MidReal Story
Design an animation that depicts a vast , starry night
Scenario: "Design an animation that depicts a vast, starry night sky. As the scene unfolds, the numerous twinkling stars gradually begin to converge and align themselves to form the letters 'U R'. This transformation should be subtle and magical, with the letters ultimately shining brightly against the night's backdrop, creating a striking visual symbol in the sky."
Create my version of this story
I lay on my back, staring up at the sky, and let out a happy sigh.
The stars were so pretty tonight.
I’d always loved them.
I wished I could be up there with them, shining so bright.
I mean, technically, I was an artist of the stars.
And that was what I was going to make my next animation about!
It would be amazing.
Not to mention difficult.
I’d have to create a new star for every frame, and there were going to be thousands.
Oh well, nothing I wasn’t prepared for.
I turned off my computer, pushed away from my desk, and stood up.
I stretched out my arms and legs before gathering my things and making my way to the back door.
My family had a big backyard that turned into a dense forest only a few hundred feet beyond the house.
I went for walks out there whenever I needed to clear my head.
I pulled on my sneakers and opened the door, stepping out onto the deck and taking in a deep breath of the fresh nighttime air.
I loved it here.
I walked off the deck and into the grass before making my way into the forest.
I didn’t have a particular destination in mind, so I just walked in the general direction of nowhere and everywhere at once.
When it came to nature, nothing could beat the beauty of the natural world.
Except maybe space itself.
And that’s what made me so excited to get started on this next project of mine.
It would be difficult, sure, but that just made it all the more fun!
I’d been working on getting better at animating more realistic things lately, and I was excited to see how much progress I’d made since my last project like this one.
I found a relatively clear spot in the forest and spread out a blanket that I’d brought with me for this exact purpose before sitting down on it.
I pulled out my notebook and flipped to the page that I’d been writing notes on this project in.
After reading through them for a moment, I laid back against the ground and closed my eyes.
The animation would start with a vast starry sky in the background, much like I was looking up at now.
Then, one by one, the stars would move closer and closer together until they formed three letters: U R.
Afterward, they’d all get brighter as if they were responding to something before slowly fading away one by one until they were gone.
It would be simple but also beautiful in its own right.
And even more beautiful when put into motion!
The first step was designing the stars themselves.
They needed to look natural but also not like they were just static drawings up in the sky.
After a little brainstorming, I quickly came up with a design that I liked for my stars—simple but still fun to draw.
When I opened my eyes again, I pulled the notebook onto my chest and started sketching out my first frame.
I drew the sky first, which was easy enough.
Then I added a few stars and moved on to the second frame.
I erased one of the stars and moved the other two closer together.
I was going to have to create a whole new star for every single frame, so I wanted there to be as few as possible but still enough so that it didn’t look like there were only a few stars in the sky.
I couldn’t wait until I could start adding the motion lines in for this.
It was going to look so cool!
I flipped the page and started on the third frame, and I couldn’t help but smile at my little stars.
They weren’t perfect, but that was what would make them stand out more when they started moving.
I was happy with the design I’d come up with, and I couldn’t wait until I got to show Orion.
Once I had all my frames sketched out, I gathered up my things and made my way back inside.
I went straight back to my computer and opened up my digital drawing program before plugging in my tablet.
I quickly uploaded all the pictures I’d drawn into the program and got started on them now.
It was pretty mindless work; I just had to trace over each of the frames I’d sketched out in my notebook.
But soon enough, I was done with that and ready for the next step.
I opened up a new file, which would be my base file for all the stars in this animation, and got started.
The great thing about this sort of project was that it didn’t require me to start by drawing out a storyboard.
I already knew what everything would look like in my head.
I would draw all my stars in this file now before copying and pasting them into the different frames of my animation.
It took me a long time, but eventually, I had all my stars drawn.
Next came adding them in one by one into my frames.
It took a lot longer than just sketching them out in my notebook or even digitally drawing them, but it wasn’t so bad.
It also helped me get a better idea of what my final product would look like.
And let me tell you, it was going to be amazing!
Once I got all my stars placed into my frames, I opened up a new file again and started adding in some motion lines for all of them.
It took a little while, but eventually, I got them all done as well.
Now that everything was done, all that was left was pressing play and watching my hard work come to life.
And let me tell you, it was as amazing as I’d imagined it!
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Once it was done playing through once, I saved it again before uploading it online to show Orion.
His voice acting ability had really been improving lately, just as my animation had.
So I knew he was going to be excited when he saw this new project of mine!
After that, I went back through my project notes and started a new project for myself that I’d work on until he came over.
Orion showed up not long after he said he would.
He came bounding up the stairs in his usual way and immediately plopped down onto the couch beside me.
“Are you finished yet?”
he asked excitedly.
“Almost,” I said, saving what I’d been working on so far before opening up the project that I’d sent him on his computer.
The thing about Orion is that he was always so excited about everything I did.
Sometimes even more so than me!
But that was what made him such a great friend.
