The Moonseeker | 2D Animated Graduate film

A grieving father goes to extremes to be reunited with his dead daughter.
Follow us on instagram: / moonseeker_aub
You can also watch the rest of out yeargroup films here (They are absolutely amazing too) / @animationaub
Loved the soundtrack? You can listen to it on Spotify open.spotify.c...
✨CREDITS ✨
─ •✧• ── 𓆩 ✧ 𓆪 ── •✧• ─
✧ Directors ✧
Diana Blázquez ‪@ashtrall‬
Katherine Galley ‪@katsprey‬
✧ Producers ✧
Diana Blázquez ‪@ashtrall‬
Edda Katrín Malmquist ‪@eddakat‬
✧ ANIMATION ✧
Anna Lokotkova ‪@UndeRavenWood‬
Annabel Thompson ‪@fluddie6832‬
Diana Blázquez Martín ‪@ashtrall‬
Edda Katrín Malmquist ‪@eddakat‬
Jasmine Naylor www.instagram....
Katherine Galley ‪@katsprey‬
Kim Randall ‪@billie_animates‬
Finnley Tatarowicz ‪@FireTheWolf‬
Michelle Van Houten ‪@fishdefowl‬
Mia Marenghi ‪@appleeyes2643‬
✧ Assistant Animation ✧
Alexandra Arrascue ‪@alechan5‬
Clara Kassandra González Ortiz de Zárate ‪@kasscabel‬
Evangelos Mayson www.instagram.....
Gabriela Ginda ‪@Featherflight55OwO‬
Michaela Kľučárová ‪@-Shelly-‬
Nhu "Ted" Nguyen ‪@macchitea‬
✧ Assistant Colorist ✧
Tamara Qaddoura linktr.ee/tutu...
✧ LAYOUT ✧
Edda Katrín Malmquist ‪@eddakat‬
Evangelos Mayson www.instagram.....
Ruth Myatt www.instagram.....
Tamara Qaddoura linktr.ee/tutu...
✧ Background artists ✧
Anna Lokotkova ‪@UndeRavenWood‬
Elettra Brunelli linktr.ee/Eldr...
Evangelos Mayson www.instagram.....
Iván Cardona / sheto_art
Joanna Anastasiou joannaanas.wix...
Ruth Myatt www.instagram.....
Sabrina Prabowo sabrinaprabowo...
Tamara Qaddoura linktr.ee/tutu...
Tessa Bentley tessbentley.wi...
✧ STORYBOARD ✧
Anna Lokotkova ‪@UndeRavenWood‬
Diana Blázquez Martín ‪@ashtrall‬
Tamara Qaddoura linktr.ee/tutu...
✧ COMPOSITING ✧
Anna Lokotkova ‪@UndeRavenWood‬
Diana Blázquez Martín ‪@ashtrall‬
Edda Katrín Malmquist ‪@eddakat‬
Katherine Galley ‪@katsprey‬
Sena Miyazaki senamiyazaki.m...
✧ SOUND DESIGN AND MIX ✧
Adeyemi Ogunkanmi www.yemikanmi....
✧ MUSIC ✧
Sam MacDonald linktr.ee/samr...
Violin : Freddie Flintoff
Guitar: Matt Still-Blundell
Cello: Caroline Morris
Voice: Katherine Macaulay
✧ SPECIAL THANKS ✧
Carl Reader, Dorian Terkelsen, Jordan Wood, Mark Collington, Tom Walsh, Richard Smith, Paul Taberham, Gabriela Ginda, Class of 22, The extended crew for helping us in this project and our Friends and Family
─ •✧• ── 𓆩 ✧ 𓆪 ── •✧• ─

[@citruslllad]

i love how you can understand the story through visual implications alone, no big flashbacks or dialog needed. the man’s daughter died and he was using the moonseeker to see her again, but by keeping it trapped in the barn, he was inflicting his own pain on the moonseeker’s parent. the fire was a result of him being able to move on, and by letting the moonseeker go and reunite with it’s family, it represented the man letting go of his daughter and finally being able to move on with his life

[@OilyOaf]

What do mean ‘represented’ that’s literally just what happened

[@CadaGCreations.]

