Premise: Concept Art

I have drawn some concept art for each metaphor used in my animation:

Metaphor on screen: butterfly flying / a butterfly safe in their cocoon

"Even as babies when we started to crawl, my brother would be off exploring the room, discovering the world around him. I would be perfectly happy to crawl straight to my mum where I knew I was safe in my own protected space."

Metaphor on screen: spider building web / an insect caught in a web

"At Christmas, when we would go to visit Santa, my brother would be the one with a thousand questions, asking things like “how do you travel around the world so fast, Santa?”, intent on finding out the answers. Whereas I would just sit there, excited to hear the answers, but too afraid to speak and ask a question of my own, as I was always too caught up in a web of nervousness."

Metaphor on screen: bright sun / the sun behind clouds on a rainy day

"At school, my brother was never afraid to talk to the teachers, always asking them questions whenever a question would arise. But I would go unnoticed, never asking any questions, just quietly doing what I was told to do, hoping that a problem wouldn’t force me to be brave and ask a question."

Metaphor on screen: house with windows open / a house with the curtains drawn/shutters shut

"My brother would always be able to talk to strangers when we were kids, quite happy to do things like order his food at a restaurant. But I would never know what to say, scared that I would say the wrong thing and so I would always want my mum to speak for me, choosing to stay quiet."

Metaphor on screen: an artist drawing a picture / colouring it in

"Playing together as children, my brother would always be the leader, whether that was whilst playing a game of cards or during imaginary games. I was happy to follow him, playing along with the game, although I did manage to voice my own opinions some of the time."

Metaphor on screen: a speaker at full volume / a broken speaker with no sound

"As a child, I was always told to talk louder, speak up, that I couldn’t be heard because of how quietly I was talking. But my brother was never told to be quieter, as children are always encouraged to be confident and to speak up."

Metaphor on screen: a flock of birds / one bird in a nest

"My brother was the always more popular one at school because he found it easier to make friends, always able to have a good group of friends around him. Whereas for me, I found it harder to make friends and so I was happy with my one or two best friends."

Metaphor on screen: a four leaf clover

"However, my shyness has meant that I have created some meaningful friendships, friendships which will hopefully last a lifetime. As finding it hard to make friends makes for a more valued friendship, because they are hard to find but lucky to have."

Metaphor on screen: bendy road with caution sign

"I am quite a thoughtful person, as my shyness has made me more cautious, able to think before I speak, carefully choosing my words as to not upset anyone around me."

Metaphor on screen: turtle

"Truthfully, I’m actually not too shy once you get to know me. I am able to come out of my shell and be more comfortable around people that I have gotten to know well."

Metaphor on screen: big ship - little boat rowing away from it

"Going to a different secondary school than my brother meant that I had to learn how to be more independent. I was suddenly on my own, having been in school together since the age of 4. I learned how to fend for myself, without there always being someone beside me."

Metaphor on screen: peacock opening feathers

"Going to dance classes and performing in shows since the age of 3, has meant my shyness has never held me back from performing as dancing on a stage is something I’ve always known."

Metaphor on screen: mountain with a flag flying at the peak

"My shyness has shown me that I able to overcome difficulties in life as I do see myself slowing improving as I get older."