The idea was to visualize Scarlett’s struggle in an unsentimental way. We did not want to make grand statements about heroism and bravery, but to show how her struggle to adjust was a journey away from childhood and innocence. We wanted to depict that unmistakable fear that grips us when our world is upended. We decided to represent that existential crisis by intercutting scenes of Scarlet attempting to adjust with an abstract animation that represented her inner struggle- her sense of being overwhelmed by creeping despair- hence the red and blue world.

Our biggest challenges were integrating the 3D characters into a 2D hand-drawn environment. We utilized a lot of vray sub-surface scattering shading techniques and hand painted textures to better blend the 3D characters with the gestural painting techniques of the matte paintings. The hardest part of the storytelling was giving a physical appearance to the emotions that Scarlett was feeling (the Red and Blue world). In addition, taking such a delicate subject as a child losing a limb to cancer, and turning it into a beautiful and empowering technical piece.

Children’s Health Fund, Miami Children’s Hospital, The Foundation and Michael Smerka of A Step Ahead Prosthetics praised the piece for it’s sensitivity and will use it to provide a narrative inspiration for children in this circumstance who have no other role models. For Limb Loss awareness month, we shared the video on social media - The project has had quite a remarkable and frankly unanticipated reception. In only 3 days it was played in 151 countries 83,800 times and reached over 1,200,000 people. Press picked it up in Italy, Mexico, Brazil, the Czech Republic---Some of the comments we have been receiving are so touching and it reminds us what a privilege it is to be an artist and have your work influence others. It’s reach has continued to grow remarkably.

Most importantly, Scarlett’s grandmother reported that she watches it constantly.