Annika Gonzalez

Thoughts

Driven by her endless desire to excel and attain objects of achievement, a young girl faces a decision between nurturing her relationship with her final plant companion and persisting down her decorated but lonesome path.

“"Thoughts" is a two-and-a-half-minute digital animation that explores the idea of how being blinded by the pursuit of physical forms of success can negatively affect oneself and those around them. I find that when a person focuses excessively on their work, it tends to produce contending thoughts that overtake one’s mind. Even if they want to take a break, their fear of failure drives them to continue working. In my world, this fear of failure stems from society’s interpretation of success. In the context of my animation, success is represented by awards and medals. Growing up with this mindset, I thought that anything less than awards would indicate that I was a failure. In response to this notion, my animation intends to offer a perspective on linking success towards physical measures of achievement. I hoped that viewers would contemplate whether the abundance of success-defining decorations are worth more than the relationships that bring a constant smile to their face.On a deeper level, I wanted my film to emit anxiety, despair, and loneliness. I attempted to achieve this through my use of colour. When I began creating the backgrounds for my animation, I planned to give the illustrations simple shadows and highlights. However, I noticed that the backgrounds weren't as striking as I wanted them to be. To solve this, I approached my drawings using the chiaroscuro method. This is a drawing and painting technique that produces strong contrasts between light and dark. Though this approach is mainly used to achieve a realistic three-dimensional look to an image, I found that it also amplifies the dramatic effect of the piece. As such, I was able to attain this sentiment through my application of dark reds, glaring greens, and muted yellows.”