From a young age, I’ve always been surrounded by art, mainly because my grandfather is a well-known cartoonist and artist. I used to watch him draw and paint using just paper, brushes, and colors, and it honestly fascinated me how he could turn simple ideas into something so creative. That really sparked my interest in art. At the same time, I grew up loving cartoons and animated films. Watching movies like Finding Nemo, Up, and Toy Story, along with 2D films from Studio Ghibli like Grave of the Fireflies and Spirited Away, made me really want to become a graphic artist and get into motion film production someday. Those films showed me how powerful animation can be when it comes to storytelling and emotions. That’s basically why I decided to create an animated short film for my Cambridge A2 Media project. It wasn’t easy at all—there were a lot of challenges along the way—but I learned so much during the whole process, and it felt really rewarding to create my own animated short film from scratch.

In my animated short film, I titled is as “Between Us” is about two young lovers in a fantasy world with magic, I realized that the story can have a lot more depth beneath the surface. Even though the visuals might feel soft, magical, and romantic, I can still use the themes to reflect real-world social groups and issues in a powerful way.

One example I can give is, it symbolized a strong idea is social inequality or class differences. One character come from a powerful magical family where spells are natural and celebrated, while the other has no magic powers. Their relationship can reflect how society treats people differently based on privilege, wealth, or background. The magical world becomes a metaphor for real-life class systems, where some people are born into advantage while others struggle to be accepted.

Another important factor, is it represent discrimination and exclusion. In my fantasy setting, I showed how certain types of magic or even certain people are looked down on—like those who don’t have magic, or those whose powers are seen as strange or unstable. Through the relationship between my two characters, I can challenge these ideas and show that those differences shouldn’t matter. This connects to real-world issues like racism, caste systems, and social stigma, but in a more symbolic way. Using a fantasy world helps me present this message in a softer way, while still making it clear that love and identity shouldn’t be judged by society’s narrow expectations.

Finally, since we as teenagers and young adults are growing up in a world filled with conflicts, war, and uncertainty, I wanted my short film to feel like a small escape from all of that. Instead of focusing on those heavy and stressful realities, I chose to create something softer and more comforting for my audience. Through a magical world and a gentle love story, I want to give viewers a sense of calm, hope, and emotional relief—even if it’s just for a few minutes.

 Overall, your fantasy setting is not just for visuals—it’s a storytelling tool. Magic can represent power, identity, privilege, or emotion. Creatures and environments can stand in for real communities and struggles. By embedding these ideas into a simple romantic story, your short film can feel both beautiful and meaningful, connecting emotionally with audiences while quietly reflecting real-world social issues.

Since my target audience is young adults, I want my animated short film to feel something they can really connect with. For me, creating a “brand” isn’t just about a logo or name—it’s more about the overall vibe of the film and how everything feels consistent and recognizable.

First, I’d focus a lot on emotion and relatability. Young adults usually connect with stories about love, confusion, and figuring things out, so I want my characters to feel real and natural. Their relationship shouldn’t feel forced or overly dramatic—it should feel soft, a bit awkward maybe, and genuine. That emotional tone becomes a big part of my film’s identity.

I mainly used Instagram as my primary social media platform. The main reason I chose Instagram is because, after doing demographic research, I found that my target audience—young adults—are more active on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. This made it easier for me to reach them, share updates, post visuals from my film, and build interest around my project.

When I started planning my animated short film, it didn’t just randomly popup in my mind to choose the fantasy romance genre—It actually based on both my personal interest and research. To support this, I conducted a small Instagram poll where I asked young adults what type of content they enjoy the most. The results clearly showed that around 60% of my audience preferred fantasy romance stories, which confirmed that this genre would be engaging and relevant for them. Since Instagram is a platform where my target audience is highly active, this feedback felt very reliable and helped guide my creative decisions.

At the same time, I also looked at wider industry trends, especially in animation and anime, to understand what audiences enjoy globally. Research shows that the anime and animation industry is growing rapidly, with a huge international fanbase. For example, the global anime market was valued at over 11 billion USD in 2022 and is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, showing increasing demand for animated storytelling worldwide .

