Unlocking Vision with AI

Oluseyi Ekanem
Jul 20
2 min read

Rat Trap Project Post 3 :The Team Member I Didn’t Know I Needed

For the longest time, I carried a whole universe in my head—stories, characters, visuals—but I couldn't bring them to life. Not because I lacked imagination, but because I lacked the resources. Time. Money. Access. A team.

Then something changed.

Today, I’m building The Rat Trap, an experimental animation project, and doing things I once thought were out of reach. What changed? I finally assembled my dream team. And right at the heart of it—AI.

Not as a gimmick. Not as a shortcut . As a core member of my team.

AI has become the teammate I didn’t know I needed—one that helps unlock the vision I’ve been carrying for years. It works alongside me, helping translate raw ideas into tangible progress.

In pre-production, it helped me brainstorm story beats, character arcs, and even refine visual prompts for concept art. When I was stuck figuring out how to frame a dramatic moment for the poster, AI helped shape the visual composition. It’s the quiet partner in my writing room, nudging ideas forward.

In production, it's right there with me. When Houdini didn’t recognize my MetaHuman skeleton, AI guided me through the export settings. When I ran into UV rendering issues in Karma XPU, it helped me diagnose the problem. When Unreal wasn’t picking up my blendshape names, AI explained how to extract them correctly. Whether it's optimizing my scene scale for USD export or troubleshooting a broken material, it’s always on call.

It’s my personal mentor, teaching me Houdini workflows in real time. It’s my debugging partner, helping me fix VEX code. It’s my strategist, helping me plan smarter and move faster—despite limited time.

In short: AI filled the gap between vision and execution. It turned my solo hustle into a collaborative force.

For years, I waited for the right moment—when I had the time, the team, the tools. But with AI, that moment arrived ahead of schedule. It doesn’t sleep. It doesn’t complain. And it doesn’t replace me—it amplifies me.

Now I create with more clarity and velocity. I take risks knowing I’ve got a safety net. I learn faster, produce smarter, and bring more of myself into the work. AI hasn't just accelerated my output—it’s unlocked my creative confidence.

To every creator who feels like you’re sitting on gold but can’t mine it—bring AI into your team. Let it teach you, support you, challenge you. You don’t need to know everything. You just need to start. With AI by your side, you won’t be working alone—and that changes everything

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