The Return to Physics

This project is a hybrid stop-motion and digital animation tribute celebrating Diana Cowern, popularly known as Physics Girl, and her impact on global STEAM education.

My prototype combines physical digital fabrication with post-production animation to tell a visual story of inspiration, challenge, and enduring influence.

The physical environment was constructed using:

• 3D-printed elements to recreate a miniature studio space, including furniture and symbolic objects representing science and learning.

• Laser-cut/woodcut room components to form the background environment of some scenes.

• Layered, paper-cut–style 2D character graphics created in Canva

The character design was transformed into a 2D paper-inspired graphic to allow seamless integration between the physical stop-motion set and digital animation. The animation captures the movement of the character within the fabricated environment, while Adobe After Effects was used to enhance the narrative through lighting transitions and glowing physics elements, created using Canva

The story arc visually represents:

• Her fun teaching phase, and

• A dark period of stillness symbolising her long COVID struggle.

The prototype combines digital fabrication tools with storytelling to celebrate Physics Girl, a woman in STEAM and communicate resilience through design.