(source grandviewresearch.com)

 In fact, anime has become especially popular among young people, with around 60% of the audience being between 18–34 years old, which directly matches my target audience . This made me even more confident that creating an animated film was the right choice.

There are also strong signs that animation in general is widely loved by audiences today. Studies show that around 70% of Gen Z watch animation regularly, and many young viewers prefer animated content because it feels more creative and visually engaging . In addition, about 50% of global Netflix users watch anime, which proves that animation is no longer just for children—it is a major form of entertainment for young adults as well.

Another reason I chose fantasy romance specifically is because it combines both emotional storytelling and imaginative visuals. The anime industry itself includes genres like fantasy, romance, and drama, which continue to attract large audiences because they allow viewers to escape reality while still connecting emotionally with the characters . This is exactly what I wanted to achieve in my own film—something that feels magical and visually interesting, but also emotionally meaningful.

 

 

After creating my background illustration in Clip Studio Paint, I used Canva to turn it into a complete postcard-style film poster. In Canva, I added the title “Between Us” using a soft script font to keep the romantic feel, and placed it in the center so it becomes the main focus. I also included a top banner with “A film by SDJ Studios” to make it look more professional and similar to real movie posters. To make the design more realistic, I added film festival laurel wreaths on the side, which helps give the impression that the film has been officially selected. I also included a small “Watch on YouTube” section with a release date to make it feel like an actual promotional poster. 

Overall, Canva helped me combine all the elements—text, layout, and graphics—into a clean and balanced design while keeping the romantic and fantasy mood of my original artwork.

I drew inspiration for my background from the poster of the movie "The Fault in Our Stars", particularly its soft, intimate composition. The way the two characters lie close together on the grass, framed in a calm and natural setting, creates a strong sense of emotional connection and quiet romance. I was especially influenced by the gentle color palette and the top-down perspective, which makes the moment feel personal and almost private.

Via Instagram

In my own design, I aimed to recreate this feeling by placing my characters in a similar relaxed position, surrounded by nature, while adding a touch of fantasy through glowing elements.

In Clip Studio Paint, I constructed my background illustration using 18 layers to maintain a non-destructive workflow and allow precise control over each visual element. I organised layers into groups such as line art, base colours, shading, highlights, and effects, which improved efficiency and editing flexibility. For the line work, I used the mechanical pencil brush to create clean, textured outlines with slight pressure sensitivity, giving the artwork a natural hand-drawn quality.

In my poster, I chose a script-style font for the title “Between Us” because I wanted it to feel soft, romantic, and emotional. The flowing, cursive look helps show the connection between the two characters and matches the gentle mood of the scene. I also used a golden colour for the title so it stands out from the green background and gives a slight magical glow, which fits the fantasy element of my film.

For the text “A film by SDJ Studios,” I used a simpler and more readable font to keep it clean and professional. I didn’t want it to take attention away from the main title, but still be clear to read. I think using these two different font styles works well because the title adds emotion and style, while the smaller text keeps the overall design balanced and easy to understand.

After so many months of working on this project, I’m really happy to say that I’ve finally reached the final stage. Along with completing my blog, I’m now doing the final edit of my animation and adding the intro to make it feel more complete and professional.

For this part, I used CapCut (free version), which made the editing process much easier. I added an introduction at the beginning of the video to properly present my animation, along with background music to set the tone right from the start. It really helps grab the audience’s attention and gives a good first impression.

During the final edit, I focused on putting everything together smoothly—making sure the scenes flow well, the timing is correct, and the sound effects and music are balanced. I also checked for any small mistakes and made final adjustments to improve the overall quality.

Once I finish the final edit, I’m planning to upload my short film to YouTube. This is really exciting for me because it means I can finally share my work with a wider audience and see how people respond to it.

Overall, this stage feels very rewarding. After all the hard work, from planning and storyboarding to animating and editing, it’s great to see everything come together into a finished piece.

 To make my animation more presentable and engaging, I decided to add background music to my animatic. I downloaded free audio from Pixabay, which was really useful because it offers a wide range of music that can be used without copyright issues.

