Narrative 1

The Narrative project consisted of an illustration, a video and a story. The illustration and video would be based off this story, and the story was required to have no dialogue, whatsoever, while having a build up to a conflict, the conflict, and a resolution.

This is my story that I did for English, about a girl whose parents were extremely strict in their expectations for her life and future.

“Expectations”:

Teagan Elise was a mystery to most. She never went to parties, though she was invited to all of them. She never paid attention to the boys who pestered her to get her attention, which was the majority of the school. She never complained about anything, her smile reaching her sapphire eyes for the 7 hours the students had to endure the endless lectures and tests. Freckles dotted her nose and cheeks, giving those who stared at her face for a second too long an excuse as to why. Teagan didn’t utter a word, though none knew why.

Teagan withered under the eye of her parents, even as she stood her ground and grew taller to meet the standards they set for her in a world which resembled a flawless diamond. Her posture straightened under the gaze of her mother, and her eyes hardened under her father’s gaze. A perfect daughter did not slouch and did not let emotions show. She never let her grades falter, and never goes against what her parents say. Teagan lived and breathed these ideals, emulating them everywhere she went.

The classroom went quiet at the entrance of a new boy, who had entered with a loud greeting and a smile to match his enthusiasm. Soon enough, the room returned to the normal chatter, as he wound his way through the chairs and sat down a couple seats away from Teagan.  

Killian Tucker was the talk of the school after he first appeared in class. He always had a bounce to his step, greeting people who passed by him. He believed that connecting with others was infinitely more important than staring at a screen. A smile was permanently etched on his face, laughter escaping his lips at every joke cracked by one of his classmates. Teagan caught his eye, with the way she responded to the pestering of her classmates, and the way her blonde hair framed her face. .

The second day, Killian approached Teagan. She only spared him a glance, before going back to what she was doing. He pulled out the chair next to her, sitting down and placing his backpack down in a way that it leaned against the chair’s leg. He greeted her, looking at her expectantly, his eyes curious. When he realized he was going to get none, he smiled and continued to fill the silence with talk of his old town and of his parents. His hands moved through the air, as his eyes showed his nostalgia for his old town. He spoke through a smile, and maintained eye contact with Teagan. His story, and his insistence to connect with Teagan had prompted a response out of the silent girl. Instead of verbally responding, she gracefully wrote it out. Her eyes watched Killian’s expression, his smile turning into a slight frown, as he read the page full of words, before he turned to look at her. He launched into another monologue, speaking animatedly about freedom from parental expectations. The frown gave way to another smile, which stretched across his cheeks, reaching his bright eyes, while his hands moved through the air as he spoke. The class around them leaned in to hear what he was saying. His words had only confirmed what Teagan thought was right, her eyes glinting with the determination to truly be herself.

When she got to her house, she marched right up to her parents. Startled by her actions, they took a few steps back to regain their space. Her mom opened her mouth to scold Teagan for her posture, and her dad opened his mouth to scold her for the determination in her eyes. But, before a word could escape their mouths, Teagan confronted them. Teagan got in their faces as they had done many times with her, glared at them until they felt what she felt underneath their gaze. She maintained eye contact with her father, her sapphire eyes never leaving his emerald eyes. The trophy from a  beauty pageant into which her mom had entered her in when she was 15 years old caught her eye and she grabbed it from the mantle. She grew to resent the trophy, which stated she showed “exemplary beauty and talents” on it’s placard. She snapped the cheap plastic trophy in half, before letting it fall to the floor. Her parents shared a quick glance, communicating silently. Before they could respond, she entered her room, slamming the door. A minute later, they knocked on her door. Teagan could already imagine the scolding she’d get from them. But when she opened the door, all she got was an apology, a promise and a hug from them. Teagan hesitated, but wrapped her arms around them after a moment.

Teagan found Killian the next day, a skip to her step. Killian greeted her with a warm smile, and she returned the gentle smile.

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For Design, our project was to find animals that represented the traits of our main character, then combine them into one in Adobe Illustrator and place them in a background that both fit the environment that character would be found in, as well as had something to do with an important scene in the story.

Artist Statement:

My flash fiction was about a girl, Teagan Elise, who faced strict parent expectations. She was always working on her laptop, even when she went to parties. Teagan’s classmates didn’t bother her, but a new kid, Killian Jones, comes to school and interacts with her. After interacting with him for the rest of the day, she fights back against her parents expectations. Later, her mom comes up to her room and apologizes.

For this project, I began by doing a general sketch of what I thought the background and character would look like. I came up with multiple combinations of animals to portray Teagan, and then continued to sketch backgrounds that would fit both the story, and the animals I chose. After I had a few general sketches of the backgrounds, I then created an appropriate outfit for each of the settings. The animals I chose to portray Teagan were a wolf, a rabbit, a ring-tailed lemur, and an owl. I chose a wolf because they are typically shy of humans, but they are also intelligent. To illustrate how quiet she was, I chose a rabbit because they are quiet creatures. Along with the wolf to represent her intelligence, I chose an owl and a ring-tailed lemur. An owl is a generic symbol for being an intelligent creature, while a ring-tailed lemur is an animal that isn’t associated with intelligence as often. Then, I chose a forest for the setting of the illustration, because most, if not all of the animals fit in a forest setting. Then, to incorporate a scene from the flash fiction, I added a desk. I am pleased with my work, but I would try to figure out more shadows and highlights that I did.

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For Animation, we had to animate our story, keeping it between 35 seconds and 45 seconds, not including the title sequence. We had to fully animate it, as well as develop the sound design for the film. We could either do stop motion or fully digital.

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