Paper Street

Sophia Cao, Stamps School of Art & Design

Collaborators: Yuchen Wu, Stamps/LSA; Brenda Cai, Stamps/SMTD

What does it mean to come of age and how do we come of age when familial and cultural expectations push us one way when we want to go another? Through visual storytelling and animation, Paper Street will address themes of family and identity, and unpack how familial relationships reflect on how we build our other relationships. I hope to set this story apart from classic Asian American stories by challenging class norms of protagonists, drawing from personal experiences, and reimagining common tropes. I will use a lighthearted and charming approach to address these topics and questions in hopes of sharing a story with universal emotions that can be understood by both an older and younger audience.

The comic will be drawn and printed as zines while the animation will be showcased alongside it. I will be working with undergraduate students from Stamps and SMTD to create handmade miniature models of different environments which will be used as backgrounds for my animation and will be displayed during the exhibition. Having the animation in addition to the comic would bring the characters to life, while giving viewers a more colorful scoop of the world of a 13-year-old Chinese American girl. The animation style combines 3D miniature built backgrounds with 2D hand drawn animation, which also reflects the duality Josie feels, and how she is still figuring out who she is and wants to be.

This project will give students the opportunity to work in mediums that they’re familiar with, but also push them to explore new ways of blending 2D with 3D. I am an illustrator and animator, with a focus in comics and 2D animation, while my collaborators are experienced in set design, model making, and photography. It’ll be a learning experience, and all very experimental, so good communication and the ability to problem solve and adapt is very important. To ensure that all team members are on the same page, I’ll check in regularly, offer any support if needed, and always be open to suggestions and ideas, especially in areas that are not my expertise.

I will be working on finishing up the comic in the next few months, and starting the animation in March. I will be outsourcing my finished comic and printing it as a zine. I will also be test printing throughout the year, to determine the dimensions and look of the book as well as the feasibility of my page count.

I hope Paper Street is a story that many people can relate to, whether that’s growing up in a multigenerational immigrant household, or simply remembering the joys and frustrations of adolescence. I want my story to highlight the beauty of the mundane, and to tell people that they are not alone with their emotions and struggles.