Daydream_Butterfly Original

“Daydream Butterfly” an Rinling College of art & Design Motion Design Thesis Project.

“Last night in my dream
I saw myself a butterfly,
So I floated happily here and there;
This morning I woke up,I was me again,
So I brushed my teeth and ate pancakes.
But now I’m not sure I’m me or a butterfly,
Or I’m still dreaming or awaked,
Who cares. I enjoy both flying and pancakes.”

Daydream Butterfly is a surreal motion graphic animation based on Zhuangzi Poetry Butterfly Dream. The animation is inspired by 1990s-style Japanese anime. Created using After Effects, Trapcode Particular. I had an entire semester to create this piece, where I transformed a 3000-year-old ancient poem into a 40-second motion design piece. The scene begin with a character who is daydreaming along with two playful butterflies flying above his forehead. A richly hued colorful illustrations come alive as the butterfly flying through to a new scene transform in colour and rhythmic tempo to reveal the dream spectrum. The viewer is transported into an immersive visual space, which is neither reality nor abstraction, but somewhere in-between. This piece is focused on a persistent interest in illustration, figure drawing, character design. Having always drawn from colour and shapes, it is only natural that my motion graphic work also embraces the flowing and illustrative qualities that long flourished in my interests. It is about experimenting with different forms and shapes that allows my work to walk the line between abstraction and realism.