Jan. 28-30 Virtual Operations, Campus Remains Closed

Bowie State University will continue with virtual operations for all classes and office operations through Friday, January 30, 2026. The campus will be closed to all non-essential personnel, and all campus activities are canceled. All buildings except residence halls and the dining hall will be closed. Essential personnel should report on time. This is due to the extended time required to clear the extensive snow and ice accumulation on campus. University crews are making every effort to resume campus operations, as a safe return to in-person learning and work remains our top priority. Only essential personnel and residential students are permitted access to the campus through Jan. 30. For more information, please visit BowieState.edu/weather. 

BowieState.edu/weather

Samuel Young

Perfect Forms

Thesis Statement

Perfect Forms is based on the famous Greek philosopher Plato's theory of forms.  He believed that there were beings and entities called forms (or ideas) that were essentially perfect, but not gods in themselves.  These perfect beings could be perfect in aspects like love, beauty, toilets, and much more; humans desperately wanted to become just like them.  Using 2D animation, my film, Perfect Forms takes this theory and views it with a unique lens.  It is meant to explore the interactions between these forms if they were real, starting with the concepts of justice, reflection, and humanity.  While this animation was focused primarily on entertainment over tackling serious themes, the overarching theme of Perfect Forms is ironically the threat of true perfection itself.  To become truly perfect is to abandon one’s own humanity, and that easily leads to both others, and one’s self getting hurt in the end.  I wanted to display just how threatening a truly perfect being could be through the rough conflict of this film.  This is what the Form of Justice and Reflection are really fighting against, a true “Perfect Form.”

  •  It is important that my work in animation and visual art is appealing and also memorable.  This is why when designing characters for animations, I make sure to give them distinct color schemes, personalities, and wildly different personalities.  People are always looking for something fresh, new, and memorable.  This is also why I  give my characters unique poses throughout the animations; to stick with the viewers more effectively.  Currently, I lean more towards a more light-hearted, cartoony style over a realistic style.  This style is used to further allow natural exaggeration of the characters, while also making it easier to stand out from each other.  2D animation is my dimension of choice.  While it may be harder to execute compared to 3D animation, it allows for more direct control over how everything in a scene moves.

Perfect Forms from DFPA | Bowie State University on Vimeo.