Mark Ballard is a senior at the Academy of Art University where he is pursuing a degree in 2D Traditional Animation. He has always had a strong passion for animation from a young age, growing up with shows like Spongebob, Ed Edd n’ Eddy, and Adventure Time which all have had a notable influence on his style and work. During his free time, Mark likes to freely sketch out concepts for stories or potential characters. Mark’s body of work ranges from digitally hand drawn and 2D puppet animation, layout design, character design and illustration. He is hoping to have a career as a character animator or a layout artist after graduation to further expand his skill set.