New Kensington artist to debut animated short on WQED

Anyone watching WQED while trying to stay warm this weekend might happen to see an animated short about a goofy-looking seagull.

Just know that the animation airing at 10 p.m. Saturday on the PBS affiliate’s Filmmakers Corner is actually the debut project of Brooke Doran, a 24-year-old Point Park University graduate from New Kensington.

“Top Shelf” follows the adventures of Reginald, a flightless seagull who was left home by his busy owner without food within his reach.

“We’re kind of following him scheming and trying to get his food because he’s really hungry,” Doran said.

Doran, an artist and 2017 graduate of Valley High School, has been working on the project for roughly two years.

But she wasn’t always producing animations, which require, on average, 24 pictures for a one second of footage.

“My whole life, I really liked drawing and realized I had a knack for it. When I was in high school, I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do with art.’ ”

As high school approached its end, however, Doran discovered that Point Park has programs for animation and visual effects, which she decided to pursue.

Animation, as one might guess, takes a little more effort than some other forms of art.

It is a multistep process that begins with an idea and, potentially two years later, becomes a four-minute short film that could serve as a breakthrough project in the art world.

Although Doran is debuting the short Saturday, she already has shown it in classrooms in the area. In the future, she hopes to have the short featured at film festivals.

In the end, though, what she really wants is to create art for all to enjoy.

“This is a first,” Doran said. “It’s really exciting, and I think it’s super cool there’s so much work behind it. I just want to make work that makes people happy.”

More examples of Doran’s work can be found on her website at brookedoran.com.