Week 7 : Planning Deliverables

This week, I focused on finalising and submitting my dissertation. After taking a day or two to rest, I started thinking about the deliverables for A Friendly Hand at the graduation show.

Walking Animation Walking Animation Walking Animation Walking Animation Walking Animation Walking Animation Walking Animation

Part ①: A Friendly Hand, But How Many?

Reflection on Scale & Feasibility:
Visualisation 5: Dance, Forest Dance is, well… ambitious. But I’ve been thinking a lot about the logistics and cost of such a grand delivery, and honestly, about how I want to present myself as a designer/artist. I mean, sure—it would be impressive to make eight or even ten hands, but let’s be real: that’s going to cost at least $350, based on what I’ve already spent earlier on one mockup.

But beyond budget constraints, a question that also keeps brewing in my head: the irony of it all. As much as A Friendly Hand is playful and a little silly, Dance, Forest Dance carries an artistic message that is… fragile, poetic, vulnerable through its movement. If I scale it up too much, does it lose some of that intimacy? How do I balance humor and depth without losing the essence of the work?

Leaning into Humor & Irony:
Feeling a bit conflicted about tone, scale, and budget, I started rethinking scale altogether. What if instead of many hands, there was just one… or three? This shift led me to an alternative visualisation—one that leans into humor and irony rather than just spectacle.


    • Deadpan, nature-documentary meets existential indie film Storyboard 5 Mar 2025

    • Overview Visualisation of A Friendly Hand at the Graduation Show 5 Mar 2025

It can also be seen as an indulgence but I wanted to explore an alternate version as a proposal during this making process. Regardless, I will still be making three hands, which feels quite meaningful in relation to ecologist Suzanne Simard’s 1997 revelation on the mycorrhizal network through a study on the mutualistic relationship of birch trees, Douglas fir, and a young fir seedling.

Thinking Animation

Week 7 : Reflection

I think the plan and the 'deadpan humour' concept idea is worth keeping in view, but right now, my focus should be on prototyping A Friendly Hand to look as charming as the original. I say charming because, realistically, there’s a limit to how sleek it can look, given the materials it’s built from and the story those materials tell. So, for now, my goal is to replicate the original Friendly Hand’s charming quality as best I can.