The Gaze

"The Gaze" is an experimental, 2D, paperless animation created in the software Blender, with postproduction being done in Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro. It serves as a commentary on strict beauty standards imposed on female-presenting people. It depicts a woman walking through a void, with spectral eyes observing her every move. As the animation progresses, the viewers are made to take on the judgmental role of the observing eyes before the woman ultimately fades to black and the animation loops.

An image of a woman drawn in gray, walking through a completely black void. She looks distraught, her arms are wrapped around her torso in an attempt to comfort herself.
An image of the same distraught woman, this time walking through a pink void, with phantom eyes appearing all around her and staring at her. Her body is morphing in and out as a red spotlight illuminates her from above. A close-up shot of the same woman, framing her from shoulders up. She is now completely white with no outlines, separated into several forms via chromatic aberration.

The Gaze (2025) - The images above are still frames from my animation, each of the depicted moments acts as a crucial point of change in the video's narrative. Each image has been dithered and optimazed to improve site sustainability.

This project was inspired by The Global Goals movement, specifically, their Gender Equality goal. The music in the background was Gnossienne No.1, played by Alena Cherny. The project was completed under the supervision of my instructor, Jennifer L. Hand.