Departure _____________________________________________ Please watch twice so everything syncs properly. If there's lag, watch again for the best experience. _____________________________________________ Foreword: Upon logging on after such a long time away, it was quite a shock to look back and realize that my last project was uploaded nearly four years ago. It was even crazier to see that at the time of sharing this project, I made this account over seven years ago, which truly puts my time inactive into perspective. The idea for this project came pretty suddenly, and my motivation was simple: I never formally announced I would be leaving Scratch, and this account deserves a true final project. I chose the theme of this animation intentionally. The train represents not just a departure from a familiar place, but a means of transportation to a new destination. The train also resembles the journey itself, and there is lots of other imagery and symbolism used through this film. I've been blessed enough to have had an amazing journey throughout my time on Scratch, and now it's time for me to embark on a new one. I'm starting college this year, and this new season of life will undoubtedly bring lots of other changes as well. With this in mind, the title of the animation speaks from two perspectives. While I am departing away from something, I am also departing towards things that are new in my life, and this is the message that I hope will come across when you watch. _____________________________________________ Apologies ahead of time if this animation lags at all when played. If it does, it's likely due to all the different sprites I used, so sorry about that. My goal in using so many was mainly for achieving a variety of effects, as well as for layering purposes. My laptop runs everything well, but I understand that longer animations can really put a strain on devices so I appreciate your understanding if there happens to be lag that disrupts your viewing experience. For reference, the runtime should be roughly 1:18 (measured by the beginning of the animation all the way until the ending black screen) without any lag, if that's helpful at all. Thanks for watching, and enjoy. _____________________________________________
_____________________________________________ Epilogue: I spent a lot of time working on this animation, and I experimented in ways I wish I had tried more of during my active years. To put things into perspective, this is the first real time that I've sat down to animate anything since I shared my last project and then unofficially left soon after. So, hopefully that makes up for any flaws or imperfections that this short film will inevitably have. This animation is not nearly perfect, but it was never able to be. It is simply a final testament to my journey, and a formal sign-off from a place and community I had already truly left years ago. That being said, I've loved my time here, and I did my best with this animation given the circumstances. I want this film to be something I can look back on fondly in years to come and be proud of what I've achieved, because this is more than just a final project, it's a measurement of how far I've come. My goal on Scratch was never to track how many likes, favorites, or follows I got. My goal was to put effort and hard work into a hobby I love, in the hopes that it made even just one person's day better, because that is truly the most fulfilling to me. Fame and accolades are fleeting, but joyful memories will last a lifetime. During my 3+ years active on Scratch, I had the pleasure of meeting and collaborating with some truly amazing individuals, and in the process, I worked on all kinds of things and discovered my love for storytelling and entertaining. As with all things, though, time passed and people moved on from Scratch. Now, it's finally time for me to do the same. There will be many things I will look back on and remember fondly from my time here. I learned a lot, not just from other people, but from the experiences I had. However, I think the most valuable piece of knowledge I've gained from my time here has come as a more recent revelation: "You never truly know the value in a moment until it's become a memory." And man, I've created countless here. With that, I want to thank everyone who supported me during this journey, you know who you are, and I wish nothing but the best for each and every one of you. It's been fun. Thanks for everything, -Storm For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. — Ecclesiastes 3:1 _____________________________________________ Song: Time (Instrumental version) by NF Sounds from Mixkit and Freesound All art and animation was done by me besides 1 or 2 vector art assets that I credited within the project Animation runtime: about 1:18 with no lag There's an easter egg hidden inside! :0 _____________________________________________ All glory to God, none of this would have been possible without Him! _____________________________________________
