My Little Bumblebee Story Exploration
Inspired by a childhood lullaby, my intention is to explore the life of a baby bumblebee into adulthood. Inspired by the relationship between my mother and I, the little bumblebee is raised with this bedtime lullaby. In turn, when she grows up, the (not so little) bumblebee sings the same song to her own child. As alot of my animated work explores personal anecdotes, this exploration allowed me to experiment with narrative storylines.
An early attempt to storyboarding and exploring this storyline is displayed below.
Character Exploration
In attempt to further explore Fiona the bumblebee's personality and life, I experimented with character design as well as fabrication. At this point, I have not produced a stop-motion puppet nor worked with felt. I took it upon myself to learn these skills in this exploration.
Character design sketches for all four characters in the story.
My very first attempt at producing a felt puppet. This puppet is intended to be the Mommy-bee seen in the first half of the story.
Character Exploration- Set Building
As the story is a metaphor for my own childhood, this character exploration allowed me to flush out the look as well as personality of one of the main characters; Fiona the bumblebee. The piece showcases three versions of Fiona and her room at different stages of her life (i.e childhood, adolescence and adulthood). The overall intention of the work follows the idea that “your room is how your mind looks”.
Fiona in her childhood bedroom. Similar to mine as a kid, it’s full of colour and toys. Some key features of this room are the artwork on the walls as they highlight the close and loving relationship between Fiona and her Mom, an important aspect in the original story. The use of felt was important for baby Fiona as it gives the feeling of a toy, something soft and innocent. This is how I hope to convey Fiona at this age.
Fiona’s adolescent room. As she went through her teenage years she was establishing her opinions and likes. The maximalist interior design showcases how chaotic life seems in those years, full of life and constantly changing. At this point, it was important to sculpt Fiona out of clay to symbolize these aspects of her personality. To expand, similar to the malleability of clay, Fiona is exploring and shaping herself into the bumble-bee she will become.
Fiona’s adult room that she would have at the end of the story. Clearly Fiona has developed a more defined sense of interior design, with a minimalistic touch. Despite her adulthood, Fiona keeps mementos from her childhood in her room still. Eminently, adult Fiona’s paper make up is a symbol of her age and wisdom; paper being a traditional medium for puppet making.
