FADED OCEAN OF WHITE
Year: 2023
Type: Solo Project
Tools Used: Blender, Final Cut
Project Overview
Faded Ocean of White is a solo project and poetic animation, born from a faded letter and evolved through my exploration of interpreting and visualizing the remaining words. This animation experiments with a 2D monochrome style, delving into storytelling-based visualization.
The focus is not solely on telling a linear story but on making a series of conscious decisions with visual elements to decode and convey the life story of a fading identity—the central character of the animation. By encoding emotions and messages within the visual elements, this project aims to preserve and communicate the story in a meaningful and evocative manner.
Faded Ocean of White stands as an artistic endeavor to keep the narrative alive, using innovative visual storytelling techniques to capture and express the essence of the character's journey and identity.
Concept and Inspiration
A Man with a dream, a yearning to build a haven for his beloved kin. His dream became his guiding star, steering him towards the light, and his hands to the task of building a sturdy vessel. As he reached the shore, the skiff that once carried him was long gone, and the ship was no longer needed. As the sailor, he triumphed over countless obstacles, choosing, at the culmination of his journey, to return to the water, leaving behind only the dream to take root and flourish upon the new land. It blossomed into a forest, an everlasting tribute to his vision of a secure sanctuary. I grew up within that flourishing forest, now returning to find the fading trace of his existence - a farewell letter.
The inspiration behind 'Faded Ocean of White' emerges from a poem left by my grandfather during a time of confusion, as he grappled with cross-cultural, cross-national, and cross-family identities. As his descendant, linked by blood yet disengaged in ideology, I bore witness to his journey from life to death and our lives after his passing, from a distance that is both remote and intimate. As his words began to fade away, a sense of insecurity crept into my mind. This uncertainty led to the birth of the idea to visually capture his farewell letter—a testament to his being and a remembrance of fleeting moments that remained dormant for years.
His story serves as the catalyst for creating this animation, envisioned as a sanctuary to safeguard the liminal realm where histories like his can find refuge. In this context, "protection" refers to creating a domain where the memories of history can reside securely, untouched by interpretation or further modification. The words within this realm remain unaltered, retaining their inherent purity in their black and white essence.
By visualizing this fading farewell letter, I aim to honor his story and those of others who have been marginalized and forgotten over time. This project serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving these memories, ensuring they remain intact and respected, away from the distortions of time and politics.
Tools and Methods
The animation primarily takes shape within Blender 3D (Version 3.5) and is later fine-tuned and edited in Final Cut. Rigging and character animation are carried out partly manually, with some support from motion capture animations provided by Mixamo, as well as the implementation of rigging add-ons. For the underwater scene's background image, Midjourney AI is used.
Creating the final animation involves several sequential steps. As a one-person project, the initial and developmental stages are centered on putting forth significant effort to achieve the envisioned outcomes, both visually and conceptually. These processes provided me with the freedom to develop emotions toward the core motifs, allowing me to refine my thoughts and establish a relatively clear logical line to visually portray the abstract concepts.
[Concept] Character Design
The initial approach to the character design aimed for a stylized, monochrome, hand-drawn appearance. This involved creating an uneven outline with ink and wash visuals, detailed line art, and enriched layers for viewing. Based on the initial design, the character's face was later cut out as a mask linked but not connected to the head, a feature clearly visible in the final result.
The body of the character in this animation was intentionally designed with an unbalanced appearance to challenge conventional norms. The ambiguous gender representation embodies a blend of both male and female attributes, emphasizing inclusivity and universality. This figure doesn't directly represent my grandfather, the composer of the death poem. Instead, it symbolizes a collective individual—a fusion of many, carrying fragments of history that merge into a collective memory.
[Concept] Fluid Element
Fluidity serves as the predominant key element throughout the entire animation. Both visually and conceptually, it plays a crucial role in representing the fading yet struggling forms. Through the movement of growing yet dying, dissolving yet reappearing contours and silhouettes, I aim to depict the essence of individuals existing within a fading liminal space, where the coexistence of obedience and resistance intertwines. The flexibility and elastic motion of the fluid organic shapes symbolize the resilience and resistance of a generation that was forced to be excluded but managed to root itself in history and find ways to persevere.
From an aesthetic standpoint, fluid organic shapes are inherently appealing to the human brain due to their association with nature. According to the concept of "biophilia," a hypothesis introduced by Edward O. Wilson in 1984, there is an innate urge within humans to affiliate with other forms of life. Based on this natural affinity, fluidity becomes an essential element in my search for visual components that convey and communicate abstract concepts in a deep and meaningful way.
To accentuate the indistinct yet undeniable existence of individuals within the theme, morphable and flexible flows of shapes are frequently used in the animation. These shapes symbolize the fading and slowly departing souls and the persistence of their echoes. Through this fluidity, the animation captures the dynamic tension between disappearance and resilience, offering a visual representation of the enduring impact of those who lived in the margins of history.
