York animator Bella McEvoy was chosen to contribute to one of modern Britain’s biggest Christmas traditions – the John Lewis ad!
Bella, who studied at Manor School and took an art and design foundation course at York College, went on to graduate from Kingston University.
And she was one of four graduates chosen to work on the John Lewis ad, which has been watched more than three million times on YouTube alone.
She specialises in stop-motion and traditional animation. She likes to tell stories with paper cut-outs and plasticine and has directed and animated stop-motion films and music videos.
Some of her work was broadcast on the giant screen at Piccadilly Circus in London.
With her three fellow Kingston graduates, she was responsible for the final four scenes of the John Lewis ‘Give A Little Love’ advert.
‘Achieving my dreams’
Bella attained a distinction in the art & design foundation diploma at York College in 2017. Her creativity and hard work secured her a place at Kingston University to study illustration and animation.
Her former tutor Stuart Harvey said: “The art foundation diploma enables students to specialise in specific areas, and Bella took the opportunity to develop her animation and illustration skills.
“The John Lewis advert is always eagerly anticipated by industry and having the opportunity to work on it is very rare for any artist.
“Bella’s creative ideas and skill-set were clear from the beginning and it is wonderful to see her being recognised for her talents.”
Bella said going to university “seemed so unattainable after finishing school with only 4 GCSEs” – but that changed thanks to her college experience.
“With the help of my York College tutors I realised I needed to push myself in order to achieve my dreams, and now here I am with a first class degree and John Lewis on my CV!
“Being at York College made me realise all you need is motivation, hard work and a bit of support to accomplish your aspirations.”
See more about the making of the John Lewis advert here.