Designing the Characters

Characters within the poem are the:

The Emmet -

The Emmet with the poem is a lost mother ant. She is forlorn and lamenting at her being lost form her family. She looks travel worn and sad. Her goal throughout the poem is to find her way back to her family. She speaks of being able to hear her children wonder and see their father sigh.

Above is some initially rough doodles of the 'Emmet'. I am going with  a simplistic, childish appeal to the characters and designs.

Here is the finalised, simple, Ant design. Simple colours to contrast and simple design to animate.

The Glow worm -

The glow worm appears to the Emmet and the Narrator as the stories mentor and guide. He is said to 'light the path' and guides the Emmet to the Beetle, to follow his hum home.

Here is the glow worm idea. A simple, round, cute "Glow worm" who sits on a lamp. He lights the way with his lantern, lighting the lanterns in the trees to guide the way home.

The Beetle -

The Beetle appears at the end of the poem. He hums and is said to guide the Emmet home, this hum is presumably from his wing beats. The poem speaks that the beetle 'goes his round' so presumably loops or goes within a continuous loop or cycle.

A simplistic beetle who specialises in green for his colour. He is bulkier than the ant but still very simplified.

The Narrator -

The Narrator is like the reader and author of the story. The Narrator starts on a bed of grass and follows the Emmet, shedding a tear in sympathy. At some point the narrator disappears temporary in the poem as the focus becomes on the Emmet's plight.

For this animation, i have personified the narrator as a little innocent girl. A white and yellow dress symbolises her purity, and her brown hair helps add contrast between the colours and is associated with earth and nature.