Final traditional animation I created as a directed project for my BA. The idea and work are all my own. The name "Ash" is a double (or even triple) entendre as it can refer to the ash that fire leaves but also means "Moth" in Hebrew. Moreover, if you were to pronounce it more like "Esh" it would mean "Fire" in Hebrew. I think this name conveys the main elements of my animation but also keeps it ambiguous enough to not give away the plot twist at the end.
This Animation took me a total of 6-7 months of continuous work to complete.
Here are my preliminary ideas written out and the subsequent storyboard. As you can see, I've made some changes and adjustments to the storyboard as I worked on my animation.
Most of the animation was done using rotoscoping. Above are some of the videos I used to animate over. Big thank you to my partner who portrayed the moth so diligently.
The character design also went through some stages.
Before I colored everything in I made an animatic of the finished product with the sounds i intended to use.
Most of the animation was done in Photoshop, but the coloring was done in Procreate. Above are some of the process videos of animating and coloring.
The main inspiration for my animation was the webcomic "Icarus and the Sun." I've always been a fan of those types of forbidden love stories. I also really like moths, so the idea of a moth being hurt because he is pining for a flame that is out of reach seemed very interesting to me. I am also a big fan of short animations like "The Maker" or "Kiwi" where you have to go back and rewatch the animation after you're done to understand it fully. I strived to make a similar effect, where the plot twist at the end changes the way you look at the animation.