For the past couple of months I have focused on building a large stop motion set with papier-mâché and materials I had experimented with for detail work in puppet fabrication. My aim was to create a realistic yet magical set of two colossal cedar-like trees to frame my film’s focus “character” (tree) as it grows between them. The backlight of sunrise is inspired by winter solstice sun rituals, henges, and the hope and promise of a new beginning with the death of something past. The trees are built from wire, cardboard, paper, and tape, coated in plaster, gauze, and fabric. They were spray painted, then painted with acrylic, house paint, and gouache paint. Select areas of the trees were then flocked with different colors inspired by lichen, moss, and fungus. Parts were again painted over to create color variation in the fibers, and larger underbrush and vine model materials were applied. Final touches of dyed plaster lichen, paint, and model mud were applied after the lighting fixture was set up to simulate the depth captured on camera.