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Abstract
Taiwan has seen an increased interest in animation in recent years, with many more artists and craftsmen dedicating themselves to the field. Animation festivals and forums have also multiplied in Taiwan. These activities benefit professional animators and students who want to extend their knowledge. After participating in many such activities, and seeing numerous international animation works, I made Oriental Leprechaun, an animated Oriental fantasy inspired by Chinese music, calligraphy, and meditation.
Live-action footage of the main character was shot on digital video. This was integrated with still pictures, and calligraphy made by computer, creating a surrealistic fantasy in which the fleeting, abstract nature of music, dance, and art play a vital role.
A world often veiled by our distractions, appears in calligraphy and ink drawings that dance lyrically and ecstatically to Chinese music, swooping in and out between the unperceived void, and the perceived consensual reality. Like fish beneath the water or life under a microscope, the characters, always there and always dancing, retreat back into the void as the music that excites them quiets and subsides. Eternity enjoyed for a fleeting moment in time.
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