Final year project
Women's Health [Read more]
Menopause Animation
This is one of 8 scenes taken from my animation about Menopause. Misleading information about the Menopause has left women, trans-men and non-binary people feeling alone and isolated from the world. This animation sheds some light on the myths and taboos that still surround Menopause, in the hope of starting a well-needed conversation. Each scene is depicted from personal experiences people have had with Menopause due to the misconceptions that still come with it. This scene demonstrates a 17-year-old girl feeling isolated and alone as she experienced Menopause at such a young age.
Endometriosis Zine
This Zine about Endometriosis would be introduced to children at school while being taught about Menstruation. It would be featured with the pack of sanitary products given out to the girls in school during the lesson. The point of the Zine is not to necessarily educate these girls about the symptoms of Endometriosis, as this will be taught by their teacher. The aim is to comfort them in the fact that if they are feeling like this, then it gives them the reassurance and acceptance that they are not alone and can still lead a normal life. The Zine itself is meant to be very ambiguous, many girls will experience different journeys and therefore will interpret it in a way that suits them best. This scene depicts how the pain of Endometriosis can be so severe that it can feel beyond anything in this world.
Endometriosis Zine
A lot of stigma and shame still surrounds menstruation, especially for young girls. This can result in many people not talking about how they are feeling when it comes to periods and this is especially true when it comes to Endometriosis. The fear of the unknown has meant that a lot of girls who are suffering choose to stay quiet about it because they feel ashamed, alone and embarrassed. This scene is trying to demonstrate the feeling of concealment while also showing them they are not alone and other people are experiencing the same thing.
Endometriosis Zine
Endometriosis can be a very painful condition, and therefore it can be very hard to concentrate on anything other than the pain. This results in many girls suffering in school because they can't concentrate on anything else but the pain. The above Illustration depicts this feeling by using the metaphor that it can cloud your mind.
Endometriosis Zine
Having Endometriosis can be a very draining experience and leave you feeling very tired. I wanted this illustration to depict how that tiredness may feel and how it could affect your daily routine and the things you love to do.
A Scene from my Menopause Animation
Due to the myth that still exists that you won't get menopause until you are at least 55, it has left many people feeling alone and isolated from the world after experiencing it at a lot younger age. This scene taken from my animation shows someone feeling secluded from the rest of society.
Isabelle Motteram
My design approach is a mixture of Illustration, animation and editorial illustration.
Throughout this year I have developed a love for creating surreal and metaphorical landscape illustrations through the use of mixed media. I decided for my final projects to focus on Women's Health as I still feel this is very much an overlooked topic. Focusing on the misleading information that still surrounds Menopause, I decided to create an animation exploring different peoples experiences with it. It looks into their journey and how it got better by opening up and talking about these experiences to others. This animation was hand-drawn frame by frame featuring 12 frames per second. The whole animation roughly consists of 700 different frames. Although time-consuming, I thoroughly enjoyed illustrating this animation and bringing it to life. Still focusing on Women's Health, I decided to concentrate on the younger generation and look into the struggles young girls face. One of these struggles was the lack of awareness around Endometriosis. This was a challenge as I didn't want to create a factual Zine that listed the symptoms of Endometriosis. Instead, I wanted it to be very ambiguous because no one girl will have the exact same experience as another girl may have and there are many ways that it could make you feel. I think I have captured this well in my illustrations and that girls will come away from it feeling reassured, accepted and recognised.
Final year project
Women's Health