✴︎ chasing light: a story of moths, butterflies & wonder

CONTEXT

Nature and artificial light have an almost mystical connection- butterflies glowing under the aurora borealis, moths drawn to street lamps, butterflies flying in the snow. This project explores hypothetical worlds in alternate dimensions, where delicate creatures navigate surreal, atmospheric landscapes. From a butterfly dancing in the Northern Lights to moths drifting through snowy, deserted streets, each animation tells a story of movement, fragility, and contrast.

CHALLENGE

The biggest challenge was seamlessly blending hand-drawn sketches, digital illustrations, and real-life photographic elements into a cohesive visual story. I wanted to create a mixed-media collage where these contrasting styles wouldn’t just coexist but enhance each other, bringing out the magic of opposite environments that naturally attract.

Transforming delicate, hand-sketched moths and backgrounds into polished digital illustrations while integrating hyperrealistic butterflies from real photographs required careful layering, color adjustments, and texture blending. The goal was to strike a balance- preserving the authenticity of each medium while ensuring the final animations felt immersive, surreal, and harmoniously unified.

SOLUTION

Using Adobe Illustrator, I vectorized my hand-drawn sketches, combining photorealistic butterflies extracted from real images with stylized, surreal landscapes. This mix of realism and abstraction created a visually striking contrast.

The result? A collection of animations that blend nature, light, and mystery- inviting viewers into a world where time and space bend, and beauty exists in the most unexpected places.

1. Butterfly & aurora borealis– a fragile butterfly flutters beneath the glowing aurora, embodying resilience in the face of the harsh winter.
2. Moths in the street lights– transparent-winged moths drift through a snowy, dimly lit world, drawn to the warmth of artificial light- silent wanderers in an otherworldly night.
3. Butterflies in the street lights– a surreal glimpse into a dreamlike dimension, where butterflies float through icy streets, illuminated by golden beams against the snowfall.

DELIVERABLES

• 3 short animations;

PROJECT DETAILS

Project: surreal motion design, animations

Client: my inner creative itch

Industry: Art & Culture

Workspace: my creative cave

Date: 2019

Role: motion designer

Team: solo designer-me 👋