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Into the Light - Senior Thesis Project

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Wow, I can't believe it's taken me so long to post this! It's been almost two years since I graduated. For shame!! ^w^;

Anyways, this is my Senior Thesis animation "Into the Light." I spent one whole semester working on this project, from storyboards to finished product. I was the only animator in the class (it was a mix of film majors) and my professor was a filmmaker, not an animator, so it was a bit of a rocky road right from the start. owO;

Thankfully, I had the awesome musical talent of Devin Polaski to help bring this project to life! I appreciate his talents so very much, because if there's one thing I'm not, it's musically oriented. He really saved my butt! 8D

Looking back at it, I have mixed feelings. One the one hand, I wish I could have done more with it and get a little frustrated with its limitations. The two characters in it have evolved so much in their designs that it's sometimes difficult to look at their older versions. But that's just the perfectionist in me. It's never satisfied, no matter what I do.

On the other hand, this little animation is a triumph of sorts, because it was completed during a very, very difficult time in my life, and considering the challenges I was facing, the possibility of failure was absolutely real. In fact, there were many times I thought of giving up altogether.

Halfway through this project, my bad relationship at the time went from awful to abysmal. I left and ended up moving in with relatives and living in their basement temporarily. This was not a good situation, but I was out of options with only one semester left of school. I was jobless, homeless, and emotionally distraught. Insomnia plagued me to the point of needing medication. My sense of self had been pummeled beyond belief, and anxiety and fear of failure were constantly battering at me. There was no rest, no chance to recuperate and heal. My family, and those I wanted to be near, lived over 160 miles away. My friends were an hour away in opposite directions. I was a busy student with little to zero free time. I cried a lot.

Taking these things into consideration, it's really a miracle this project survived to completion, and to those who never gave up on me and encouraged me to keep going, I thank you with all my heart. :heart:

Despite its many shortcomings, this film won best animation at the 2010 GVSU Student Showcase. It was a bittersweet victory, since the person it was dedicated to was not able to attend, but it helped me to feel that my efforts had not been wasted and I could be proud of what I had done, so it was a happy ending. ^w^

Enjoy!


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Animation is © myself (Akagitsune/Oj Flohe 2012. Please do not copy, edit, alter, use, or distribute without my explicit permission. Thanks!
Image size
720x540px 117.35 MB
© 2012 - 2024 Akagitsune
Comments34
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cangkir-teh's avatar
this is such an amazing animation you have. I really love everything you put into it, especially how well the story flows and how nice it looks in general. the characters are lovable and I just adore how real their emotions are. most of the time, I can feel how the black cat feels, which wouldn't give this much effect suppose the emotions are off or the music is unfitting. but the fact is that both are great, so congrats on such accomplishments. ;D

also... I like the message you try to convey here. an animation always feels lively with one and yours happen to be one that people could easily relate to. not to mention the lovely characters give people more attraction to keep on watching the whole animation. :'3

and reading your desc., sorry about what you had to go through during the making of this animation. I'm glad that you can pass through everything just fine and know for yourself that this animation doesn't turn out as a failure. it's the opposite, even. and you're just so amazing, okay. you inspire people that they can fix their broken heart and it's okay to take somebody else's help not only through the animation but to your inspiring desc.

all and all, thanks for sharing this beautiful animation here. really glad you made it through all those hard times and can still create a lot of beautiful works like this. glad all your hard work's been paid off. :') heh. wish you luck on your future projects, by the way. I'm sure a lot of people will be entertained by them again.