About
My name is Larissa Meek. I’ve been a 3D animator, Miss USA finalist, model, actress and reality TV star. I’m really an artist at heart and eventually discovered a passion for the interactive medium.
This blog serves as showcase for artwork, photos and personal ramblings.
Since 2006, I’ve been a part of the AgencyNet family which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. AgencyNet is an multi award-winning interactive firm with a 12-year track record of creating immersive experiences for some of the world’s most recognizable brands. I love the collaborative effect of being surrounded with top-notch talent where I serve as a Associate Creative Director. We have an awe-inspiring culture and accomplished team of diverse talent. I can’t imagine working anywhere else.
I have a 1 year old yorkie named Wicket.
How did I get into interactive design?
Often, I get asked how I got into interactive design from my past experiences. And well… it’s kind of been an unpredictable, meandering journey that I ought to start from the beginning.
I grew up in Ballwin, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) raised by amazing parents and I LOVE my hometown and my family.
I was diagnosed with asthma at age 2 and suffered from bouts of difficult breathing through my high school years. I became fascinated with art because I had to find less physical activities since running around sometimes triggered my asthma. I graduated High School with honors in art and wasn’t one of the “popular kids”. I was pretty shy and leaned on my art for confidence.
Life at Art School
In 1996 I started college at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to study 3D animation. The college cost so much I spent all the money I had saved for college on my first year. I needed a scholarship or a miracle. Early my freshman year I decided to compete in a pageant as a way to help pay for college and to improve my communication skills and I was selected to represent Missouri at Miss Teen USA 1997. I didn’t place but the experience opened doors to the modeling industry.
I was thrilled to find out I was nominated for a scholarship at SAIC but only 6 out of the 112 students could win. I wasn’t one of the 6. I couldn’t afford to go back the second year. I ended up modeling full time in Chicago. A year later I went back to St. Louis and enrolled in community college and obtained a superior education over what the expensive art school offered. I was awarded an art scholarship and started immersing myself into 3D animation.
My First Design Job V.S. Miss USA.
Later, I was working for an advertising agency in St. Louis as a 3D animator and the same year won the title of Miss Missouri USA 2001. I went on to place 4th runner up at Miss USA. A month after I came back from Miss USA I got laid off. I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do with my life. There was little opportunity for 3D animation in the Midwest and I wanted to get my foot in the door somewhere. So I created a web site dedicated to promoting my 3D skills, selling artwork and showcasing my modeling portfolio.
Hello World. Hello, Los Angeles!
I was torn between the exciting life of Hollywood and following my heart in the arts. In 2002 I moved to Los Angeles with hopes of breaking into either the animation world or acting industry. I really wanted to be a character animator and I figured the acting experience might lend itself to understating character animation techniques in terms of story telling and emotion. Unfortunately, the animation industry never opened any doors yet I continued to learn Adobe Flash and grow my design skills.
I did the acting and modeling thing for a while and had some small successes with hosting and commercials. Then one day, I got an email through my website from some NBC casting people who wanted me to come in and meet them for some dating show.
They asked me, “How would you like to live in a mansion, on the beach in Hawaii, for 2 months and meet 26 great guys?”
Two weeks later I flew to Hawaii and filmed Average Joe: Hawaii. It all sounded so fun, I didn’t ask many questions. After 2 months of filming and 7 more months of waiting for the show to air I was finally able to get back to a sense of normal life. I didn’t really know what to expect while filming but I have some thoughts about that here, here and here.
Welcome to Florida
I moved to Florida in 2005 which leaves me off to where I am today.
