Batsford Prize: Fun and Play

Animated submission for the 2025 Batsford Prize competition based around the theme ‘Fun and Play’. After seeing the nostalgic interpretation many of my peers took to this brief, I decided to expand on this idea by exploring the ways I still ‘play pretend’ in my young adult life.

Initial Character Concepts

A

Storyboard

Animation

The animation is an autobiographical account portraying my everyday, adult life as dull and boring, especially when put in contrast to the bright and vivid imagery of childhood seen in a photo album. The adult me is then drawn to a shimmering d20, rolls the dice, and turns into a magical wizard- showing a return to the magic and fun of the past through playing pretend once again.