After selecting a track, I experimented with placing it across my animatic to see how it matched the mood of each scene. Music made a huge difference compared to having no audio—it helped connect the scenes smoothly and made the overall animation feel more complete.

I also paid attention to how the music supports the emotion of the story. For example, softer music works well for calm or emotional moments, while slightly stronger or more dramatic music can build tension. Choosing the right track helped me highlight the feelings I wanted the audience to experience.

Another important thing I learned was adjusting the volume. I made sure the music wasn’t too loud so it wouldn’t overpower the visuals or any sound effects. Keeping a balance between music and other audio elements is really important.

Overall, adding music gave my animatic a much more professional feel. It helped set the tone, improved the storytelling, and gave me a clearer idea of how the final animation will come together.

After finishing the character, I moved on to creating the background scenes, and this is where the world of the animation really starts to take shape. Until now, the focus was mainly on the character, but in this phase, I had to think about the environment and how it supports the story.

 This is the stage where everything really comes together. After adding the base colors, I moved on to shading, lighting, and also refining the eyes by adding color and pupils. This step makes a huge difference because it brings depth, emotion, and life into the character.

For shading, I kept it soft and simple. I added gentle shadows around the face, under the chin, and within the hair to give a sense of form. These small details help the character feel more three-dimensional instead of flat. I didn’t want to overcomplicate it, so I focused on keeping the look clean and smooth.

Lighting was also important here. I imagined a light source coming from one side, which helped me decide where to place highlights. I added light touches on the hair and face to create contrast with the shadows. This makes the character stand out more and gives a slightly cinematic feel.

One of the most important parts of this phase was working on the eyes. I added color to the eyes and defined the pupils, which instantly made the character feel more alive. Even subtle details in the eyes can completely change the emotion of the character. It helps the audience connect more, especially in close-up shots.

I also used different layers and adjusted opacity in Clip Studio Paint to blend everything nicely. This made the shading look softer and more natural instead of harsh.

Overall, this phase is where the character gains personality and depth. With shading, lighting, and detailed eyes, the character no longer feels like just a drawing—it starts to feel real and ready for animation.

 

 So I’ve finally started working on phase one of my animatic, and this is basically where everything begins to come to life. It’s still very rough, but honestly, this stage is one of the most important parts because it sets the mood and direction of the whole film.

 Character design plays a really important role in my animatic because it’s one of the first things that brings the story to life. Before animation even begins, the way a character looks helps define who they are, how they feel, and how the audience connects with them. In my project, I focus on designing characters that clearly show their personality through things like facial expressions, clothing, and overall style. This makes it easier for the audience to understand the character without needing too much dialogue.

Learning Outcome

Through working on character design for my animatic, I learned how to create characters that are visually appealing, expressive, and consistent throughout the animation. I explored how personality, emotions, and story background influence the way a character looks, moves, and interacts with the environment. I also gained experience in designing characters that are suitable for animation, considering proportions, poses, and readability in different angles.

How This Will Help My Final Project

This experience will help my final project by giving me a clear blueprint for my characters before I start animating. Strong character designs ensure that the characters are recognizable, expressive, and can convey emotions effectively, which is especially important in my romantic fantasy film. Having well-designed characters will also make it easier to animate them consistently.

 When creating my film, the storyboard plays a really important role because it helps me plan how the story will be visually presented. I use it as a kind of blueprint, where I sketch out each scene so I can see how everything will look before starting the actual production.

One of the main reasons I create a storyboard is to organize my ideas. Instead of keeping everything in my head, I can clearly see how each scene flows, including the camera angles, character positions, and transitions. This makes it much easier for me to understand the structure of my film.

I also use the storyboard to plan my camera work. By sketching different shots like close-ups or wide angles, I can experiment and decide what works best for each scene. This is especially useful in animation because I need to think about every frame in advance.

What I have learned

If I rely on storyboarding I can save time. It helps me spot mistakes early and make changes before moving on to more detailed stages like animation. This way, I avoid wasting time on scenes that might not work.

How this will help my final project

Overall, creating a storyboard helps me stay organized and confident with my project. It gives me a clear direction and makes the whole production process much smoother.