Q. Hi, would you like to introduce yourself?
Hello!!! My name is TRINITY, known online as @/binscurtis. I’m an artist and musician who likes making films that make people laugh!
Q. How would you describe TRINITY in Heroville for someone who hasn’t seen it?
TRINITY in Heroville is a satirical play on the traditional heroes and villains trope, with the villains as the main characters and the hero as the adversary. It’s the villain bullying the 15-year-old hero for 2 minutes, basically.
Q. What would you say are some of your biggest inspirations?
Style-wise, my art is very inspired by 2000’s cartoons like Invader Zim and Clone High. I think I take a bit of style from everything I watch. Growing up on a mix of both children’s cartoons like Gravity Falls and adult animation like Rick and Morty really influenced my humor as well.
Q. Could you tell me about some of the central characters?
TRINITY in Heroville follows aspiring supervillain TRINITY (written in all caps) and her evil sidekick minionia (written in all lowercase), whose plans to take over Heroville are thwarted by its hero McKennZee. TRINITY is brash and egotistical, while minionia is flirty and laid back. McKennZee seems like the popular mean girl, but she’s actually a genuine and naïve optimist who thinks she can fix the villains with the power of friendship. They’re all equally annoying. I love them so much.
Q. What is your ambition with TRINITY?
I felt there weren’t enough villain main characters, especially female villains. Especially female aroace villains. TRINITY runs on anger, revenge, and ego, but I have a clear development arc for her character in my head. The biggest concept I want to explore is that she actually does take over Heroville. I don’t see that enough in cartoons, unless the villain is eventually defeated later on. I really want the audience to root for TRINITY to win.
Q. Outside of your personal youtube channel, the 2 minute film is also viewable on the streaming service animation MNM, how did that happen?
Isn’t that awesome???!! Animation MnM reached out to me after finding my film on YouTube. It’s so cool to say that my film is on streaming services, I’m so grateful for the opportunity!
Q. How long have you been working on Trinity?
When I came up with the idea for Heroville in high school, I used TRINITY as a self insert for myself, but she quickly became her own standalone character. I like to compare it to Charlie Brown; based on the creator with the same name, but his own entity and story separate from Charles Shulz. I’ve been chipping away at these characters since probably my junior year of high school, but I never developed them for an animated series specifically until college.
Q. What makes you interested in animation as opposed to another medium?
There’s just something about 2D animation that I feel such a strong pull towards. It’s always been a part of my life, and I’m passionate about every part of the pipeline. I get excited just talking about it!!!!
Q. You have previously spoken about your own financial struggles to afford the tuition at SVA. How do you feel about your own position right now?
It’s really hard, honestly, but I’m extremely determined. I still can’t afford tuition, but with the success of TRINITY in Heroville it really makes me feel like it’s worth it. I’m so unbelievably thankful for all of the support, and I’ll keep fighting every day to stay at this school and continue making films.
Q. Outside of TRINITY you also run an etsy shop and do commissions. How has your experience been doing that?
Woof, it’s a lot of work…but very rewarding! My merch has sold all over the world, I have a little world map where I dot all the different countries my prints or keychains have ended up. I actually thoroughly enjoy doing commissions, although I have to manage my time very carefully while going to school full time and working other jobs.
Q. Is there anyone else who has helped out with TRINITY? What did they do?
I’m an RA at my college, meaning I was able to gather a couple residents of mine to help out on the film. I did as much of the production as I could myself, but I hired out for a few cleans and all of colors (I HATEEEE coloring in Harmony). I incorporated my friends’ art into the film as posters/billboards, and commissioned my favorite artists as guest artists for the end credits!
Q. Where can people find and support you online?
You can find me online @/binscurtis on Instagram and TikTok! In my Linktree, you can find links to my merch stores, commissions, and GoFundMe if you want to donate to my tuition fund.
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