Metal Heart (Thesis Film)

A stubborn and brash mechanic sets out to fix the one thing no one can or even wants fixed.
EDIT (6/13/22):
Okay, WOW! I did not expect this to get as many views it did or even remotely as amazing of a reaction. I'm genuinely so happy to receive so many kind words on this project. I really poured my heart into it for a full year!
For some context, this film serves as my capstone film for my senior year at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Metal Heart went through a LOT of concepting, scrapping, rewriting, and gave me a literal year-long headache. I think I love it more because of that, though. :)
If you are interested in following more of my artwork, you can find me on both Twitter and Instagram:
/ aideedeedee
/ aideedeedee
ALSO, check out those who helped SO much on my team:
McKenna McEachen: / mckennamceachen
Maddie Shilt: / mockingjayart
Bella Guarino: / mar.iioo
Kathleen O'Donnell: / 2uselemon
Anthony Liotta: / thecooldrawingguy
Maegan Gaffney: / toooceanblue
Chey Sprinkle: / cheysprinkle
Kailen Dean: / trainerkaidean
Thank you so much for watching!

[@chriscooper654]

Great example of "show, don't tell" storytelling.

[@aideedeedee]

I'm very glad to hear that! Thank you :)

[@kdrburkley]

I love this movie! Waiting for the Full Length Big Screen Version!!!!

[@animezilla4486]

I couldn't agree with you more

[@PlatformingCyndaquil]

Same.

[@user-nf1bz3sn4z]

Ikr, I really like the art style to :D

[@flyiscoolboi4675]

This is...AMAZING! I love how Marie immediately knew it'd be immoral to hurt him (?). It's so sweet how they became friends and started their own business! Good job!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you SO much!! Mirie is young and not yet hardened by the world like everyone else. It takes someone like that to save someone else, I think. They saved eachother! Thank you for watching!!

[@flyiscoolboi4675]

@@aideedeedee You're welcome!

[@purplepumpkin3676]

This looks amazing! Animations like this inspire me to work on my own stuff aswell! I really hope to see more

[@aideedeedee]

Wow thank you so much!! I'm so happy that it can inspire, that means the world :)

[@lotusgal313]

A story of rare friendship. Hard to find these days

[@LazyQueen]

If there was a series/movie about these 2 I would 100% watch it!! 🛐

[@aideedeedee]

That means the world to hear!!! Thank you so much 😭

[@teamawesome5153]

YES! That would be amazing!

[@BabyNightcore]

This animation is so good! I hope it will get more views and famous.

[@aideedeedee]

Haha, that would be cool!! Thank you so much!!

[@akatsukirockstar9525]

That's so beautiful!!! That robo-kid is such a cinnamon roll!

[@aideedeedee]

They so are 😭, and thank you so much!

[@WarningBadArt]

Such a sweet story! ❤

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@numblavender]

AAAA AIDEN I ABSOLUTELY LOVE HOW FAR YOUVE COME AND YOUR FILM STILL MAKES ME CRY 💗 I am so so proud of you and this film is amazing in all aspects

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you Theaaa!!! Aaa that means so much to me to hear, thank you for all the support you gave me throughout!! I hope I can do the same for you and your film

[@julekkulek8073]

@@aideedeedee SORRY WRONG COMMENT I commented the wrong thing

[@Emeald]

Woah, this is awesome! The animation is so nice and the character designs are too! I plan to take animation when I’m in Uni, and I’m nervous for making a thesis film, so this is some nice inspiration! ^-^

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you SO much!! I really appreciate that :) It feels like yesterday that I was scrolling through youtube also looking for inspiration for my thesis film, so I'm extremely happy that mine can serve as anything of the sort! It's totally reasonable to be nervous, but if I could offer myself any advice before I took animation it would be to just trust your gut! As cliche as it sounds, I had to keep telling myself that. Good luck!!!!

[@thecooldrawingguy]

Commenting to be a part of HISTORY. Proud to be your friend!

[@aideedeedee]

I owe so much of this movie to you-- thank you for everything! I'm so happy to be your friend and to be so inspired by you!

[@purplerose244]

This was absolutely lovely! Genuinely would love to see more about these two

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! That makes me soo happy to hear, I'm definitely considering making more stuff for them!

[@IRLPinkiePie]

oh my gosh this is absolutely stellar! saw this playing on the projector outside the cia building and i just had to stop and watch the whole thing; the perspective shot with the little bouncing ball just conveys this wonderful sense of depth, and the little subtle lighting effect with cyl's eyes is really stunning, and oh my gosh the character design..... 😍 thanks so much for making such a wonderful story and animation, very excited to see what you make next~

[@aideedeedee]

I can hardly believe it's still playing out there! Always wished to make a piece that they had up there and am happy to be included!! Thanks so so much for watching my film with such care and attention, it really means so much! Thank you!!

