The Mermaid of Venice

Cristina Kovacs is a passionate creator of digital art with a focus on character design and visual development. Her dream is to make a difference by connecting and inspiring people of all walks of life through creativity and zeal in the field of animation.

In conversation: Cristina Kovacs (music credit: https://youtu.be/9V5rXZWdH3Y?si=pamDJ0YQPhJRotU4).

Her senior capstone, The Mermaid of Venice, is a visual development pitch deck for a proposed 5-7 animated short film. Its story begins in 17th century Venice, when masquerade balls are at the height of their historical popularity—and humans are not the only guests in attendance. Once in a blue moon when the stars and planets align, the merfolk in the waters below the city are granted the freedom of legs from sundown to sunrise. They don their masks and gowns under the guise of Carnavale’s anonymity, and mingle with the humans to party until daylight.

The Mermaid of Venice.

In this exclusive video interview, Cristina explores the design process behind the story’s visual language, including cultural references, costume changes, and character designs that independently weave a story before a single word of dialogue has been spoken. She also shares the journey of her college career and the experiences that have helped her grow into the artist she is today. 

Cristina’s artwork and story, including the full lineup of works created for The Mermaid of Venice, can be found on her portfolio website: https://cristinamkovacs.wixsite.com/portfolio/the-mermaid-of-venice.

**Article published: May 22, 2026**