Overcoming your Fears -

Group Collaboration

Project Brief / Overview

Animation Studio 3 has a strong focus on polishing creative and artistic skills through group and individual projects. To understand every step of the production process this project aims to expose each student to the entire animation production pipeline as part of a group for a short animation that involves storytelling and character development aligning thus with the Unit’s Learning Outcomes.


The studio you currently work for has tasked your department with the creation of short animations to be screened in-between TV shows for children and teenagers on the ABC network. The commissioned animations will have as a common theme:


“Overcoming your Fears”

Configuring the unknown from something fearful, into something hopeful. We each have a chance whether to feed the fear or face it and take responsibility. The purpose of these animations is to inspire and entertain the audience. For you as an artist, this brief is an opportunity to explore storytelling from different points of view.

Process

Research / Exploration of Ideas

What are Fears?

An unpleasant feeling triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined.


My Fears that I might like to explore in this Project include:

  • Butterflies.

  • Flies swarming into my ears.

  • Public speaking.

  • Small spaces.

  • Huge smiles.

Flies

  • I had a nightmare once that involved a swarm of flies flying into both my ears. Ever since I have had that dream if I see or hear a fly I immediately duck my head and cover my ears, due to that dream feeling very real.


Small spaces

  • This phobia of mine originated from the first time I went in an elevator. I felt extremely trapped, there is no way out if it gets stuck or if the line of the elevator breaks the fall.

Public Speaking

  • This fear comes from presenting speeches throughout my whole school life and find it very unpleasant, as you are typically speaking to a large audience and the attention is on you only.

Smiles

  • This phobia is a recent one that originated from a couple horror movies. One is called Smiles and the other is Truth or Dare.

  • In these films the huge smiles is really off putting and unnaturally big.

Fear of Butterflies

  • My butterfly fear originated from a Spongebob episode called Wormy. Pretty much Spongebob and Patrick take care of their friend Sandy's pet worm, and overnight when it turns into a butterfly they think the butterfly ate wormy. The butterfly then ends up escaping the house in a bubble and terrifies everyone around town with its zoomed up insect face.


  • My fear of butterflies also originated from going into a butterfly enclosure in Melbourne zoo. Where quite a few butterflies landed on me and I was terrified.

References

I found the video from the animated series Spongebob which gave me the fear of butterflies and I also found other disturbing images such as close up photos of butterflies and scary wing designs.

Character Development

During the character development process my focus was to create a butterfly design that was creepy looking but also appropriate for children. I played around with different colours for the eyes and was pretty happy with the first design I drew. I then just had to clean the lines up and colour it in.

Storyboarding

Since this was a group animation I had a go at storyboarding (pre-visualise) what the whole animation would look like with all of our ideas put together. I the showed my group we discussed things we liked or things that needed to be changed to represent everyones ideas better.

Rough Pass Animation

rough butterfly.mov
Completed animation rough draft

Cleaned Up Animation

final animation.mov