Despite a visual impairment, Joshua Baker could not be more passionate about his major.
As a sophomore at Longwood University, Baker is not your average student, with a major in Graphic Design and Animation he is an artist that is unique to say the very least.
He was born with a genetic condition called Ocular Albinism with Nystagmus, a condition that primarily affects the eyes’ capability to produce pigment according to the National Organization of Rare Disorders, causing him to be legally blind.
“The easier way to say it is, the more light there is the less I can see,” said Baker.
“When I was little a lot of my friends would play sports and stuff and a lot of the time the ball would just hit me in the face.”
“Since I couldn’t participate in that I would just draw what I saw on TV, it was always a part of what I did.”
His mom and dad really pushed him to follow his dreams, according to Baker.
He has been drawing since he was in pre-school, stating that his mom always encouraged him to draw along with Blue’s Clues and other cartoons to give him inspiration for his artwork.
As Baker’s skills mature, he has found many ways to make designing his pieces simpler for him. By designing all of his artwork on an Intos tablet or on paper with a thick sharpie, he is able improve his own skills, something that is true for many other design majors.
“I think it’s better for my vision,” Baker says. “I don’t have to look closely at my hands when I’m drawing and the computer allows me to draw better and be able to see my art more accurately.”
Baker believes that his work is unique for many reasons and that this may set him apart from other animators.
“I like to draw things not exactly how they are seen…I do a lot more exaggeration,” said Baker. “If you look at a lot of my pieces that have extremely exaggerated proportions and poses because that’s what I like to focus more on.”
One of Bakers concerns about the future is that as a blind artist he may not be able to accomplish certain things required in his field.
“In the arts we have to critique each other’s work, and I feel it takes me a lot longer to form my opinion on it,” said Baker. Although, when it comes to classwork he emphasized that he doesn’t feel like his condition impedes his work.
Walking to class was difficult at first according to Baker, he had to become accustomed to the signs and the environment. Additionally, accommodations are made by the university and he has to make sure to have a front row seat in all of his classes.
“A lot of artists can just look at a chair, draw the chair and people would say ‘oh that’s a chair,’” says Baker. “I can’t just look at it and draw it, I actually have to interpret it in my own way, sometimes it does read right but usually it doesn’t.”
After just one year at Longwood he noticed his skills improving ten fold.
Spending last semester in a storyboard class with William “Tuck” Tucker, Bishop Endowed Chair Lecturer of Graphic and Animation Design, helped to spark his passion for storyboards.
When he graduates, Baker’s goal is to get into professional storyboarding, which is the foundation of almost every TV show, cartoon or movie.
