Nature and Character Creation: Reflections

In August 2024, I led a series of Character Creation workshops to connect students with nature, encouraging them to explore their own identities by creating characters inspired by found natural elements. This unique approach combined elements from my “En Plein Air” workshops and Animation Art Therapy concepts, creating a space where participants could engage with the environment in a meaningful, reflective, and creative manner. The one-hour workshop was delivered with assistant Dengyun Zhang -an ex-MA Animation student at LCC, focusing on stop motion animation across China in four cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen Maxine’s campuses.

Beijing

Workshop Overview: Integrating Nature with Self-Expression

The Character Creation workshops were designed to make students work with the natural environments of each city. Drawing inspiration from the “En Plein Air” method, which emphasizes learning in the open air and fostering environmental consciousness, due to time restrictions, I collect vegetation and other found objects to use as the foundation for their character designs from the hotel to the campus. This hands-on, nature-based approach allowed students to directly engage with the material they see daily and use these organic materials as a medium for self-expression. The collected elements became integral to the character-creation process, physically representing the student’s emotional states or personal identities. This tactile engagement with nature promoted a deeper understanding of the environment as students explored how the materials could embody aspects of their personal narratives, such as strength, fragility, or transformation.

Shanghai

Blending Art Therapy with Character Creation

A vital component of these workshops was incorporating principles from Animation Art Therapy, a practice I have been developing to bridge art, therapy, and animation. The workshops provided an emotionally safe space where students could explore their feelings and identities through art. By connecting natural materials to their inner experiences, participants engaged in a therapeutic dialogue between their external environment and internal emotional landscapes.

This approach aligns with the philosophy of Art Animation Therapy, which emphasizes self-awareness, emotional processing, and the therapeutic potential of creative practice. The use of natural materials grounded the characters in the physical world and provided a symbolic link between the students’ inner selves and the natural elements around them. This process encouraged reflection on personal identity and how our environment can shape our experiences.

Hangzhou

Reflecting on the Impact: Student Engagement and Outcomes

The workshops revealed various creative outputs, each character reflecting a unique intersection of nature and personal storytelling. Students expressed a heightened awareness of their surroundings and demonstrated a profound connection to the materials they worked with. By engaging in this hands-on, reflective practice, participants developed a deeper appreciation for the role of nature in their creative processes and a greater understanding of how art can be a tool for emotional expression.

Integrating natural elements into character design encouraged students to think beyond traditional artistic techniques, exploring how texture, form, and organic shapes could symbolize different facets of their identities. This method of character creation facilitated a holistic approach to learning, where the artistic process became intertwined with personal reflection and emotional exploration.

Shenzhen

Theoretical Foundations and Future Directions

The Character Creation workshops were underpinned by theoretical insights from the “En Plein Air” research and the broader framework of Animation Art Therapy. Inspired by the pedagogical approaches of Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and Buber’s “I and Thou,” the workshops fostered a dialogical relationship between students and their environment. This interaction challenged participants to view nature as a backdrop and as an active participant in their creative journey, encouraging a shift from passive observation to engaged, mindful creation.

As I continue to develop and refine the principles of Animation Art Therapy, these workshops have demonstrated the value of integrating nature into the creative process. By encouraging students to create characters that reflect their emotional states using found natural objects, the workshops highlighted the therapeutic potential of art as a means of self-exploration and environmental connection.

Conclusion

The Character Creation workshops provided a unique and transformative learning experience, blending character design with environmental awareness and self-reflection. By engaging directly with natural materials, students could create characters that embodied their personal narratives and connected them to the world around them. This approach underscores the importance of integrating art, therapy, and nature, offering new pathways for personal growth, creative expression, and emotional healing.

在2024年8月，我与助教张登云在Maxine的北京、上海、杭州、广州和深圳校区举办了一系列角色创作工作坊。这些工作坊旨在让学生与自然建立联系，通过创作受自然元素启发的角色来探索自己的身份。这种独特的方法结合了我的“户外写生”工作坊和动画艺术治疗的概念，为参与者创造了一个有意义、反思性和创造性的环境，让他们与自然环境互动。

北京

工作坊概述：结合自然与自我表达

角色创作工作坊旨在让学生与各个城市的自然环境互动。受“户外写生”方法的启发，该方法强调在户外学习并增强环境意识，由于时间限制，我从酒店到校园收集植被和其他发现的物品，作为角色设计的基础。这种实践性、基于自然的方法让学生能够直接与日常所见的材料互动，并将这些有机材料作为自我表达的媒介。收集的元素成为角色创作过程的重要组成部分，物理地表现了学生的情感状态或个人身份。通过这种与自然的触觉互动，学生加深了对环境的理解，探索这些材料如何体现个人叙事中的各种方面，如力量、脆弱或转变。

上海

艺术治疗与角色创作的融合

这些工作坊的一个重要组成部分是融合动画艺术治疗的原则，这是一种我一直在发展的将艺术、治疗和动画结合的实践。工作坊为学生提供了一个情感安全的空间，让他们通过艺术探索自己的感受和身份。通过将自然材料与他们的内在体验联系起来，参与者在外部环境与内心情感景观之间展开了一种治疗性对话。

这种方法与动画艺术治疗的理念一致，强调自我意识、情感处理和创作实践的治疗潜力。自然材料的使用使角色扎根于物理世界，并在学生的内在自我与周围的自然元素之间提供了象征性的联系。这一过程鼓励反思个人身份，以及我们的环境如何塑造我们的体验。

广州

对影响的反思：学生参与和成果

工作坊展示了各种创造性成果，每个角色都反映了自然与个人故事交汇的独特点。学生表现出对周围环境的高度意识，并展示了与所用材料的深刻联系。通过参与这种动手的反思性实践，参与者加深了对自然在创作过程中的作用的欣赏，也更深入地理解了艺术作为情感表达工具的意义。

将自然元素融入角色设计鼓励学生超越传统艺术技法，探索如何通过纹理、形式和有机形状来象征其身份的不同方面。这种角色创作方法促进了一种整体学习方法，使艺术过程与个人反思和情感探索相结合。

深圳

理论基础与未来方向

角色创作工作坊基于“户外写生”研究的理论见解和动画艺术治疗的广泛框架。受巴西教育学家保罗·弗雷雷《被压迫者教育学》和马丁·布伯《我与你》对话哲学的启发，工作坊培养了学生与环境之间的对话关系。这种互动不仅将自然视为背景，还视为创作过程中的积极参与者，鼓励从被动观察转变为积极、专注的创作。

随着我继续发展和完善动画艺术治疗的原则，这些工作坊展示了将自然融入创作过程的价值。通过鼓励学生使用发现的自然物体来创作反映其情感状态的角色，工作坊强调了艺术作为自我探索和环境连接的治疗潜力。

结论

角色创作工作坊提供了一种独特且具有变革性的学习体验，将角色设计与环境意识和自我反思结合在一起。通过直接与自然材料互动，学生能够创作出体现个人故事并与周围世界联系的角色。这种方法强调了将艺术、治疗和自然结合的重要性，为个人成长、创作表达和情感疗愈提供了新的途径。