Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Nicole Dolan 

BA [Hons] 3D Design Modelmaking + Digital Art

I am a 3D Design, Model-making and Digital Art student. As well as model-making, I love interior design and also spend a lot of time doing photography. My dream job would be to work at Laika Studios in Portland and to be a part of the worlds they create in each of their films.

Kintarō - Fantasy Stop Motion Film Set

This design is based off of the Japanese myth Kintarō. He was a young boy who was born with extreme strength and was raised in a forest. He grew up there with his mother, forest animals and local wood cutters as friends. He would help the wood cutters at work with his own axe and one day they brought him out of the forest and into the city of Kyoto to learn to use his strength and train as a Samurai. This design is intended to convey to viewers, a modified version of the Japanese myth which is from Heian Period Japan (9th-12th Century), as an action/adventure fantasy family film. This set is intended to be used with CGI throughout the production of the film. I took inspiration from Laika studio films such as Kubo and The Two Strings and Missing Link as well as from anime films and Japanese art.



The Representation of Mental Health/Illness in Laika Studios First Film Coraline

My thesis is unrelated to my physical project. It is an analysis of the characters in the stop motion film Coraline and their representation of mental disorders/illnesses. It also explores the Other World and the characters in it to find clarity in its existence and provide a deeper meaning to the film. It discusses reasons why it is important to expose children to mental illness in a less sensitive manner. From reviewing and researching the PG rating, it offers insight to parents and viewers into the genre of dark fantasy horror and brings clarity as to why this film is rated PG. Throughout writing this thesis a key topic was the subconscious and dream communications. Using Carl Jung’s Dream Theory as a way to engage and dissect Coraline’s mental disorder and her hallucinations, provides a deeper meaning and understanding to the film and to children’s dreams and their subconscious meanings.