Howzit everyone, I’m Jaron, I was born and raised here on the island of Oahu, I went to Radford High School and later attended Leeward Community College for my associates in Digital Media Production. After that I transferred to West O‘ahu to complete my bachelor’s degree in General Creative Media. If I was an artist’s tool, I would be a pencil (both traditional and wireless), because I’ll be able to craft anything from my imagination and share them to others that’ll leave a mark in the animation community for years to come.
Since 2019, independent animation has surged in popularity, driven by self-publishing platforms like YouTube, Kickstarter, and Patreon. Creators such as Vivienne Medrano, Tracy J. Butler, and Gooseworx have built large audiences by sharing original content online. This research explores how internet access empowers creators to tell compelling stories, while tracing the history of self-publishing platforms and their role in expanding the independent animation genre.
The concept of creativity has come a long way. The Old Greeks would call those creative forces muses, other religions referred to them as God. Today people still mostly treat creativity as an aha moment outside the area of influence. However, just by looking at the creative process one can tell, that creativity and creative work is more than just that one "Aha-Moment" (insight). It is clear that generating ideas demands planning and preparation, identifying something of interest like a problem, an opportunity or a challenge, doing research. This then leads to thinking of a solution, allowing time to incubate and iterations before arriving at something “complete.” Students learn that hard work is what makes their ideas come to life and sticktuiveness is what helps them get better.
Jaron rides the wave of indie animation with his original series WaveLink—a bold, self-made project inspired by the rise of internet-born animation studios. 🌊🎬 Rooted in his research on the growth of independent animation since 2019, Jaron explored how creators like Vivienne Medrano and Gooseworx broke barriers using platforms like YouTube and Patreon. WaveLink is more than a series—it’s a tribute to creative freedom, online community-building, and the power of telling your own story without waiting for permission.
Stream the start of something original. WaveLink