My name is Alicia Valdes and I am transitioning from teaching public middle school art to a career in animation.
​
I initially attended the Art Institute of Tampa to pursue a degree in Animation, however I changed majors half-way through to Studio Art at the University of South Florida when I became disheartened by the lack of available animation jobs in Florida. After graduating, I spent 7 years teaching art in public middle school before realizing I was ready to, once again, pursue my life-long dream of breaking into the animation industry.
​
I am currently self-teaching myself character design and visual development at home in Florida with the hope that I can soon jump back into animation.