Thanks for the summary I didn’t even think as deep as things being symbolic like the fire

[@farewelltimetofly]

​@@OilyOafThe man letting the moonseeker go was literal; the man letting his daughter go was figurative. The former represents the latter.

[@AngelSBolander]

What wonderful creatures ❤

[@davcritic-8qo7]

Letting go because he was about to bring that same pain, he had of losing a child to others like the mother moonseeker if something happened to her youngling like the fire or worse.

[@lucid2957]

This is so beautiful, I adore the designs of the moth/owl critters and I'm glad they were reunited in the end!

[@nadirsidiboulenouar8091]

i unironically think that it's called a moonseeker because of the title

[@bingolinging]

it made me cry

[@Tap_me_for_free_robux-j6f]

​@@nadirsidiboulenouar8091same

[@kittycat7034]

Same!

[@tumblingartist]

ikr its so pretty!!

[@alexielshadowangel]

Soooo.....anyone else wanting a plushie of the Moth-Griffin? THe design is so cute and elegantly simplistic!

[@spooki3382]

Me

[@_kaleido]

Wow, this was beautiful! I loved the creatures’ designs and the music was a big standout as well!

[@WendyWinchester]

I second this. The designs just had me in awe!!

[@charlesanimates]

I can see how this could make an award winning film if it was a whole movie. Beautiful!!!

[@defeatSpace]

already an award winning short in my mind.

[@СергийТихомиров-в4н]

And the most beatiful thing is that it doesn't have to BE a whole movie. It already is great that way.

[@DaSpaceWalmf]

BRO this NEEDS a full 20 million dollar budget film this is SO good

[@superfightingrobotmkx7776]

Why is it that these 2D animated independant films are often much more visually stunning, emotionally moving, and imaginative than big studio, high-budget projects?

[@hannahdeards9652]

Hi! I go to the same uni which produced this (well, the students did). We get about half a year to work on our film pitches. In final year, the chosen films form groups of around 8-9 people. We get about 2 and a bit months of preproduction, where everyone gets to bring their specialty and their own ideas to the film. We are uninhibited by a budget, or a film that we have to find an audience for, so of course, our creativity can run as wild as we want. A film like this would cost a LOT to produce if it was made by full time professionals in a studio and is audience is kinda film festivals and youtube - it's AMAZING but at this length, a bit hard to market. It's all about finding an audience and demand unfortunately. I hope that helped answer your question

[@superfightingrobotmkx7776]

@@hannahdeards9652Well if animation teams can’t let their imaginations run wild, maybe the film industry needs to make some changes. I’ll bet a full length movie with the same emotional depth and imagination as this would attract a big audience. It’s basically an untapped market.

[@Moonbeanie]

This was amazing short with wonderful story and even more outstanding animation! ❤ I'm speechless, I loved it!

[@ashtrall]

Tysm!

[@ashtrall]

Who wants to join a Moonseeker sequel MAP? (guys is a joke haha)

[@Siamsi_meow]

Me. :3 But I don't think I will have time. Also this is amazing story! I love the animation!

[@Moonbeanie]

Count me in 🍪🦋

[@TristanFox_Art]

I would LOVE that when i saw this my immideate reaction was i need to make fan art

[@carolmosquera7728]

i also wants to participate

[@funkyfelinefriend]

m e but only the moth dragon. sobs in can't draw humans

[@aaya84]

It’s just incredible that most people here described the story as “beautiful”. Because that was a word that popped out in front of me immediately once the story ended. A true masterpiece proving that you don’t need 2 hours to tell a whole story with true emotions.

