Animation Reel

Nilsu Mengi 2025 Animation Reel

Animations

The Visit

Synopsis

The Visit is about a girl, Peach, who hasn't spoken to her dad since their big fight some years ago. Not being in contact for a while, she decides to pay him a visit. Her dad, being surprised over the unexpected visit, has grown older over the years and has come to miss Peach. While dealing with the awkwardness in the air, Peach has taken someone with her to help her gather her courage to come out to her dad.

GENRE
Family
QueerLENGTH
2 minutesTARGET AUDIENCE
Family groups
Young-Adults
AdultsANIMATION TECHNIQUE
2D frame-by-frame animation
and paper-cut collage animation

Directors Note

Motivation

When I came out to my parents I not only told them that I was gay, but admitted to living a life they had not been a part of. Ultimately, they felt robbed of their role. For the sake of hiding who I was, I lived my life without the guidance of people I should´ve been able to depend on. Being part of LGBTQIA+ is an ongoing struggle for my parents to accept.
I had the motivation to create "The Visit" because I often thought to myself: "Had I grown up watching queer representation, had my parents grew up watching queer representation we all would've been able to figure out my identity in a healthier way."For years I´ve been saddened by the fact that my parents were deprived of who I was. I often reflect on how my parents took my orientation as a choice. In my case, this originated from being uneducated about queer identities and heteronormative thinking. Experiences like this are not limited to me but for better or worse connected to the lives of other LGBTQIA+ individuals. Educating people by urging them into uncomfortable and unknown topics in the context of LGBTQIA+ is a step into leading people to better understand the nature of queerness and help normalize it in the long run. As the director of such film that is meant to start these conversations, I greatly believe in the word of mouth.The current existing representations receive criticism from people of varying backgrounds, nevertheless, as time flows I am confident the fight for representation will help people from unsupportive backgrounds like myself.

Artistic vision

As an artist, I have a passion for thought-provoking projects that focus on inclusivity and representation. Using meanings of colors and utilizing timing in animated mediums for emotions. Embracing multiple styles and making use of symbolisms to have the story explain itself. I feel interested in stories that leave enough space that viewers can add their own stories to the visuals I create.

Technical Context

The film is still under production. The film has a total of two different styles. Using the techniques 2D frame-by-frame animation and paper-cut collage animation. Any style that doesn't fit such description is a shot that is in progress and will be developed further.

Storyboard

Having started this project only at the start of July I was quick to make the storyboard as I knew what I wanted to explain. First iteration was cute but did not feel complete, I had 3 phases of the story set down. The meeting, coming out and the reaction. But I felt stuck on connecting the phases.

To help with that I reached out to a professional animator within my network, referred to as A.R. A.R, gave me encouragement on its aim and look and taught me few tricks about storyboarding (which I had not much knowledge in at the start). After a brainstorming session we had a version 2 on our hands. Later as I wrote my research paper I was influenced with races that lacked representation in media, this later on helped me with my character design choices.

And finally, I placed the shots in my software to start the production phase. That's when I edited the timing and started changing the shots to fit the story better as I went.

Animation

Technical consideration that went into characters´ movement.Peach moves slowly but she is the only character to move on 2 frames per second. This makes her movement gentle and clear.Olivia never moves. As much as Olivia is a crucial character for peach to come out to her dad this story is not about her experiences but more about her girlfriends relationship with her dad and she exists more as a symbol.Peach's Dad is slow like Peach but he moves in 4 frames per second to show his age and lack of agility.Peach's Courage also moves on 4 frames per second. I wanted to match them with her dads timing because despite their past he's a voice in her mind to gather herself stronger.

Process of the
Animation pipeline

I intentionally stuck to a simpler pipeline to execute the film. This was partially to keep the process uncomplicated and also faster to go on with the production process.

The Visit - Animation Pipeline
...Storyboard
|Hard animation / Animatic
|
Line art
|
Color /+ Effects

Shot example from the film

The product changes in each step of the production. This is a unique feature of my directorial approach as I greatly care about the effects of the process and allowing my product to change as I make it.

Concept Design

Dad's House

Layout House

Peach's Inside World

Character Design

Peach

Peach is a shy person, but she’s also incredibly strong. Growing up, she faced a lot of negativity around her trans identity, which shaped her resilience. Despite everything she’s been through, Peach always tries to be the bigger person. That’s why, after a long pause in their relationship, she’s ready to forgive her dad and visit him after their last fight. The argument was about her being a woman, and she’s nervous about how her dad will react to meeting her partner.She has a rounder face type with round hair within her design to make her a softer character. Her outfit that is more cornered and sharp clashes with this as being a stronger person is not her nature.

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Olivia

Olivia is a caring and thoughtful partner, always there when her girlfriend needs her. She listens with genuine attention, offering steady support through the ups and downs. Olivia knows that love and healing don’t happen overnight, so she’s patient, giving her girlfriend the time and space she needs. With her gentle nature, she creates a warm and safe environment where her partner feels truly heard and appreciated.My research paper led me to understand the lack of representation in asexual identities. Learning from GLAAD'S analytics I was able to add a black ring to her design that subtlety showed her sexual orientation.Olivia's design is round and bubbly like her personality. She is easy to understand shown by her simplified design. Her naturally sharp features highlights that she has boundaries and don't feel shy of expressing them.

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Peach's Dad

Dad is a reserved person, not one to open up easily, especially about things he’s not familiar with. But once you get to know him, you’ll find a gentle and caring side. He looks back on his younger years with some regret, wishing he hadn’t been so quick to anger. Now, he’s more reflective, hoping to show more understanding and warmth to those around him.Dad has a round face like Peach, though he tries to hide his softness by sharp features that come from his beard and glasses. He's wearing his comfortable clothes only because he didn't expect visitors.

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Peach's Courage

Small critters to represent courage was an interesting way to approach my storytelling. As I pictured courage to be something big and resilient at the start but I understand that you don't always have to be big to be resilient. I feel like it takes lots of effort to build courage so what if courage built itself to a ladder to cross every mental wall that comes on your way?Round and soft looking Courage critters have features similar to octopus and ducks, their behaviours are inspired by how hamsters act like in big groups

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hamster stacking behaviour