Award-Winning Animation: ‘Juicy Cat’ Claims RTS Student Prize

Three Teesside University student have won a prestigious prize for their 2D animation film.

‘Juicy Cat’ created by Sile Gong, Ziyan Li, and Qiuying Wang won the Royal Television Society North-East and The Borders Awards in the Student Animation category.

The film also featured in the 2024 Sunderland Short Film Festival for Animation Screening.

The Juicy Cat short film follows an innovative narrative about a girl who orders a cat online through a mysterious website that crafts unique felines using enigmatic potions and juices.

The film was developed as a result of a Short Film Production module studied as part of the BA (Hons) 2D Animation.

The module mirrors professional industry workflows through small group collaboration and fostering critical problem-solving skills, showcasing the creative potential of the film's distinctive concept where no two cats are exactly alike.

Ziyan Li, who is now studying MA 2D Animation and Stop Motion student at Teesside University, said: ‘For the short film production, I oversaw the key frames of the cat, the colour of the animation, and editing. We chose the watercolour style for our animation to have a cosy aesthetic.’

Sile Gong added: ‘We received a lot of feedback from students and teachers to help us improve some of the plot of the story or movement.’

Claire O’Brien, Computer and Animation Lecturer at Teesside University, said: ‘Short Film Production is a great module that emulates industry practice and fosters group work and problem-solving.’

‘The strength of Juicy Cat is the cohesiveness of the story, the unique idea, and the quality of the design and animation. We couldn't be prouder of the students and the film.’

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