I'm Stella Ge, and this is the official website for my short story, A New Leaf! I wrote this story in English as the basis for the rest of my Narrative II project. It then inspired my work in Design and Web/Audio, in which I created both a book jacket and an animation!

This project tested my ability to tell stories effectively using a variety of mediums while exploring new photographic strategies (HDR), examining the importance of dialogue, and advancing my coding abilities. With that said, I hope that you enjoy the website I've created!

In English, we tested our creative storytelling skills and focused on using dialogue to develop our characters. We also examined the same story from various different perspectives, exploring perspective writing. For my story, I wrote from the perspective of a young girl, an old man, and third person. This way, my reader gets all sides of the story and also a glimpse inside the mind of each of my main characters. Introducing: A New Leaf! Click on a leaf to read from a perspective!
In Design, we continued the narrative momentum by creating a book jacket using InDesign to accompany our short stories! Through this project, I learned about all the components of a book jacket and also how to capture the essence of my short story with this one design. We then went into the Surrealism unit, combining HDR photography with Photoshop magic to create our own impossible images! I really got the opportunity to think outside of the box with this project and inject metaphorical meaning into my artwork.
In Web, we furthered our storytelling by creating an animation based on our stories, as well as a website to present all components of this project! We first created paper prototypes to map out the basic functions and layout of our websites - in my case, I designed a site parallel to my animation, with a watercolor effect consistent with my other Design work. We then jumped into animation, applying newly acquired AfterEffects knowledge (masks, animating walk patterns, drawing onscreen) and creating an animatic with rough sketches to plan it out. The goal of this animation was to visually present our stories and communicate the message in a creative audio-visual integration, and I believe that I did so with this project!
You've found the Blink section of my website! This unit was all about spontaneity, meditation, and unrestricted creativity. We combined our English and Design classes for a couple days would start each class with some meditation, followed by a 10 minute uninhibited free-write, then finally a zen art piece. The amplified piece is a culmination of all these days of creativity: I combined the zentangle, mandala, and word-tangle with one of my English writings in one composition. I thorougly enjoyed this unite and I feel like it embodies the essence of Freestyle Academy. Enjoy!
(click above triangles to view artwork)