Year: 2023
Type: Solo Project
Tools Used: Blender, Final Cut
Project Overview
Faded Ocean of White is a solo project and poetic animation, born from a faded letter and evolved through my exploration of interpreting and visualizing the remaining words. This animation experiments with a 2D monochrome style, delving into storytelling-based visualization.
The focus is not solely on telling a linear story but on making a series of conscious decisions with visual elements to decode and convey the life story of a fading identity—the central character of the animation. By encoding emotions and messages within the visual elements, this project aims to preserve and communicate the story in a meaningful and evocative manner.
Faded Ocean of White stands as an artistic endeavor to keep the narrative alive, using innovative visual storytelling techniques to capture and express the essence of the character's journey and identity.
Concept and Inspiration
A Man with a dream, a yearning to build a haven for his beloved kin. His dream became his guiding star, steering him towards the light, and his hands to the task of building a sturdy vessel. As he reached the shore, the skiff that once carried him was long gone, and the ship was no longer needed. As the sailor, he triumphed over countless obstacles, choosing, at the culmination of his journey, to return to the water, leaving behind only the dream to take root and flourish upon the new land. It blossomed into a forest, an everlasting tribute to his vision of a secure sanctuary. I grew up within that flourishing forest, now returning to find the fading trace of his existence - a farewell letter.
The inspiration behind 'Faded Ocean of White' emerges from a poem left by my grandfather during a time of confusion, as he grappled with cross-cultural, cross-national, and cross-family identities. As his descendant, linked by blood yet disengaged in ideology, I bore witness to his journey from life to death and our lives after his passing, from a distance that is both remote and intimate. As his words began to fade away, a sense of insecurity crept into my mind. This uncertainty led to the birth of the idea to visually capture his farewell letter—a testament to his being and a remembrance of fleeting moments that remained dormant for years.
His story serves as the catalyst for creating this animation, envisioned as a sanctuary to safeguard the liminal realm where histories like his can find refuge. In this context, "protection" refers to creating a domain where the memories of history can reside securely, untouched by interpretation or further modification. The words within this realm remain unaltered, retaining their inherent purity in their black and white essence.
By visualizing this fading farewell letter, I aim to honor his story and those of others who have been marginalized and forgotten over time. This project serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving these memories, ensuring they remain intact and respected, away from the distortions of time and politics.
Tools and Methods
The animation primarily takes shape within Blender 3D (Version 3.5) and is later fine-tuned and edited in Final Cut. Rigging and character animation are carried out partly manually, with some support from motion capture animations provided by Mixamo, as well as the implementation of rigging add-ons. For the underwater scene's background image, Midjourney AI is used.
Creating the final animation involves several sequential steps. As a one-person project, the initial and developmental stages are centered on putting forth significant effort to achieve the envisioned outcomes, both visually and conceptually. These processes provided me with the freedom to develop emotions toward the core motifs, allowing me to refine my thoughts and establish a relatively clear logical line to visually portray the abstract concepts.
[Concept] Character Design
The initial approach to the character design aimed for a stylized, monochrome, hand-drawn appearance. This involved creating an uneven outline with ink and wash visuals, detailed line art, and enriched layers for viewing. Based on the initial design, the character's face was later cut out as a mask linked but not connected to the head, a feature clearly visible in the final result.
The body of the character in this animation was intentionally designed with an unbalanced appearance to challenge conventional norms. The ambiguous gender representation embodies a blend of both male and female attributes, emphasizing inclusivity and universality. This figure doesn't directly represent my grandfather, the composer of the death poem. Instead, it symbolizes a collective individual—a fusion of many, carrying fragments of history that merge into a collective memory.
[Concept] Fluid Element
Fluidity serves as the predominant key element throughout the entire animation. Both visually and conceptually, it plays a crucial role in representing the fading yet struggling forms. Through the movement of growing yet dying, dissolving yet reappearing contours and silhouettes, I aim to depict the essence of individuals existing within a fading liminal space, where the coexistence of obedience and resistance intertwines. The flexibility and elastic motion of the fluid organic shapes symbolize the resilience and resistance of a generation that was forced to be excluded but managed to root itself in history and find ways to persevere.
From an aesthetic standpoint, fluid organic shapes are inherently appealing to the human brain due to their association with nature. According to the concept of "biophilia," a hypothesis introduced by Edward O. Wilson in 1984, there is an innate urge within humans to affiliate with other forms of life. Based on this natural affinity, fluidity becomes an essential element in my search for visual components that convey and communicate abstract concepts in a deep and meaningful way.
To accentuate the indistinct yet undeniable existence of individuals within the theme, morphable and flexible flows of shapes are frequently used in the animation. These shapes symbolize the fading and slowly departing souls and the persistence of their echoes. Through this fluidity, the animation captures the dynamic tension between disappearance and resilience, offering a visual representation of the enduring impact of those who lived in the margins of history.