{"id":1874,"date":"2026-04-05T18:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T18:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/?p=1874"},"modified":"2026-04-07T16:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T16:46:10","slug":"vconnections-digital-lovers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/vconnections-digital-lovers\/","title":{"rendered":"VConnections Digital Lovers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio uagb-block-vtch0jvd alignwide uagb-is-root-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-info-box uagb-block-7gzwqvxn uagb-infobox__content-wrap  uagb-infobox-icon-above-title uagb-infobox-image-valign-top\"><div class=\"uagb-ifb-content\"><div class=\"uagb-ifb-title-wrap\"><p class=\"uagb-ifb-title-prefix\">Motion design and animation<\/p><h1 class=\"uagb-ifb-title\">VConnections Digital Lovers<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"V Connections Digital Lovers- Trailer - Justin Valdez\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1180860423?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio uagb-block-5d14a065 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div data-aos= \"fade-right\" data-aos-duration=\"400\" data-aos-delay=\"0\" data-aos-easing=\"ease\" data-aos-once=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-4b65b89d\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e0082cf6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-26e8081a\"><h2 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Justin Valdez<\/h2><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-03f5dcbb\"><h3 class=\"uagb-heading-text\"><strong>Trumbull<\/strong>, CT<\/h3><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-8ae5a0fe\"><h3 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Advisor: <strong><strong><strong>Samantha Olschan<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-6f5037cc\"><h4 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Artist Bio<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">Justin Valdez is a digital artist and animator from Trumbull, Connecticut. He develops imaginative ideas through drawing, doodling, and storyboarding. Before putting those into an animation or an art piece, he regularly shares his work on social media to showcase completed projects and celebrate creative milestones. He discovered his passion for art in high school and animation at the University of Connecticut\u2019s Stamford campus. Despite being colorblind, he remains dedicated to honing his artistic skills. His work reflects persistence, creativity, and a belief that imagination is the foundation of meaningful art. Currently, he is a Digital Media &amp; Design major at the University of Connecticut, Stamford, with a concentration in Motion Design and Animation. Outside of his academic work, he creates YouTube gaming thumbnails and edits gaming content as a hobby. After graduation, he plans to continue developing his skills in digital art, animation, 3D designs, and content creation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-aos= \"fade-left\" data-aos-duration=\"400\" data-aos-delay=\"0\" data-aos-easing=\"ease\" data-aos-once=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-787c2033\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-33d869bf wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Justin-Valdez-Headshot-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1626\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" title=\"Justin Valdez Headshot\" loading=\"lazy\" role=\"img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio uagb-block-f6f9c3e4 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-advanced-heading uagb-block-899e302d\"><h4 class=\"uagb-heading-text\">Artist Statement<\/h4><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\">V Connections: Digital Lovers is a 2D animated love story between a YouTuber and a VTuber. The story follows the two characters as they meet online through a virtual game, VRChat. They interact with each other with their custom-made virtual avatars, learn more about each other, gradually developing a mutual relationship and romantic feelings later on, but something goes wrong along the way. Through animation, themes of friendship, self-discovery, communication, miscommunication, and romance are explored. A couple of months before beginning my senior project, during my previous animation class, I first developed the idea of what it might look like for a VTuber and a YouTuber to get to know each other.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">I watched my favorite anime, Frieren: Beyond Journey\u2019s End, to better understand character relationships and emotional connections. Various romantic comedies, anime, manga, and other shows that feature bewitching and captivating moments, as well as conflicts where characters work through personal struggles.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">I wanted to create this animation because I wanted to finish what I started in my previous animation class. Another reason why I wanted to create this short animation is that I could connect to my graphic novel, Dimensional Detectives, which I am personally developing in my free time. The story follows two stepbrothers who partner up together traveling through different dimensions, solving various mystery cases while uncovering the truth behind their father\u2019s death. Their father was the king of the Ice Dimension, Frosty Frostburg, and they sought to understand why he died.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-slider wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio uagb-block-f263f817 uagb-slider-container\"><div class=\"uagb-slides uagb-swiper\"><div class=\"swiper-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-slider-child uagb-slider-child-wrap swiper-slide uagb-block-ade93ac2\"><div class=\"swiper-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-cdc44df8 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-d5bb1180 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_1-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1876\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" role=\"presentation\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-slider-child uagb-slider-child-wrap swiper-slide uagb-block-8355035d\"><div class=\"swiper-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-02af7eaa alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-01ebb901 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1877\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2\" loading=\"lazy\" role=\"img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-slider-child uagb-slider-child-wrap swiper-slide uagb-block-bb90d1b8\"><div class=\"swiper-content\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-91d3ad2e alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-7d3c3272 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_3-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1875\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" title=\"JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_3\" loading=\"lazy\" role=\"img\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"swiper-pagination\"><\/div><div class=\"swiper-button-prev\"><\/div><div class=\"swiper-button-next\"><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justin Valdez Trumbull, CT Advisor: Samantha Olschan Artist Bio Justin Valdez is a digital artist and animator from Trumbull, Connecticut. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":1877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,44],"tags":[162,100],"class_list":["post-1874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-justin-valdez","category-motion-design-and-animation","tag-justin-valdez","tag-motion-design-and-animation"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2.png",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-300x169.png",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-768x432.png",768,432,true],"large":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-1024x576.png",1024,576,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2-1536x864.png",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/04\/JustinValdez_VConnectionsDigitalLovers_Still_2.png",1920,1080,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Angela","author_link":"https:\/\/bfashow.dmd.uconn.edu\/2026\/author\/ann19006\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Justin Valdez Trumbull, CT Advisor: Samantha Olschan Artist Bio Justin Valdez is a digital artist and animator from Trumbull, Connecticut. 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