Visual Essay Boards :
When I Was Older
Role: Art Director, Illustrator
When I Was Older is a conceptual motion piece inspired by the NPR podcast Invisibilia, which explores the hidden forces shaping human behavior and perception. This particular episode delves into themes of past lives and reincarnation, focusing on the compelling story of a young boy who vividly recalls memories from a previous life. His experiences provoke thought-provoking questions about memory, identity, and consciousness, challenging the boundaries between science and spirituality.
The project visually juxtaposes two parallel worlds: the present, represented through a painterly treatment that evokes a sense of grounded reality, and the past life, depicted through scribbles that resemble a child’s drawings, symbolizing the fragmented and imaginative nature of memory. Through this duality, the piece seeks to explore the complex interplay between the tangible and the intangible, inviting viewers to reflect on the mysteries of human existence.
Mood Board I began by collecting references from children's drawings to explore a loose, scribbled quality. I also gathered painterly illustration references to build visual contrast between the two worlds and balance the raw, playful marks with more refined textures.
Story Board Based on the transcript, I began storyboarding the scenes. I selected an audio clip from the episode that included the child’s quote, because it added a personal and emotional layer to the narrative. This choice also helped make the visuals more engaging and meaningful.
Initial Styleframes While exploring directions for the styleframes, I experimented with a monochromatic palette to reference the feeling of the past through black and white tones. However, I realized that the memories in the story are uncertain. We do not know if the past is real or imagined through the child’s perspective. This led me to move forward with the scribbly, child-like drawing style, which felt more honest to the narrative.