Pitching Highrisers:  Dissertation Project

For my Masters degree, I wrote a dissertation on designing animation and graphic fiction to entertain mature audiences and how these mediums challenge the traditional binary norm.  This dissertation explores the design in animation and graphic fiction and how adult audiences can be captivated by such materiel that delve into complex subject matters that are inappropriate for younger audiences.  This provided the opportunity to research existing media like adult cartoons and comics that market juvenile designs to tell mature stories.  I learned about the background history of the different processes of animation, from the zoetrope and praxinoscope to Disney’s long-lasting input to modern-day 2D computer technology.  I also observed the 19th Century origins of illustrated books, progressing towards the comic and graphic novel industry.
Moreover, the dissertation argues that graphic fiction and animation have a valuable role to play in representing minority identities.  Researching the process of animation and graphic fiction to convey topics on gender identities, the LGBTQIA+ community and non-monogamy defended my original concept for a series that positively promotes lifestyles otherwise demonised by the heteronormative society.  Through visual research the dissertation argues there is a demand for adult animation and comic books and that animation and graphic fiction is uniquely places to address adult topics, such as sexual orientation, gender identities and non-monogamy.
This research also provides an opportunity to promote my own design: an animated series called Highrisers that features a cast of diverse sexual and gender identities. Highrisers also aims to positively represent non-monogamous relationshipsin fictional media, examples of which are scarce and indirect.  This includes designing a large cast of characters with multiple sexualities and gender identities.