"Animated Meditations for the Soul"

Sequence 01 of the film.

,"The Hermit" is a gentle and meditative animated story, set in a timeless yet somewhat otherworldly age. The film is one that creator Tony White has wanted to create since the teachings first came to him in a series of dreams many decades ago. When completed "The Hermit" will be an integral part of Tony's major legacy project - a feature-length animated memoirs project entitled "The Old Man Mad About Animating".

Of special interest to Tony's Patreon supporters: "The Seeker and the Hermit" will uniquely be made as a Web Series, hand-drawn and animated over an unspecified period of time, then screened exclusively for supporters on Patreon.

Now in his (jokingly called) "retirement years" - actually working harder than ever - Tony will animate singlehandedly on the series, until sufficient funding can be found to bring in others too. This is why Tony is inviting support for his project through Patreon. Any support he can get will enable him pay for the time, talent and materials required to assist him in the making of this and his "dream project", 'The Old Man Mad About Animating" - through which The Hermit material interweaves seamlessly.

As indicated above, the story of "The Seeker and the Hermit" first came through a series of dreams that Tony experienced in his younger life. This was a time where he had be working through a period of intense meditation over many months. The dreams began with him waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning, with inspiring words of great insight running around and around in his head. Tony could not sleep any further, unless he got up and wrote the words down. Once they were written down Tony was then able to return to sleep. The first of the dreams begun with these words - which are also the words spoken at the very beginning of "The Hermit" reflections...

To get a sense of what "The Hermit" meditations were like, this one on "bereavement"  is one that has proven particularly comforting at certain times in Tony's life...

"In spiritual terms distance cannot be measured in miles, but by the degree to which the heart may have the capacity for caring. For if two hearts are in unison, they may be separated by a thousand miles in distance and yet still be as one with another. Similarly, two individuals may be within the same room as each other but if their hearts be not as one then there is such a distance between them that it may never be bridged.  And so it is in bereavement. When the physical loss of a loved one is experienced in a lifetime it is not true that those souls will be forever separated. If true love bonds them as one then there is no separation."

This whole amazing experience lasted for a period of several months before the dreams suddenly ended as abruptly as they had begun. At the time Tony didn't know what to do with them. So he put them on a shelf where they ultimately collected dust for several decades. Now in the autumn years of his career, Tony has decided that the words of The Hermit are so beautiful (and were so beneficial to himself and others throughout the years) that he wishes to share them with others in the only way he knows how - through hand-drawn animation.

The first ever completed scene from the "The Hermit" - giving a good sense of it's "look 'n feel".  (Note: Future finished animation will only be streamed to my Patreon page supporters by way of the project's private Web Series, when and as it is completed.

There are well over 60 Hermit teachings to be animated, plus some additional material that will help the telling of the teachings more valuable. Consequently, this is a very challenging project of one person. Even so, Tony intends to do it all on his own if necessary - although any additional help and resources Tony can get through his Patreon supporters will be most gratefully received!

Although "The Hermit" project is not a 3D-animated one in any way, Tony commissioned this 3D turnaround model to help him understand how to draw the character from every conceivable angle. Thanks go out to Gautam (Gotham) J for creating this excellent CG model for him.

PLEASE SUPPORT "THE HERMIT" ON PATREON:

If you wish to see Tony's unique and beautiful project happen, he asks for help in enabling him to bring in helpers - even young apprentices - to assist him with many of the creative work that Tony is doing all on his own right now. In return for their help, Tony will give his Patreon supporters exclusive access to stages of "The Hermit" as each sequence is completed, apart from the sample one above. Ultimately Tony hopes that everyone will see "The Hermit" as a refreshingly different TV Special or indie Movie perhaps. But the Series has to be completed first, which is why Tony is asking for your help through Patreon.

Please be a supporter of this beautiful project by clicking... HERE.