Reflective Text 

This week my work examines ideas of aesthetic and character design. 

By using a mood board I was able to select images that had a similar aesthetic to the desired energy of the animation I hope to create. I selected images with block colors, as well as black and white esthetics. I also am looking to create a ‘hand drawn’ visual style, rather than something more polished and perfected. 

Then, by creating character sketches I was able to examine the personality of the Airpod through the way it moves. In some sketches it is slithering like a snake, on all fours like a dog, bouncing or running like a human. The way the Airpod moves will help shape the narrative by depicting the personality of the character.

This work is similar to the work of All of Us (2018) by Daniel Greaves and Ruth Beni. The way the bright, block colours were used to develop the storyline is something I hope to emulate in my work. The way the ‘orange’ characters and the ‘blue’ characters were separated, and then brought together evoked themes of class, race, gender and other differences of people within society. 

By examining character and esthetic, I reflected that colour and movement are both imperative elements to my work. 

Through my feedback I have also decided to consider bringing in other lost or missing items to the story for additional diversity. I also plan to put more thought into the deeper meaning of my animation and the motivations behind the characters. Perhaps the Airpods think ears are disgusting, and that’s why they are running away. This could be a metaphor for people being forced into work situations that they do not enjoy or about taking a stand against ‘the man’. 

Greaves, D 2019, All of Us, 20 October 2018, viewed March 20 2022, <https://vimeo.com/296154243>.