Tartaruga Feliz

Mental health in 2020

ANIMATION, CHARACTER DESIGN

Uncertainty and isolation can be devastating if there’s no outlet for them to be expressed. 2020 led me to rely solely on my creativity to keep afloat.


It also brought Pi back to my life, this time animated and full of things to say.

Rotoscope proved to be a loyal and reliable source of tranquility and it brought me to a contemplative state, where I learned to accept what I could not control and to look around me for the magical moments on the ordinary and repetitive routine patterns that settled in my life. 

Nature and electronics

Because rotoscope animations take a very long time to be created, it occupied my mind enough to wait for the circumstances in my life to unfold. I took my electronic devices to the park and enjoyed the Spring and Summer animating, sunbathing and hoping for the better.

The truth about the world

In this process, I came across information about violence and children in the world that were devastating for me. I decided to create an animation in their memory, where I reconstructed a flower and wrote about the issue on my social media. I was of course, ignored and censored.

my instagram post about it
In my sadness and loneliness, I found comfort in the presence of Nature and my character Pi, who I started seeing everywhere I went. So I decided to bring him to life using the same technique I was having fun with.
Pi saved me from spiraling into negativity and depression and brought me and my audience a lot of kindness, compassion and playful moments.

It made me reflect on the power of imagination and how coping mechanisms we develop on childhood can actually be quite effective in adulthood.
Pi took over my instagram account for a couple of months and interacted with humans spreading his wisdom and happiness. The last time he was seen was on Halloween, where we dressed up together to attend a party we were invited to on Animal Crossing.
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