[@zoranadraws]

This looks so cool!! It does make me wonder how the world came to be like this.

[@aideedeedee]

Wow, thank you so much!! I really appreciate it! And yeah, an "origin" story is definitely something I wanted to work into here, but was pressed for time. My thoughts are that a bunch of androids were produced to work alongside the working class and to serve the upper class. The part of the city where this movie takes place is meant to be an outskirt of a larger, high-tech city. An uprising against the droids would have taken place, as there was a competition for jobs. There was definitely a lot of cruelty that led to the total scrapped and wasted land of all the leftover droids, leaving behind Cyl who might be the last of their kind! The people sort of became opportunist using the leftover parts as scrap metal, so repair shops became scrap shops for profit rather than fixing things. A general cruel and opportunist energy sort of sprouted from that among these citizens, but hopefully that can change in the future.

[@zoranadraws]

@@aideedeedee That's actually pretty sad, being made to help only for people to hurt you for helping in the end. I'd love to see some sort of continuation of the story if the opportunity ever comes up, it's very interesting!

[@---Raddar---]

oh my crap. ANOTHER GREAT FILM IN THE BOOKS!!! THIS IS SO GOODDDD!!!!!!!!💙💙💙

[@aideedeedee]

Aaa thank you so much!!!!!

[@yourunclescousinssisterstw2886]

SO GOOD. This is honestly one of the best short films I have ever watched, no joke.

[@pencilshavings1389]

I saw this during BFA week at CIA!! So happy to see it pop up on my KZbin recommended

[@aideedeedee]

OMG Thanks so much for coming!!! I literally love your work, and can't wait to see what you do with your senior year :)!!

[@bananafruit6060]

WOW THIS IS AMAZINF????? THIS IS SO GOOD, YOU ARE SO GOOD AT ANIMATING CHARACTERS SO THAT THEY HAVE INDIVIDUAL QUIRKSS

[@aideedeedee]

Aaa 😭🥹!! Omg, thank you!!!!! That means a lot that you noticed that!!!!!

[@samthehypotheticaldad]

You have NO IDEA how long I’ve been trying to find this animation! I see it all the time up on the huge screen of the main CIA building and even without audio there was just something so compelling about it! I’m so glad I finally found it as this is my favorite video that goes up there!

[@aideedeedee]

I'm surprised they're still playing it up there, that's so cool! Thank you so much, that really means a lot to hear! I'm so glad you enjoyed!

[@Acrylic_User]

My favorite part is when it’s dark and the main/only light source is the bot kid’s eyes and how when they blink, the light flickers for a second and it’s shown in the surroundings and the subjects and stuff. Real nice attention to detail imo, light sources/lighting + shading are a pain in the ass sometimes, major respect on this. 👍

[@avibreak2701]

This is amazing and your so underrated! Please make a part 2!!!!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! And I totally want to!! Maybe one day :)

[@avibreak2701]

@@aideedeedee ooo can’t wait!

[@mathesonkamin6067]

I was at the showing of this on Saturday in Cleveland. Loved this on the big screen. Like was already said, I would love to see an entire movie based around this. Great Short.

[@aideedeedee]

Thanks so much for coming! I'm really glad you liked it. Maybe one day I'll make something to expand on this!

[@emolicifer7061]

Gurl you seriously deserve way more recognition

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much for thinking so! I appreciate it!!

[@emolicifer7061]

@@aideedeedee I'm going to share it with my what's app and discord friends such a talented one like you shouldn't go unnoticed

[@environmentaleducationstud4335]

So sweet. Thank you for creating such a happy tale❤

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!

[@m0demoiselle]

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful work of art with the world! 😍💙

[@aideedeedee]

Thank YOU for watching it and this lovely comment!! So glad you enjoyed!!

[@spikeytroopa6816]

This is an awesome animation! You did a really good job! I would totally watch a series about these two. Can't wait to see what you do in the future! You just gained a new subscriber.

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so, so much! I'm really glad you liked it and really appreciate your kind words!! ❤

[@mariiooo5500]

Amazing Aiden!!! I love this film so much

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you Bella!!! For all the help!!!!

[@katsussi217]

Wow this is amazing you’re so talented! I hope to see your animations on a big screen one day!!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!! That would be real cool!!

[@claran3616]

I love your style, one of my favorites personally, along with the top tier technical work.

[@aideedeedee]

Wow! Thank you so much!!

[@wrenwry]

the art style feels a like a collab between the makers of Wolfwalkers and Owl House. Love the animation and story, I’d love to see it fleshed out into a full film/series!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much! 💖Both Wolfwalkers and The Owl House were HUGE inspirations to me and I'm glad that shows :) Wolfwalkers inspired me to keep the sketch lines in the animation post edit. One day I hope to extend upon this story, too. Thanks so much for watching!!

