Dr. Steve Arounsack, the cultural advisor and visual anthropologist of an animated show entitled ‘Raya and The Last Dragon,’ presented an explanation on designing an animated movie to the Animation students at Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus).

Arounsack’s arrival was welcomed by all vice-chancellors on campus, alongside the Dean of the Computer Science Faculty and the Head of the Animation Program. Additionally, Arounsack also gave an appreciation to an innovation invented by the campus, Gamelan Robot, which is capable of delivering the beauty of Javanese traditional music.

At the presentation, students received insight about designing an animated show, while at the same time maintaining its quality. The event took place in a theater room located on the seventh floor of the H building. There were several pieces of knowledge presented by Arounsack, including how to design a good storyline, how to establish a setting for the story, how to write the characters within the show, and how to convey the moral message to the audience.

Dr. Guruh Fajar Shidik S.Kom., M.Cs, the Vice Chancellor II of the General and Financial Affairs, stated that Arounsac’s presence was a token of honor for Udinus. On the same occasion, he congratulated and appreciated Arounsack’s effort in contributing to the development of an Indonesian culture-inspired animated film, ‘Raya and the Last Dragon.’

“Hopefully, Dr. Arounsack could share his experience as an animator with our students, particularly from the Department of Animation. Currently, our students are developing an animated show entitled ‘Si Warik,” he stated in his speech.  

New Insight for Students

Meanwhile, Dr. Khafiizh Hastuti M.Kom., the Head of the Animation Program, uttered that this discussion session with Arounsack served as a platform for students to garner more knowledge and insight. Moreover, she also stated that this session was essential as it could improve quality and gather more feedback for the Intellectual Properties of ‘Si Warik.’

“We have received various feedbacks, and this feedback might able to help improve the quality of our animated shows. Currently, we are developing Intellectual Properties of ‘Si Warik,’ both in the form of a 2D video game and a 3D one,” she explained.

At the event, Arounsack also appreciated various innovations created by Udinus, particularly the ‘Si Warik’ animated show. Moreover, he encouraged students to keep being passionate about learning animation. Thus, they could be prominent animators.

At the moment, there are tons of moral values children can learn by watching Si Warik. Furthermore, there are three characters in the animated show, Dian, Warik, and Endog. The development process involved many students, faculty members, and several other studios.