[@ChoiiXMasters]

It seemed like the Moth-Pegasus-Thingy took the soul of his Daughter, thats why he kept it but if it wouldve died in the Fire, his Daughter would be gone too, so bittersweet

[@luckyeight4148]

I dont think that's what it was, I think it was just able to show the guy memories of his daughter, not keeping her soul with it

[@birb70]

I feel like if that was actually his daughters she would be more… emotive, y’know? Not just smiling and chasing a moth as if the barn isn’t burning- I think it’s more like his memories of her, and he was keeping it because he wanted to see her again

[@KARMAZYNA]

2:40 The way the baby fluffs itself up in happiness and excitement when seeing its mum. 😭

[@creoterative]

People like you inspired me to study Illustration and Animation too, it's such a wonderful art. This short is amazing, the lighting, the design of the beasts, the man's story... I'd love to be a part of a sequel MAP, although I'm sad to say that my experience with animation is quite limited so far since I only just started to learn. Well, there's always next time, I'm looking forward to seeing the finished project though, it's always thrilling to see so many different styles come together.

[@SiritheShrimp]

Wonderful creature character design, sublime visual composition, subtle yet gut-wrenching storytelling and an ethereal score to top it off. A marvel to the senses and soul 🌸

[@thatoddchristiangirl]

The moment when the moonseeker jumped out of the barn with her wings on fire... man i got goosebumps

[@Bear_Song]

I was not expecting to cry today. This is beautiful. The storytelling, characters, symbolism-- it's very touching. Everyone who worked on this is very talented! ❤️✨

[@ForestAnomaly]

I love the visual storytelling! You can easily peace the whole story together just from the visual clues, and damn the style is so good! The moonsekers are so mesmerising, can't even imagine how much work went into this

[@Neganium]

Ough, new creature design fave. Love that weird griffin moth thing. Also, I feel like that wasn't even really his daughter, entirely. Considering how minimally reactive she seemed to be, I feel like she was more of an... echo, maybe? Something born of his own mind, or something. Certainly it was not something lasting in any way. Interesting how it seemed the creature forgave him in the end; perhaps it understood on some level what he wanted. That doesn't make what he did okay, but he came to the right conclusion in the end.

[@jgunner280]

That is strangely something I was considering. Like if he never had a daughter but wanted it, and somewhere that desire and sympathy was placed into a griffin that he was keeping away from its parent.

[@Neganium]

@@jgunner280 I personally think that he HAD a daughter, once; just that, whatever that thing was, it wasn't entirely HER, if any part of her existed within it at all. It felt more like the memory of her, and his expectations of her; she behaved how he remembered her to be, but had little more complexity than that. Though admittedly, that could be because she was simply a young girl... I don't feel that explains the lack of reaction to the peril her father and the creature were facing, though. Still, all of this is very interesting.

[@deep_edits594]

Woah, ssoooooo beautiful creature, it looks like a Toothless and an owl, the design is amasing!

[@Jell000]

Oh My God This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. When I realized the music that plays when the two moth creatures reunite ( 2:44 ) is the same music that plays when the lumberjack thinks of his daughter ( 1:46 for an example) I legit started crying. Animation is amazing, too! :) Edit: this is my favorite part and I can’t stop watching it lol 2:29

[@ilikepie4685]

I came here by accidentally clicking the "Animated Films" thing at the top of my screen, and damn was that a good accident. The visuals and storytelling are gorgeous!

[@raentrieve]

yay, i love the critters, they remind me of a cross between a gryphon and a moth.

[@bambootriangle]

This is the most beautiful animation I've ever seen. The creatures, the song of parent and child, I'm crying

[@JohnTLyon]

This is a beautiful film! The character design, music and economy of narrative, all superb!

[@tutusketches]

my name is tamara, & i was a story artist then later a background designer on this film! ✨ i’m taken aback but the amount of love in the comments - everyone is so kind!! it’s such a relief to have such a nice reception to our work 🥺🤍

[@MusicComet]

I absolutely adore the wing animations. You can truly feel the weight in that movement!

[@dragongirl4110]

The Moonseekers appear to be some sort of species of Dragon fey ,in terms of their powers and in ancient documents. How ever they resemble moths, owls, and large cats in terms of appearance. So cool!🐉🧚🦋🦉🐅❤❤❤

[@xenotundra3346]

I think the bat wings are an interpretation of that author, its commonly a motif of evil - this is exemplified by the fact that those wings only apear in the illustration of a fight with such a creature. The real animals obviously have feathered wings, so much more than a dragon theyre likely closer to griphons.