[@amiableapparition]

Absolutely loved it! Super sweet and loved the color choices!! ❤️❤️

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much !! I really appreciate that! ❤

[@vannieroxas3317]

I SHIP THEM ALREADY!!!

[@alfiethedumb]

Ahh how is this so so underrated?? I love this so much and the storytelling is amazing!!!!

[@aideedeedee]

oh my gosh, thank you so much!!! I appreciate that a lot ❤️!!

[@Requiem0757]

I feel like if they went on a big adventure the guys who tried to sell the android would become the reluctant guy who gets dragged along. And ends up becoming a good guy.

[@aideedeedee]

How'd you know I have sketches of that exact idea! 🤣 I love a good redemption arc and I do imagine the scrapper becoming a better guy. It's so nice someone else thought the same :)

[@TheDragonsDreamer]

This is amazing!

[@erikalynn7507]

So amazing and inspiring work!!!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so, so much!!

[@D4andS10]

THIS WAS SOO GOOD!! UGH I WISH I COULD TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE I WILL LITERALLY UNDERESTIMATE MY LOVE FOR THIS :'0

[@aideedeedee]

THANK YOU!! aaa that makes me so happy!!

[@thatartkiddo]

Oh my gosh! You are so underrated this is awesome!!

[@aideedeedee]

Wow, thank you so much!!!

[@Madchest_]

This is incredible! Extremely underrated in my opinion!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much, I really appreciate that!!

[@lazerslab]

Great Concept and execution!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!! :)

[@wavy8625]

Omg this is literally so cute the animation and voice acting is amazing

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you SO much!! ☺

[@elfinjan]

Aww... this story is adorable! ☺☺ If this became a series, i would totally watch it 💯

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! That means the world to hear, I really appreciate it! :)

[@proanimali]

Nice one, Aiden. I hope I will see more of your work.

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you very much!!

[@kharmax]

Quedó fino buen trabajo, me gustó la edición, se escuchaba muy bien todo y el arte de la animación impecable. Saludos!! OSS👍👍

[@aideedeedee]

¡Muchas gracias! Lo aprecio mucho.

[@Velossitee]

whether the metal is rusted or fragmented, it can still be cleansed and reworked into another form for better use by melting it down and reshaping and rewelding everything accordingly. Might need extra of the same metal for good measure, however still a good find.

[@Wade.Stikmann]

This was so sweet and wholesome. I loved it! And I love the style of the droids too. Their masks are so cool!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much! I struggled with those big time so I really appreciate it!!

[@SCruz-wi3wd]

ugh this is so well done and cute af!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@Breeze_3639]

Absolutely wonnderful

[@julian7434]

Aaaah it’s so inspiring!! I hope to work as hard as you do to learn animations and make a great story.

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! I'd love to see what you make! Making animations is so rewarding, I wish you luck on your artistic journey!!

[@akisamequirk2455]

Me ha encantado, en serio, de verdad que sí

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!!

[@thecanopy9286]

Really nice. Hope you go far with this

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you-- that's so nice!! 😊

[@dragonzrsick2543]

I love the art. It's very pretty. Also love the story.

[@aideedeedee]

Very late reply, but thank you very much! I appreciate this

[@alinam4794]

Why is this movie is so adorable!!! ☺️🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@aideedeedee]

Haha, thank you for thinkin' so!!! :)

[@ShellaLuna91]

Love the concept

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!!

[@funtime-et1zp]

if this was a series I would help voice act it because the story, plot, and how it was told. just wow it's amazing

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much! I'll definitely keep my channel posted with my next projects, I'll most likely need voice actors!! I really appreciate your kindness! ☺❤

[@funtime-et1zp]

@@aideedeedee you have a talent that is great just keep being awesome

[@Ghostontoastwithroast]

Are you going to make this into a movie/show, this would be a thing I would rewatch a thousand times!!!

[@williamh-speedylegend7507]

Same I would definitely watch it too even if it was short serious

[@aideedeedee]

Oh man I'd LOVE to! I honestly didn't expect such a positive reception and it's definitely gotten me considering making a few more shorts to this story. Thank you so much!!

[@Ghostontoastwithroast]

@@aideedeedee you're welcome :)

[@mischiefmanaged172]

I can’t figure out how you’d expect any reaction other than a positive one. This is incredible and thought-provoking and every frame is so well-drawn and… the whole thing’s just amazing.

[@MelillaMolo]

So beautiful life in the heart

[@honganphan7647]

I love this!! So cute ♡

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed :)

[@spartanxxxx6113]

please make a series with this please i love this and i think it would make a great series

[@aideedeedee]

Hopefully soon! I'd love to have some follow-up comics maybe! Thank you!

[@NeroLeMorte]

This should be a full series

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much, I think that'd be so cool!

[@vazak11]

Inspirational!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!

