Task 4: Final Project: Animated Video with Caption - 30%

ILLUSTRATION & VISUAL NARRATIVE - Character Design

Assignment Duration: Week 

NAME: SITI NUR HASYIMAH ISMAIL

STUDENT ID: 0348369

PROGRAM: BACHELOR IN FASHION DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 

1. Instructions 

2. Individual Task

3. Rationale

4. Reflection

Instructions

Project Brief

• For the Final Project of this course, you are required to create a poetic, life-lesson animated video with caption.
• The duration of the video MUST be between 15 – 20 seconds.
• You are required to create at least 3 sequences of animated illustration based on a script.
• The scripts are included in the attached slides. You DO NOT NEED to create your own scripts.
• You can start by breaking down your script into few parts, and plan the visuals of each part.
• You MUST include sound, audio narrative and caption of your script.

For your Final Project, the dimension will be:

• Height: 1920 px
• Width: 1080 px
• Orientation: Portrait / Vertical (NOT Landscape/Horizontal)

Your final submission will consist of:

• Adobe Illustrator File/Files
• .ai format
• Final Animated Video – .mp4 format
• Sound
• Background Music
• Animation
• Script Overlay

Documentation – .pdf format

• Description of inspiration
• Moodboard
• Storyboard
• Script
• Detailed information
• Rationale
• Self Reflection

Individual Task

1. Introduction

Marcy is an immortal vampire queen trapped in the body of a melancholic goth girl. With pointed elf-like ears, long flowing black hair, pale skin, glowing red eyes, and chunky platform boots, she carries the weight of centuries in her quiet gaze.

She has outlived every lover, friend, and companion, watching them fade while she remains unchanged. Grief is her constant shadow—even her beloved cat Billie died long ago, yet Billie lingers as a soft, translucent blue spirit, silently following her everywhere. Marcy copes the only way she knows: by writing haunting songs on her acoustic guitar, pouring every lost soul into melodies that drift into the endless night.

2. Inpiration

My inspiration for this short video comes from one of the characters I created for Tasks 1 and 2: Marcy, the immortal vampire queen who appears as a melancholic goth girl with pointed ears, long black hair, glowing eyes, and chunky platform boots. Marcy has endured centuries of loss, watching every loved one fades away while she remains unchanged. Her grief is eternal-even her beloved cat Billie died long ago, yet Billie lingers as a soft, translucent spirit, a glowing presence that follows her silently, offering quiet comfort while reminding her that some attachments never truly end.

When I saw Jay Marshall's quote on the list, it instantly captured Marcy's deepest struggle with

grief and longing for those no longer in her life, including Billie. The words felt like they were

spoken directly from her heart. From the start. I envisioned the vast starry night sky and a massive full moon as the unchanging backdrop-cold and eternal, mirroring her endless pain. The video unfolds across seven frames: beginning with the moon alone, then revealing Marcy curled beneath it as the quote builds line by line. Billie materializes and walks toward her, and in the final scenes, Marcy sits playing her battered black acoustic guitar on the moon, musical notes drifting upward while Billie rests peacefully beside her - her way of turning endless time into songs about everyone

she has lost.

3. Chosen Script

"It has been said that time heals all wounds. The truth is that time doesn't heal anything - it merely passes. It's what we do during the passing of time that helps or hinders the healing process."

-Jay Marshall

4. Mood-board

5. Panel Planning

6. Adobe Illustrator Files

Scene 1: The Moon Alone  I  Scene 2: Marcy Beneath The Moon

Scene 3: Marcy's Tearful Close-up  I  Scene 4: Playing Guitar On The Moon

7. Animating Process

Scene 1: The Moon Alone

Scene 2: Marcy Beneath The Moon

Scene 3: Marcy's Tearful Close-up

Scene 4: Playing Guitar On The Moon

Export & Encode

8. Final Animated Video

Detailed Information

Duration: 20 Seconds

BGM: Original

Art Style: Hand-drawn digital anime-inspired style with strong gothic/whimsigoth influences.

Main Elements: The full moon and starry night sky. Marcy's emotional journey & Billie the cat and the music.

Software used: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop. Adobe After Effects & Cap Cut.

9. PDF File

Rationale

My inspiration for this short video is Marcy, a character I made for Tasks 1 and 2. She's this immortal vampire queen who looks like a sad goth girl—pointed ears, long black hair, pale skin, red glowing eyes, and big platform boots. She's been around for centuries, so she's had to watch everyone she loves grow old and die while she stays exactly the same. The grief just never goes away. Billie, her spirit cat in the story, is actually my real cat—I had her since she was a tiny baby, and she passed away a few years ago. Making Billie this soft, glowing blue ghost that stays with Marcy forever is my quiet tribute to her; it's my way of keeping her close, even though she's gone.

When I saw Jay Marshall's quote on the list, it hit me right away—it's basically Marcy's whole struggle with grief and missing everyone who's gone, including Billie. From the second I read it, I pictured the whole thing under a huge starry sky with this massive full moon that never changes, just like her life. The seven black-and-white frames go slow: starting with just the moon, then showing Marcy curled up under it looking broken as the quote comes in piece by piece, Billie appearing and walking over to her, and ending with Marcy sitting there playing her guitar. The notes float up into the stars while Billie rests beside her. It's her way of turning all that endless time into songs about the ones she's lost—and for me, it's a little way of remembering my girl I lost too.

Reflection

This project was a big step for me with After Effects. I'd used it before but honestly forgot most of it, so starting almost from scratch felt a little intimidating. After watching a bunch of tutorials—especially on creating and animating paths—I now have a solid basic grasp of how the software works. Learning to draw paths directly in After Effects and make them move for the eye motions and background was completely new to me, and it clicked surprisingly fast once I got hands-on.

I really enjoyed following the tutorial lecturer provided for the exercise first; it was clear, straightforward, and easy to follow, which gave me the confidence to tackle my own video. Going through that warm-up made the whole process feel less overwhelming and a lot more fun. I'm happy with how it turned out and glad I pushed through the initial rustiness—it reminded me how much I like learning new tools when the guidance is good