Jayden Rostie

05 | The Dark Forest

A concept art piece from my Dark Forest project. More can be found on my portfolio website.

“This project explores the theme of scale through a one-minute animation about a chipmunk who must venture into a vast, dark forest to find food for the winter. Visually, the immense size of the forest and its monsters emphasizes the chipmunk’s fragility and insignificance in a much larger world. This scale also challenges the viewer’s perspective: when the chipmunk encounters a towering monster that chooses gentleness over violence, it forces the audience to reconsider how size influences our perception of danger. Furthermore, the story contrasts temporal scales, juxtaposing the chipmunk’s short, frantic life against the ancient, timeless existence of the forest beings. By highlighting these differences in magnitude and time, the animation tells a concise story about perspective, mortality, and the unknown.”