[@jaynellep77]

Great job this is amazing, I can't believe this was a UNI project great job.

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! And yeah, it was WAY too much work but lots of fun!

[@josiahcheung5077]

This is so cool!!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much, Josiah!!! :)

[@creative_chaos]

this is beautiful

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@ddaannn200]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAH

[@aideedeedee]

AAAAWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@zakiadouaer5696]

that make my heart go on the beat

[@aideedeedee]

Haha, I'm glad it could be an adventure!! Thanks so much!

[@Sunrise_Lavander_Eagle]

Omg this inspired me to fix some of my robot characters. there names are Pixal and Zero I never really gave them a full backstory but this film gave me an idea! Also what a wonderful film! I love the characters and the story the settings it fits so well! 😁 I want to learn more about these characters! 😀

[@aideedeedee]

I'm so happy to hear this! It's really cool to think that this story could inspire others, and I hope to see Pixal and Zero's story someday!

[@moop4567]

ADORABLE. AH. FABULOUS WORK

[@aideedeedee]

Thanks so so much!!!

[@rubytrix0]

This looks great

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!!

[@animezilla4486]

You got an amazing talent for animation

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that!! :)

[@Lonelyeco]

I really like this.

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!!

[@Yuna_2291]

Great animation love it 😍

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!!

[@creamsoda2856]

Omg it's wonderful!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@pianostream1565]

that’s adorable! your honor they are best friends awww

[@aideedeedee]

Yes! They absolutely are, thank you!!

[@aDeviousDemise]

THAT WAS SO CUTE!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!!

[@sujithindika1167]

beautiful ❤❤❤❤

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@lovelybeez9555]

I love this ❤❤

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!!

[@-alec-5954]

i rlly loved this :)

[@aideedeedee]

Thanks so much!

[@tacochippy1861]

THIS IS SO CUTE OH MY GOSH

[@aideedeedee]

aaaa Thank youu!!!! :)

[@littenkittenproject4816]

This was nice to watch thx

[@diovinni9532]

Oooooooo you got recognition 🤗🤗🤗🤗💓💓💓💖

[@persephonethebookdragon9520]

Wonderful short, I wish you the best of luck in this field, you're very talented and could make a Series if you wanted. :3

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! That's so nice to hear, I appreciate it :)

[@persephonethebookdragon9520]

@@aideedeedee of course! The art style is really well done. With sentient machines (Robots) in this realm, I wonder how fantasy creatures would live here. Like Fairies, Lamias, Mermaids, Genies, Dragons etc.

[@hxneymoon2710]

lmao the scream caught me pff guard

[@t00nverseYT]

I love how a girl meet a little robot boy

[@anti9327]

So good you need more subs for this quality

[@aideedeedee]

Wow thank you!! I appreciate that!!

[@anti9327]

@@aideedeedee np your amazing keep going your stuff is awesome

[@emiliaburke9863]

This reminds me of this book called Tin that my sisters friends dad wrote

[@aideedeedee]

Sounds interesting! I'll have to check it out

[@Luna-us]

Amazing animation

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you!

[@aidanly1756]

Its amazing

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!

[@ahmadfakhri4710]

10/10 Treasure on KZbin

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@adamk-paxlogan7330]

This animation is amazing great job 👏 also one day i also hope to make something like this

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!! I'm sure you will, and I hope I get to see it too! 😁

[@adamk-paxlogan7330]

@@aideedeedee thenk you so much

[@HelloGuysImTheMostInnocent]

i need more please

[@aideedeedee]

Haha, thank you! Maybe one day :)!

[@qualia8047]

I so ! Dig the Music ! Yeah !🎭.

[@aideedeedee]

So do I! That's all the amazing work of @thecooldrawingguy , who is such an awesome talent if you want to listen to more!

[@anim-style]

More please, seriously like now

[@ponchonpaws]

OMG its so cute!!!

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!!

[@MTSgt]

This is giving off owl house vibes and this seriously needs to be a show, cuz I cannot get over how good this is! *I am loosing my marbles/pos*

[@aideedeedee]

Wow, thank you! I adore the Owl House so this is a huge compliment. That show is a huge inspiration of my style and work so I'm not surprised that it shows a little haha. Thank you so much for watching! 🥰

[@MTSgt]

@@aideedeedee I adored it! I really hope you pick up this project somewhere along the road and turn it into a sci-fi or fantasy esk yt series! I would so watch the pilot! I hope you have an amazing rest of your day/night and I can't wait to see what your next project will be ^^💜

[@phantom_fox2934]

under rated i subed

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!

[@samuellillge9319]

New D&D character backstory acquired.

[@LILYFLOWER868]

Ahhhhhh so cute I love it omg I can't 😘🥰🥰

[@aideedeedee]

Thank you so much!!!

[@teethshankmcgoo4018]

YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH