Who Am I? (2019)
Who Am I? Is a mix media animated short I completed after I came home from studying animation at CSSSA (California State Summer School of the Arts). It was such an enlightening experience but I couldn't help but feel stuck when I came home. There was a lot I was going through mentally at the time I didn't know how to process, and wanted so badly for someone to just tell me what was wrong with me so I could figure out how to help myself, but of course no one can do that work for me.
For me, this film represents a step toward self-betterment. To reflect on who I am as a person, a friend, an artist, a daughter, and I know it’s meaning will evolve as I do. I hope you can find yourself too.
Behind the Scenes
Winter of 2018, I often found myself in a rut of self-doubt and uncertainty about the future. During this time, I found myself drawing this character everywhere: on my schoolwork, my sketchbook, my skin, and I couldn’t quite place how I came up with him or what he was. What I did know is that I saw myself in him, in all his ambiguity.
Armature
Felting
Final Felt Coverage
This was the first time I felted a puppet and decided to glue sheets of felt all around the armature. While this did get the job done, I have since opted for sewing the felt and like that method a lot better. This puppet uses eyes made of clay that I stick on with wax.
Concept art for the Halloween scene! I love the cat's fry costume; this was my first attempt at making eyes in sockets for a puppet. I stuck them in with wax and animated it like that, but I would not recommend doing it that way. He's mostly made of sewed and painted felt, with a clay face and eyes. The punch bowl is slime and the background is iridescent plastic.
Original Sketch
Digital 2D Animation
Final Stop Motion
This bear scene is one of my favorites! I made the cave out of painting newspaper and masking tape, then grabbed some rocks and dirt from my backyard for the ground.
The bears are animated in photoshop, printed out, then each frame is cut out and stuck to the ground with wax and shot stop motion style.