Nature Science Animation Class
From star charts to cell structures, this course transforms centuries of scientific observation into animated art.
Explore the evolution of visual storytelling—from prehistoric cave walls to modern scientific imaging—while experimenting with your own interpretations of natural systems, organic patterns, and unseen forces.
Through research, creative risk-taking, and motion design, you’ll bring the infinite curiosities of our universe to life.
Nature Science Animation Class
From star charts to cell structures, this course transforms centuries of scientific observation into animated art.
Explore the evolution of visual storytelling—from prehistoric cave walls to modern scientific imaging—while experimenting with your own interpretations of natural systems, organic patterns, and unseen forces.
Through research, creative risk-taking, and motion design, you’ll bring the infinite curiosities of our universe to life.
Full Semester breakdown below:
Classes 1–4: From Ancient Records to Personal Visual Languages
We begin by looking back—way back. Students explore humanity’s earliest visual attempts to understand and communicate nature, from prehistoric cave paintings and petroglyphs to the scientific symbolism of Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, and Greece. Through this historical lens, students uncover the roots of visual storytelling, scientific documentation, and ecological awareness.
Each week, students engage in creative challenges that bring these traditions forward into contemporary motion practice. These include:
Sketching personal "modern cave paintings" based on their own lives.
Reinterpreting ancient scientific visuals—from Egyptian hieroglyphs to Mesopotamian star charts—into animated concepts.
Studying ancient time systems, astronomy, anatomy, and metaphysical theories, and translating these into storyboards and visual metaphors.
Experimenting with motion-based word animations, inspired by ancient language systems like cuneiform and hieroglyphs.
By the end of this unit, students will have developed moodboards, refined storyboards, and short animated experiments that merge research, personal expression, and creative interpretation—laying the foundation for their final project: an original animated sequence inspired by nature, science, and imagination.
Classes 5–8: Patterns, Geometry, and the Material World
Building on their historical foundation, students now shift focus to geometry, symmetry, and material transformation—discovering how ancient mathematical thinking continues to shape today’s science and design.
Through hands-on exercises and research-driven experimentation, students explore:
Sacred geometry and symmetrical systems, from Pythagoras’ harmonic ratios to Platonic solids, and their surprising relevance in 3D modeling, AI, and architecture.
Geometric abstraction and pattern design, inspired by Islamic art’s mathematical precision and spiritual symbolism.
Optics, perception, and the origins of the moving image, rooted in Alhazen’s camera obscura and medieval star mapping traditions.
Alchemy and early chemistry, blending ancient mysticism with modern material science, cymatics, and experimental animation inspired by fluid dynamics and sound vibrations.
By the end of these classes, students present their first finalized short animation, along with research proposals for their final projects—original animated visualizations of a scientific or natural process, blending fact with creative interpretation.
Classes 9–14: From Cosmic Systems to Personal Worlds
In the second half of the semester, students expand their research into space, matter, living systems, and climate—developing their unique animated interpretations of complex scientific ideas.
Students are guided through:
Galactic and planetary systems, from Copernicus' heliocentric revolution to modern NASA telescope imagery, exploring how cosmic forces shape life on Earth.
Neuroscience and human anatomy, tracing 200 years of brain visualization, from anatomical drawings to modern brainwave mapping and fMRI imaging.
Plants and ecosystems, studying botanical structures, plant geometry, and ecological interdependence as inspiration for visual storytelling.
Climate systems and environmental awareness, engaging with the history and visualization of climate change, from early science films to contemporary environmental animations.
Individual final project development, where students merge scientific research with artistic experimentation to create a short animated sequence, supported by concept art, storyboards, and moodboards.
The course concludes with a public screening and artist reflection session, celebrating student work while encouraging personal voice, critical thinking, and creative risk-taking.
Bring This Course to Your Institution
Interested in bringing this course to your students or learning more about its structure?
Reach out to Danna Windsor for the complete syllabus and collaboration opportunities.
cultofdang@gmail.com
How My Nature & Animation Course Was Born
For me, everything begins with nature. It's where I find ideas, movement, rhythm — the core of my creative instinct. Whether I’m designing a sci-fi world or animating a strange, surreal ecosystem, I’m always drawing from the patterns and logic of the natural world — shaped over millennia through evolution.
In 2023, after three years of teaching foundational animation courses at Pratt’s School of Digital Arts, I was invited to propose an elective. It was an open, rare opportunity — and I knew immediately what I wanted to explore.
I pitched a course that bridges scientific observation with artistic interpretation — one that would ask students to examine how natural and scientific processes have been visualized throughout human history, and how those visual languages continue to influence animation today.
The result was Nature & Animation — a class that begins with ancient cave drawings and botanical studies and moves toward speculative science and imagined futures. In the first half of the semester, students research historical scientific illustrations, select one that resonates with them, and reinterpret it through their own animated lens, using either 2D or 3D techniques.
It’s been one of the most fulfilling creative experiences of my career — watching students translate natural systems into personal, poetic motion, and seeing how curiosity can transform observation into art.