Top toon talent at NTU

Yeow Su Xian’s graduation film, Full Circle, reimagines how we see the moon.

“I arrived at the topic of the moon’s relationship with the earth after chatting with a few research groups and identifying that it was a topic that could be explored,” said Su Xian (Shu), whose conversations with experts and members of the Singapore Science Centre and The Astronomical Society Of Singapore (TASOS) formed the basis of her film.  

“I chose this (topic) because the layman seems to feel close to the romanticised idea of the moon but distant from the science behind it,” said Shu.

After deciding on her script and settings for the film, Shu drew inspiration for her art direction from a few critically acclaimed films such as Waltz with Bashir (directed by Ari Folman) and Fantastic Planet (directed by René Laloux). 

Explaining how these two videos had helped her, Shu said: “The 2.5D style from Waltz with Bashir allows me to digitally simulate concepts in a more diagrammatic and geometric format while maintaining the touch of the human hand.”

“Fantastic Planet introduced a foreign landscape that paralleled the social behaviour and structures of real life, which was a desired effect in creating a dreamlike state that was also understandable without having to set too much context.”

Even though Shu had a workstation at home where she could conveniently work on the film, working alone had its own set of challenges, such as the constantly changing COVID-19 measures that posed uncertainties in the work process. Nonetheless, Shu remained committed to completing her film. “I tend to be quite strict with my schedule, and for the most part, I was on time, but not without some sleepless nights,” she said. “As those nights were quite parallel to my film about how the moon journeys through a sleepless night, it was an interesting experience overall.”

Encouraging budding animators who may be wary of the steep learning curve involved in learning professional design software, Shu said: “When starting on a new software, you have the excuse to make bad things and have fun.”

“Getting used to the tools and the hotkeys usually just takes practice, so it’s good to have fun with the initial experimental phase as it serves as practice, but also will help you to find techniques that are suitable for you,” added Shu, who is now equipped with the skills for many design applications, including Callipeg and Procreate.

Shu has been an avid “cartoon watcher” and has been interested in animation since her childhood and was fascinated to see characters come to life. During her time as an ADM undergraduate, Shu was glad to have explored different mediums, tried her hand at various styles, met many creative people and learnt from their practice. Today, she works as an illustrator and animator at a design agency.

Following Full Circle, Shu is now working on another animated film during her free time. This time, her film will be in a different style and tone, in the genre of fantasy and set in a bus.