out of your comfort zone,” Dubey said. “Try everything you can and focus on each aspect: your social, academic and personal. Just try to grow as much as you can.”