Week 01

What is my Thesis project?

09 - 02 - 2025

Initial Ideation & Planning

Why?

In my previous research from last semester, I examined how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping the job market for digital artists—including shifts in creator identities, the emergence of new roles, and changes in skill structures. This project builds upon those insights: AI is not merely a tool, but an integral part of the creative environment. Those who fail to understand and harness AI's potential risk will be left behind. Thus, this short film represents an attempt to translate theoretical research into creative practice.

Installation Reference

For my thesis project, I plan to create a short film that combines AI-generated imagery with traditional hand-drawn animation. The work will be completed through AI-generated video footage enhanced or supplemented by frame-by-frame hand-drawn modifications—sometimes layering textures and details, other times juxtaposing AI and hand-drawn elements within the same frame.

Beyond the digital short film, I will print each frame on paper and bind them into a flipbook. Viewing it involves manually flipping the pages to create the animation. This presentation format emphasizes the relationship between digital and manual processes while echoing my exploration of the contrast between automation and human labor.

What might be the biggest challenge?

I anticipate that the greatest challenge will be time. AI image generation requires extensive trial and error with repeated adjustments, while frame-by-frame animation is also extremely time-consuming. To ensure the project is completed within the semester, I may need to scale back or simplify the short film's content, striking a balance between experimentation and feasibility.

Who are the target audience?

  1. Artists and Designers

    Operating within an environment of rapidly advancing AI tools, their working methods and creative identities are undergoing transformation. This project demonstrates how human creativity re-enters the AI production process by combining AI-generated imagery with hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation. For them, this serves not only as a visual experience but also as a practical reference, prompting future considerations on balancing efficiency with handcrafted traces, and machine generation with individual expression in their creative practice.

  2. Scholars and Curators

    Academic and exhibition fields continually examine how new technologies influence artistic creation and media forms. Through its “digital-to-hand-drawn-to-physical” transformations, this project exemplifies remediation—illustrating how images solidify from fluid digital states into preservable, exhibit-worthy objects. This cross-media practice offers fresh subjects for scholarly inquiry while providing curators with compelling, exhibition-ready formats.

  3. General Audience

    While unfamiliar with AI's technical intricacies, they are drawn to the question of “how humans and machines co-create.” Through viewing digital shorts and flipping through flipbooks, they directly experience the contrast between the coolness of AI-generated imagery and the warmth of hand-drawn traces. This juxtaposition offers not only an immediate sensory experience but also sparks reflection on technology, labor, and humanity's place within it.