Belonging: A Personal Animation Project

Belonging is a personal project that explores the feeling of not being understood, the friction of miscommunication, clashing expectations, and doing things differently until, eventually, conformity creeps in. Escaping into our screens, doom scrolling, and blending in.

The aim was to create a fast-paced, stylized animation using simple shapes and techniques that evoke emotion and introspection.

The process began with journaling around the core theme and mind mapping key ideas like isolation, resistance, and surrender. I then selected specific animation techniques I wanted to experiment with and assembled a moodboard to set a loose visual direction. With those references in mind, I began sketching the storyboard to define the rhythm and structure of the piece.

The project evolved significantly throughout production. One major turning point was finding the perfect soundtrack. Its tempo and tone reshaped the pacing, transitions, and overall energy of the animation. Much of the stylistic identity and movement language was solidified during the animation phase, where instinct and music led many of the creative decisions.