Animation : The Secluded Eden of Monachopsis

"Monachopsis"

John Koenig in his "Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows" (a conpendium of invented new words to describe emotions that we might experience but don't yet have a word for), has coined the word 'monachopsis', which means:

n. "the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place, as maladapted to your surroundings as a seal on a beach—lumbering, clumsy, easily distracted, huddled in the company of other misfits, unable to recognize the ambient roar of your intended habitat, in which you’d be fluidly, brilliantly, effortlessly at home."
source

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It's nearly in the afternoon when Dameera came upon an opening. She barely noticed that she had lost her way a good half of the time she was in the woods. Her foolish bravado, accompanied by the opportunity to rebel had often led her to pleasant surprises, keeping her in her hopeful naivety of her age. Though it's hard to say whether she was optimistic or just plain unconcerned about her directions. Conjointly, her whole young life up until that point has been like that; dazed, neurotic and with short attention span. The future was still a shapeless and faraway concept to her. Her oumi had said her 'que sera sera' behaviour probably came from her father's side of the family, in which abhi took it with a wide grin across his face. Indeed, It was abhi that took her around this, as he proudly called it, his childhood playground. It was only yesterday, or about the same month of every year since she could remember, she had visited this place. But each time was a unique and new experience to her, despite the reoccuring deja vus. Like some inherited photographic memories, distant and older than she was.

As leaves shuffled slowly in the wind, Dameera looked at her surroundings. There was a small body of water, a big moss-infested rock, some trees, and undergrowth. Here, she found peace and tranquility. And yet after a while, she finally let out a small sigh. She could never understand why her parents ever wanted to leave this Eden. But a sudden sinking feeling came over her. How ungrateful and even blasphemous of her to disregard the fact that her chance existence was the byproduct of her wedded parents. Her father had traded this for her.

Her contemplation was broken by a small but distinct sound. An insect-like sound came from the jutted out flowers in the middle of the wide clearance. She tried to peer through its leaves and flower petals but could not see anything out of the ordinary. She could swear the flowery plant was communicating with her. She pretended to be looking away from it for a number of times but the call had ceased. Or was it only in her head? She looked at it with such fascination, she began to muse how the flowers and she were very much alike. Distancing themselves away from the rest, but still in the midst of it all. Happy in disconnection, split about their sense of belongingness. She blushed at the self-absorbed thought of comparing herself to such beautiful and flourishing red flowers. But the thought, it was hers alone, so surely she had the right. Not like when grandma said that she was in her prime age to find a man in her life. She blushed even more, this time with a scowl. What good were men for, except maybe for reaching Nutellas in high places, instinctively acknowledging her height and her first world problems that got in her way of devouring chocolates. She might as well get a stool.

Despite her grandmother's blunt assertion, Dameera always thought of the old woman as one of her favorite persons. Grandma was the personification of contradiction and paradox, the essential formula that became the bedrock of every good story. This was apparent when she had also mentioned her honest concern about Dameera's weight gain (that might hinder male courtship) since the last time they met, at the same time offering her delicious home-baked cookies. Her energy was also disproportionately high irrespective of her age. She was independent and would candidly complain about grandpa in front of him. Yet, she once admitted that she could not live without him. But for Dameera's story, she was still happy being with herself, or just with close friends, some of them cats. Nothing is etched in stone. Or bedrock. "What is bedrock anyway? A rocking bed? A bed made of rocks?" She thought, as she finally realized she was lost, and alone in the woods.

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Original still image before it was turned into simple animation.

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The breakdown:

This time I tried to make a simple frame-by-frame animation. there are about 15 frames of the girl, 5 frames of water stream and ripples, and 2 shapes of fish. For the fish I just used the tween option and repeat the movement three times.

The background was painted with lush blue and green with some streaks of warm hues. The water stream was actually transformed from the huge rock and repainted to form a riverbank. I envisioned the end result would feel like a page from old/ children illustrated book or from a 2D animation. The upper part of the illustration was meant to have a title or a text on it but I had no idea what to write there. Perhaps for the better. You should always leave some space for your viewers' breathing room.

Eventhough the contrast might help in catching the immediate attention of people, I reduced it. I preferred an intimate and calmer approach, for my own eyes primarily. Finally I blocked some dark silhouettes and gaussian-blurred them to established a foreground. If you want to make an environment painting, don't forget to create this depth of field illusion with foreground, middleground and background.

So that's it for today. Thanks in advance for all the support. See you guys around. :>

• Afique

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