Austin Roberts

BA New Media with Minor in Animation

Website: arroberts.artstation.com

DESIGNER STATEMENT: BLU is the first glance of an animated series based on the daily antics of an alien visiting earth for the first time. Set in the early 2000s, this inquisitive alien ventures into suburban backyards and experiments with everyday objects. The only problem is, Blu doesn’t understand how anything on our planet works and finds more trouble than fun. 

This animated short gives insight into my childhood and the curiosity of youth. BLU is the physical representation of that curiosity. Revisiting my childhood through a contemporary lens of digital 3D media helps me reflect on how times have changed and reveals how the cluttered yards filled with children have changed to kids living inside swiping on a tablet. The environment mirrors my backyard growing up in Maryland in the early 2000s and some of the many belongings I left behind while running inside for breaks. Now that I’m reflecting on my childhood memories, I find that the process of creating a project around these objects form a new experience fraught with problems and broken memories.