Winning a coveted NewBlood award at D&AD for her intricate figurines is just the start for Freya Snelling, who's studying our Illustration and Animation BA at London Met. We find out what it means to her to be highlighted at the design and advertising event of the year.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up in a small village in Herefordshire, the kind of place that has only one public bus a week. I spent most of my childhood outside climbing trees and going on walks with my dog down the old railway. In summer I would tie bedsheets to the tree in our garden, creating a make-shift hammock to read books from, this is where I stumbled upon one of my favourite illustrated books that has inspired a lot of my creations.
What brought you to London Met?
I have always struggled with pinning down which subjects I want to dedicate myself to. Before Covid, I was due to study at Ealing film school, prior to that I trained and taught kung fu in Thailand and before that I was in line to start a master's in mathematics at Bath Uni.
During Covid, I had a chance to sample what it was like to work in film in NZ and it showed me that it wasn’t quite the lifestyle for me. I knew I wanted to create but was unclear about what form that should take. That is when I started to consider the idea of being an illustrator or animator. Fortunately, London Met had a course that allowed me to explore both, for which I am so grateful!
What did/does studying at London Met mean to you?
London Met was my way of immersing myself fully for three years in a subject I am passionate about. It had taken me until age 26 to work out where I wanted to dedicate my energy, but I am so glad for having waited.
The London Met workshop facilities were such a massive draw – not only that, but they appeared to have a higher number of mature students studying there.
Tell us a little bit about your interests outside of uni and why they are important to you.
Outside of uni I train parkour, MMA (Wrestling, Brazilian jujitsu and Muay Thai), archery, strength and conditioning, and whatever new and interesting movement sports I can get my hands on. I think it is so important to see each element of your life as part of the whole.
I learn so much from my other practices that transfer to my creative work. Moving not only keeps me happy and healthy; it informs the dynamic aspects of my animation. It allows me to generate my own reference footage for animating/illustrating and visualise a physical experience. Beyond that, some of these classes present very clear areas for growth. For example, ‘I’m scared of this jump’ or ‘how can I overcome my disadvantages’. By tackling these I am able to approach the much more subtle areas of fear/ego in my creative practice.
What’s next in your career? Talk about winning a #NewBloodAwards 2025 award! What work went into that and how does it feel?
I feel so fortunate to have even been considered for the #NewBloodAwards! I was so focused on a myriad of other projects I hadn’t really allowed myself the time to entertain the idea of winning.
I am so grateful for my tutors believing in my project and encouraging me to submit for the D&AD deadline, without them I wouldn’t have found my way to winning a pencil. It feels great to have your work recognised and the opportunities that have come off the back of it (such as D&AD academy and mentoring) have been so rewarding.
Do you have any advice for anyone else considering studying at London Met?
Hit the ground running, ask questions, explore, and know that your tutors are on your side. Your first year is the quietest so I would use that time to test as many of the workshops as you can and engage with other students from the years above and on different courses.
It is so much easier to experiment and play with your art when you don’t feel like you are being rushed towards a deadline, and I stand by the idea that PLAY is a massive part of what makes creating worthwhile.
Is there anything else we didn’t ask about that you’d like to mention?
Be your own advocate! Don’t just learn at the mercy of your course, explore outside of the curriculum discuss with your tutors what areas you’re interested in. They may not be able to adapt the course entirely to suit you, but they will be able to point you in the right direction or put you in touch with the right people.
Did you do any work experience as part of the course?
In our final year we did a two-week work placement, we were shown how to reach out to companies ourselves and those that needed extra guidance were given it. I found this experience to be so valuable.
University has given me the confidence in my own skills, while the placement offered up valuable insights as to how the business is run and how teams operate. Being able to be in the space where the magic happens is very inspiring and helps demystify the leap from uni to work.
What’s your favourite piece of Uni equipment or your favourite space at London Met and why?
Narrowing it down to one piece would seem like a betrayal to all my other favourites. That being said I was quite attached to the laser cutter as the uni provided the opportunity to work as an assistant technician allowing me to become proficient in this tool while also earning money as I learn. If I wasn’t there you could usually find me in the ceramics studio working on the wheel. I was able to combine my illustrative practice with ceramics which gave me physical pieces I could sell at the Winter Makers Market.
If you could sum up your experience at London Met in one word, what would it be?
Fulfilling – I really do feel like London Met suited my learning style so well, there was a great balance of structure and freedom that I could explore. Graduating has been an exciting milestone but honestly if I had a chance to study further, I would jump at the opportunity.
"University has given me the confidence in my own skills, while the placement offered up valuable insights as to how the business is run and how teams operate. Being able to be in the space where the magic happens is very inspiring and helps demystify the leap from uni to work."
Find out more about the Illustration and Animation BA course
See more of Freya's work on Instagram and her Crafty Witch website