The Butterfly Dragon takes off

The tale of a mythical creature transforming into a majestic dragon, created by COFA graduate Sushan Yue, is UNSWTV’s most popular video.

The Butterfly Dragon now has more than 300,000 views and over 12,000 likes.

Yue, who studied digital media, was responsible for the animation, colouring and storyline of the entire short film, which features only shades of grey, black and white.

The animation depicts the journey of a plain, forest-living creature longing to become something more, and eventually transforms into a glowing white dragon upon the discovery of a magical mask.

The film won Yue the 2010 Wacom Award for Best 2D Work, but she’s still surprised by its popularity.   

“I was amazed when I found out how many views the video had. I never would have imagined this.”

“The idea of transformation inspired me to make the film. It’s about unlocking one’s individuality, showing who you are to the world and encouraging others to do the same.

“Altogether it took about nine months to produce the film. I spent a fair amount of time finalising the character design and the storyline. There was a lot of tweaking, revisiting and reworking,” says Yue.

School of Media Arts lecturer Steve Weymouth says, “Sushan successfully developed her film using the skills the Faculty equipped her with, such as storyboarding and utilising software programs. She can take a large degree of credit for the successful completion of her film.” 

Currently working as a freelance designer, Yue’s plans for the future include returning to COFA for further study and to continue working on The Butterfly Dragon.

“I would love to become a director and see my animations on the big screen. That said, I’d love to create more 2D animated shorts, particularly about the world of The Butterfly Dragon,” says Yue.

Watch The Butterfly Dragon here.

Media Contact: Cassie Chorn, UNSW Media Office, 02 9385 5405