Do you remember Saturday morning cartoons? That feeling of excitement as you sat in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal and joined your favourite characters for their latest wacky adventures? Uros Mihic remembers those mornings well – so well that he decided to dedicate his career to animation.
Uros grew up knowing he wanted to work in a creative role, thanks to Saturday morning cartoons. “I always watched animation growing up as a kid, so it’s always been a part of my life. I’ve always wanted to be in the film industry,” he said.
His passion for animation started when he was young, as he experimented with different methods of storytelling. “I always loved doing stop motion and making comics as a kid,” said Uros. “I quickly found out that stop motion is a very difficult thing to do, and 3d animation gives you a … not easier, but simpler way to do it. I really fell in love with that.”
According to Uros, he wasn’t a good student before he came to college. When he found the Animation 3D program at Mohawk College, that changed, and he almost didn’t recognize himself. “When I was younger, I wasn’t really into school,” he said. “I had bad grades, skipped a lot, I just wasn’t really interested. When I came to Mohawk, something [inside me] switched. I was on task, I organized, I set a schedule. Even my mom and my partner were like ‘what’s going on, who are you.’
While there are many reasons why Uros chose animation to express his creativity, the most important to him is the creative freedom it offers. “With the film industry, you’re limited to props. If you want a certain car, you have to find it, buy it, and hope that it works,” said Uros. “With animation, if you want a certain car, you can just do it, there’s no limit. Whatever you can think of, you can make it.”
Uros believes the program helps students realize they can love working, and it’s actually possible to do what they love for a job. “I’ve talked to students who are just excited to be able to animate and work,” he said. “The one thing that’s nice about this program is that it just doesn’t just offer 3d animation. It’s a very broad program that teaches concept designing, storyboarding, 3d modelling, even scriptwriting is a part of the course.”
He continued, “I know a lot of students in our course who tried animation and decided they don’t want to be animators, but the course is so open they still have options – they want to be concept designers, 3d modellers, scriptwriters. I think that’s the really nice part about Mohawk that other schools might not have.”
Uros’ goal is to one day work in the industry that has meant so much to him. “I’m hoping to eventually open my own studio or become a director,” he said.
Following his passion has shown Uros that his goal isn’t just a dream, he has what it takes to make his dream come true, and he encourages others to follow their passion as well. “I was just so interested [in animation], and it made the difference. Once you find something you like, you just want to use it to make others people's lives great, and your own life great.”
