Initial Concept

The idea for "Poy" began with a drawing I did whilst Clouds was still in production. It depicts a red girl with an odd hat and a top with "poy" written on it. "Poy" is simply "boh" mirrored upside down, boh being a sort of trademark/logo I often use in drawings. It may have also been influenced by the Boredoms song of the same name.

The idea formed a series of sketches involving giant fish flying in the sky alongside this character, giving an initial basis for some sort of narrative. Knowing I would be producing an animated film in my final year at Uni I decided to develop it as my chosen idea.

At the time I was watching an animated series directed by Masaaki Yuasa, "Kaiba", which has been a massive influence on me. I found the style of the architecture/backgrounds and themes very inspiring - it led me to want to create an animation that could somehow affect an audience on an emotional level. The theme I went for when coming up with initial ideas for Poy was "coping with loss".