[@TerminalNostalgia]

I love the design of the creatures! Best moment was definitely when the baby did a little wiggle before running to join its parent!

[@liacreations]

This is beautifully animated! Everyone did such a wonderful job ^^

[@mistrex]

This was truly just such a wonderful and beautiful short animation. The character design and enviroment, just everything was breathtakingly beautiful it brough me chills like all the way through and did bring me to tears a bit with the dead daughter and the silly creatures reunion. Like words cannot describe how in awe i am from this animation and how inspiring work like this is oh my god absolutely incredible work!!!

[@wenqingmei2523]

This moth-like creature is really stunning! Such an elegant and pure soul that always depicted by myths. Touch me with emotions.

[@ivanstrydom8417]

Wow, that is amazing, such brilliant writing and animation with heavenly music. Truly art.

[@sirenalillywing2434]

aw this is so adorable :’) i teared up. the animation & the music go well together. it conveyed the emotion excellently. he misses his daughter, but he’d taken another’s child in the process. but seeing his daughter reminded him of who he is. & at least he can know he did the right thing. it’s heartwarming that the creature saved him from the fire. :’)

[@puppytree6343]

The thumbnail or cover or whatever sets up what you’ll seeing throughout, it’s like a entire movie poster.

[@Rieylthegoober]

this was so beautiful, the way you captured the story with body language and music. SO PRETTY (i’m obsessed with the moth creature)

[@Aliferius]

this has been my favorite indie youtube animation for a long time and i figured i’d tell you how much i love it - the moonseekers remind me of my own creature, i love how catlike they are. i also adore creatures with wings. the animation is amazing and so smooth. i love how the grieving father chooses the right thing in the end, and how you clearly show the moonseeker’s power/ability. i also love how you understand everything despite no voice acting. amazing job!! i love it :)

[@demelzapalmer475]

Beautiful score!!! 💖🥰

[@loksven83]

Oh my gosh. I WANT A MOTH CAT THING! it's adorable! And the animation is so fluid and pretty and just- URGH ITS SO GOOD AND AMAZING!!! also once again, I want a moth cat thing. I'm not sure what the creature in this is, but it looks like a moth cat thing and I want one badly. 100% would snuggle.

[@nezik]

This is absolutely gorgeous! The visual storytelling was absolutely perfect, the environment, character design and animation very pretty and gorgeous, and the music and SFX is really good too! Everyone did a great job

[@crunchycroutons1987]

i can't even describe how much joy i felt watching this. i go on and on just talking about all the ways this is amazing. even though it's a three and a half minute animation i could talk about it for hours!! i won't because that's a lot of typing, but i just want to tell you how amazing this is!!! keep up the good work! ❤❤❤

[@shinyhatgod9312]

w animation w sound effects w music yeah this is just amazing. this part is an edit forgot to say w design

[@Mangolorian-je3eo]

WOW! The premise, the design, and the efficiency of the writing! To tell a poignant story in that short a time is very hard to do, well done!

[@duckeatsrice]

ARE YOU SERIOUS?? this was gorgeous!! all the camera angles, the emotions, and the music!! this looks like a professional animation!! chills

[@alechan5]

Beautiful daughter issues Thank you so much for having me, everyone did such and amazing job

[@ashtrall]

YOU DID AMAZING TYSM 🦋

[@thereallonestarnowayyy]

It's beautiful how this short film has all sorts of emotions and you can tell what's going on with absolutely no speech! Super awesome work, great job

[@GrampyBob]

This reminds me a lot of How to Train Your Dragon (in a good way). Really awesome animation!

[@bitsyray]

At first I was here for the lamp, then the feels emotional Rollercoaster of feels kicked in.

[@CerealBee]

Absolutely stunning animation! The fluffy moth dragons give me so much hollow knight vibes!!❤

[@cloroxart]

HELLO??? THIS IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! The story telling is amazing and so unique. The animation is beautiful, like seriously I’m absolutely stunned If this was a full movie, I would absolutely watch it!! It’s just thag amazing of a concept

[@Sebastian-But-Not-That-One]

This has such heavy Studio Ghibli vibes! 😍❤️ Amazingly well done, you even made a cold, hard, Swedish heart melt with 0 words 😭🥺

[@drifterastralis]

this is so gorgeous and emotional, you all did amazing

[@Faerie_King]

lovely absolutely lovely! The secret ones that come to your world are as curious about you as you are about them. Treat them kindly and perhaps you will be rewarded.

[@lotusthewaterlily4306]

Omg… I love this so much🥲. The moon creature looks like a moth I saved once lol. It’s so fluffy and adorable. Anyway, keep up the great animations❤!

[@samstone8674]

Wow, this is entrancing. The moonseekers (if that's what the creatures are called) are so emotive and beautiful! Everything is so smooth and pairs together with the music and sound perfectly! This looks like a short film that would play before a movie.

[@Laura-bs2hw]

this is the best thing ive seen in my life i love the designs and the sound, the storytelling was amazing and so much in a couple minutes

[@fluffyboistatic]

Wow! this sounds and looks amazing! Not to mention the story behind it, even if it's short and simple (probably not in animation terms) it's really amazing!

[@rairai8606]

My heart, oh my gosh this was incredibly well done, thank you for sharing!

[@Myuutsuu85]

May this surpass one million views one day. A work of art, such as this, deserves to be seen by many.

[@AdoraçãoeLouvor-1010]

From a medical student, thank you for your content! Med school studying is not nearly as hard when your videos keep me accountable! To everyone else reading the comments, keep going. I do not know what struggles you are handling, I do not know what you are studying, but there is a reason you were put on THIS PATH and I know you can handle it! Stay blessed y'all.

[@Casp_Jax]

It so hard to explain how much I love this, the scenery is beautiful, and the music just fits so well. You did an amazing job on this!❤❤

[@Sparkle8205]

Gorgeous, stunning and basically yeah a MASTERPIECE!!

[@CreaturesThatThrive]

This was far too short to hold the amount of emotion it wants to express. This isn't said with a negative tone. It just has the potential to be so much more. Beautiful art. Beautiful creatures. Facial emotions are the life so many fail to give, thank you for your hard work.

[@celticbarbarian]

Such a gorgeous film Ash

[@Maries_Lab]

The story itself,and the perfect animation! Imagine this becoming a series! Personally i would love to see more,I can't even describe how much i love this,you guys did an amazing job!!

[@tailsntales1265]

Bro my skin is tingling this is incredible. I love the sound design, the creatures, and of course the animation. Man I could see this being a whole movie playing in the theaters. ❤

[@Ax0_1t01]

This is legitimately beautiful! The art style was phenomenal, the direction and framing was excellent, and don't even get me started on the score! This gave me Ori vibes, which are some of my favorite video games ever, and I couldn't be happier about it. All these amazing KZbin animations we get to watch for free from extremely dedicated people gives me hope for the entertainment industry.

[@April_Animates_Stuff]

Wow, this is incredible! The characters feel so alive

[@doodlepaper6236]

The story and the art just fit together so well.. this truly could’ve been a full length movie.

[@TheSoulArchitech]

2:29 absolutely my favorite shot. Gorgeous.

[@rbfloat]

This was so gorgeous. Everything was perfect. From the music to the character designs, it was just beautiful

[@FlickerFox105]

Everything about this is beautiful from the animation, to the sound and music, to the story itself. It's very impactful. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to keep writing stories and learning animation

[@tea_tenegrimm]

Such a beautiful and heartwarming tale! The designs of the creatures are wonderful, exceptionally cuddly looking!

[@thenegativeandzero]

If major movie companies took ideas like this, the movies produced would be amazing.

[@claytonharting9899]

This is amazing!! It gave me chills, it’s got ghibli vibes

[@tuliplouart]

This is one of the best shorts I've seen in a while. Nice, well rounded story and beautiful animation too. Great work.

