Tyler Selfridge
Don't be a Prick
"Don't be a Prick" is a 2D animation created as a way to display a serious topic in a light and humorous way. Sono is a small, friendly cactus that just wants to make friends. Sagu is a large, stuck up cactus that thinks he is the greatest cactus to ever grow on this earth. An argument begins dealing with the struggle of outer beauty and what growth really means.
Artist/Thesis Statement
What I love about animation is that I’m creating a world in which characters can interact, with characters that I have made, with voices I choose. Animation is fantastic because it’s so malleable. It can be changed in any which way; the only thing that limits what it’s capable of is the animator. One can animate one's needs to tell a story. Yes, the animation does tell a story but the creator has to write, express, and put thought into a narrative that makes a connection with the viewer. Every animation, comic, short, or project I work on starts with the story. It’s very similar to walking before running. It needs to have legs to carry itself through life. Every single person that watches the work I create should be able to connect with the characters on some level. It doesn’t need to be profound, but there needs to be a message with meaning. My goal is to make stories that focus on a point of interest. Those issues could be bullying, self-acceptance, or appearance issues. It could even be a problem that bothers me and only me.
My senior thesis “Don’t be a Prick” deals with self-acceptance. This issue is something that everyone thinks about from time to time. It is an issue that sometimes plagues one’s mind into thinking that they aren’t good enough despite their best efforts. When writing this story I started with one sentence. A smaller cactus is made fun of by a larger cactus because he is small and doesn’t have flowers of his own. This is my way of telling a story of self-acceptance in a way that isn’t too serious, but still provides a message that needs to be heard.
