Abstract
“Maud’s Horns”, is an animated short that serves as a transgender allegory expressing trans joy. Trans joy is experienced in many ways. In the context of “Maud’s Horns”, trans joy centers on ideas of easily accessing the ability to transition, and being accepted as a transgender person.
The conceptual aspects of this film draw heavily from perspectives present in queer studies and artmaking. The plot of this film focuses on Maud the cow. They are born without horns and realize that they would feel more comfortable in their body if this was not the case. The other cows in their village help them to acquire a potion which allows them to grow horns.
“Maud’s Horns” is presented in 16:9 format, which is the standard for animated works. Tools used to create this film include Clip Studio Paint and Adobe Premiere Pro. It will be hosted for free viewing online, and was created with this in mind.
View on Vimeo
Artist Statement
I am a transmasculine artist living right outside Portland, Oregon. At the Pacific Northwest College of Art / Willamette University, I have worked toward a major in Animated Arts and a minor in Game Design. This informs much of the visual aesthetics of my project. I am primarily a concept artist with a skillset in monster creation. I have worked on several animated shorts over my time at PNCA, and am using the skills I have built to inform my thesis. Visually, I draw from a disparate variety of media varying from low-poly 90’s games to independent internet animation. I enjoy experimenting with many types of artistic media including both traditional illustration and 3D digital animation. Many of these experiences play into the direction of my thesis project.