Kilkenny Animated

Hey there, Gamers and Game Makers!

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Kilkenny Animated, a festival in visual storytelling. This was the very first year of the festival and it ​exceeded expectations.

The festival attracted amazing talent from far and wide. With talks from illustrators, character designers, directors and more. As a creative individual, I'm a big believer that in order to create, you need to expose yourself to so much media from books to film to art and games. Sometimes it can be difficult to get that motivation. Immersing yourself in an event like Kilkenny animated was not only artistically satisfying, but also so very inspirational and motivating. Seeing such wide and varied forms of artist creations filled me with a renewed sense of motivation and creative desire. 

I found myself thinking of old ideas in whole new ways as well as being flooded with so many new ideas. Walking around a city steeped in medieval history that I'm proud to call home, I found a new appreciation for the mythology of the city and its rich history.

I was also very lucky to be among the few who got to see the hometown premier of the Oscar nominated The Breadwinner. The movie was beyond amazing. It's a movie rich in culture, with rich narrative, characters and such fierce, raw emotion. It's not just a wonderful and moving experience to watch, but also a movie that needed to be made and I'm glad it was made.

Kilkenny Animated has left its mark on me and I can't wait to see what next year's festival brings. For now, feel free to take a gander at some of the photos I took during my time at the festival.

Until next time!