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Native Bees, a story of diversity

Stop-motion Animation

Native Bees is a stop-motion data story about the importance of native bees. The goal was to tell a compelling data story in a unique and creative way.

My process began with researching studies and articles on native bees. This was the most challenging and time-consuming task of the process. The research was narrowed down to three studies to tell the story from a global to a local view. I also contacted the author of the local story, and he sent his slide presentation that included photos. One of the images inspired the paper props created for the animation.

Once the storyline was written, it was time for conception, prototype and production. Putting pencil to paper is a critical part of my process. It lets me get the ideas out of my head before I forget them. My initial thought was to cut all the props from paper, but experimentation took over, failure set in, and I returned to my original idea.

Ultimately, this project was challenging, encouraging and filled with accomplishment. In other words, everything I hoped for in a graduate thesis.

Concept Generation

Storyboards

Bumble Bee Evolution