Danielle Parchment: Animation ‘ambassador’ in South Korea

TWENTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD self-taught artist Danielle Parchment has dreamt of working in animation since she was a teenager. But the Kingstonian’s progress was initially hampered by learning disabilities and a lack of opportunities in Jamaica. So when she happened upon KingstOOn on Facebook, she knew she had struck gold.

As she carefully studied the banner promoting animation internships financed by the Korea Trust Fund and managed by the World Bank, she exhaled. Realising that she would be able to work with the best in the industry in South Korea, coupled with encouragement from her inner circle, she applied.

Now happily settled into her internship at Funny Flux Studios in Seoul, South Korea, Parchment marvels at the effort required to hone her skills and ignite her passion for animation.

Her primary-level education was retarded by learning disabilities sparked by seizures, which helped to undermine her social skills. “I was always being left out, so I expressed myself through drawings. Words couldn’t adequately convey my struggles as a social misfit,” she reflects.

At Holy Childhood she finally hit her stride when she met empathetic teachers and peers with learning disabilities. She aced high school en route to Edna Manley College for the Visual & Performing Arts. Although animation was not offered there as a major, Parchment, fuelled by her passion, found a workaround : “YouTube, books, free tutorials online. My family invested in art supplies, allowing me to flourish as a self-taught artist.”

At the “ripe old age” of 21 in November 2015, Parchment coined the label Nille Studio as a chapeau under which to showcase her work and carve her own little niche in the market. This earned her the respect of peers and role models alike. In the pipeline is an online outlet for her animation skills.

Parchment regards the skills acquired during her current internship as providing the chance for her to contribute to Jamaica’s nascent animation industry.

According to Jamaica’s Film Commissioner Renee Robinson, “Over the past 10 years, Jamaica has created more than 20,000 temporary jobs to service the animation industry, along with attracting over a thousand international film projects, and generating J$6 billion in capital expenditure. It’s also hoped that growth in the animation sector will boost Jamaica’s overall economic impact.”

Coretta Singer, Chair of Jamaica Animation Nation Network (JANN), is encouraged by Parchment’s initiative, because despite the global boom in the industry, female animators are still hardly visible and barely recognised.

“Very seldom allowed to lead, we’re almost always locked away churning out those jobs along the pipeline that no one else wants to do. We are often relegated to positions lower than our male counterparts, regardless of our competence,” she says. What is her advice to Parchment? “Seek knowledge wherever opportunities present themselves, and remember that technology is always changing. Keep updated. Keep pushing, growing.”

While optimistic about the future of Jamaica’s animation industry, Singer highlights some concerns.

“Starting with public education – people still see animation as just art, and [they feel] that art can’t make money. Then there are customs duties that put computers and components out of reach.”

Singer argues that professional organisations like JANN are trying to mitigate these setbacks, mainly by facilitating a creative space in Jamaica with access to computers where people can collaborate with colleagues and business partners on IPs, practically expanding the space for studios and workshops for focused animation education.

For her part, Parchment remains confident in her abilities and is optimistic about her future. After making a success of her Funny Flux internship as part of the character and board design team, she wants to work virtually with US industry giants like Pixar and Cartoon Network while feeding the supply side of well executed Jamaican narratives. She heads back home to start this quest at the end of July.