[@bobmorgan476]

Beautiful. Just beautiful. Great creature design in a story dealing with pain and loss and redemption and hope - and all without a single line of dialogue! An inspiring example of showing instead of telling. An honest fantasy tale filled with heart! Thank you!

[@maskedwriter4088]

So beautiful! I would love to see more of those wondrous creatures!

[@NerdyGolfball]

This is such a beautiful animation! (Ps:The moonseeker is giving me toothless vibes

[@Its_me_Stolas]

ONe hell of a team you have there. Music and sounds feel in place, animation is fluent, facial expresions speak louder than words, crushing and burning sound once again felt natural and anatomy of the creatures is honestly impressive. Wing span is perfect. I saw wings being smaller or way to big and these one, are just perfect size. And there is a lot of story telling in the opening shots where our hero sits in a room with all that data, stories and notes. And how many people worked on it? I kind of got lost a bit, and I have counted like 26-27 active participants (without counting special thanks). I have to admit. for such an amount of people 3 minutes of a good animation is in fact impressive

[@onebrickatatime9097]

Impressive. Very well animated, good creature design, and a story that is interesting and leaves the viewer wondering about the world. It probably doesn't mean much, but I really like this, good job.

[@gnorman8852]

One of my favorites! Beautiful artwork & endearing story. Thank you.

[@blossomdazzle]

Words cannot describe how wonderful this short film is

[@inejinn]

Shed a tear (or, 2, or 6.. Or more like a lot more), this was so full of emotion! The music was so well chosen and the story so good, I loved it so muchh

[@Chowderclamorsomething]

As a person who loves dragons, griffins, or pretty much anything like that, this is AMAZING 10.01/10

[@malbecks316]

The body language with all the characters is terrific! For a short without dialog, it was very easy to identify how everyone was feeling basically just by looking what their shoulders did lol. I also adore the pacing, a brisk procession of very clear beads leading up to a clear climax that doesn't waste any time at all and delivers a satisfying end.

[@fox-fluffl9002]

Wonderfully done! I love the creature design in this, especially :D

[@annacorvus259]

Made me choke up, this is beautiful !

[@Zolquani]

i just love the fact that this came on my fyp 17 different times. i watched it inbetween that btw. thats just how great you are at animating this.

[@0og3dy-Bo0g3dy]

the designs for the moth/owl creatures is beautiful, and, again, the animation is so smooth. the story is great too. I don't know how you do this so well. Ashtrall 100% deserves more subs.

[@immagical7036]

I HAD A DREAM ABOUT THE LIL GLOWING MOTH AT THE END AND CREDIT BACKGROUND LAST NIGHT!?! Today is the first time I’ve watched this so how the hell did I dream about that last night!? Also this is *fantastically* done!!!

[@cimento970]

Grief leaves an important painful lesson about letting go. You struggle to disbelieve, but accepting doesn't mean forgetting

[@wilczus222]

Absolutely ADORE the design of the Moonbeast!

[@Kara_and_her_cat]

WOOOW!! Absolutely stunning, and the storytelling was very well done 💕 almost had me in tears hah

[@inkward4064]

There are many that would do what the father did at the beginning. Loss is hard to manage. This had a lot packed in but was well thought out and paced really well. I really enjoyed the story!

[@Vsuvi]

I remember seeing the concepts on instagram!! I loved the creature design, and the film gave me chills haha! Amazing work 👏👏👏

[@grot7x603]

This short story reminds me a bit of Japanese Mothra and her fairies.

[@AshlynShannon-w7u]

This is beautifully animated! Everyone did such a wonderful job ^^. Wow, this is incredible! The characters feel so alive.

[@t0orpid]

Yes officer, it's this one, the criminally underrated film that stole my heart

[@lotusforestdragoness7707]

Love so much the design of the owl-moth dragon!❤ And the story is sad and cute at the same time, like it!

[@worldendpictures]

Fantastic. I love it. Such a short story and so full of emotion, history and magic. Beautiful