It's not easy to create a story, and harder still to conjure a distinct visual universe in which it can live. On some scale, and perhaps inadvertently, Paul Rayment's animated 'Neon Knight' has managed to do both.

The animation was formed around Sergei Prokofiev’s 'Dance of the Knight', a powerful bed of music, especially against the playful, rounded style of the animation. "I had always imagined the string section to be the agile Knight and the lumbering brass to be a hefty monster," says Rayment. "That’s where the concept derives from; the interaction of the different instruments. Nothing was scripted beforehand, so in a sense, the music is the storyboard."

"The Knight himself was more of a prop, a sort of generic hero figure. It's only as time has gone on that I see him as much more of a character with a past, a family, motivations, etc. That really opened me up to the idea of a ‘world’ in which he lives, and in turn raised questions. Why was he in that hostile place? Was he escaping, or continuing on his journey? I plan to revisit his story at some point and answer those questions."

Answering the questions and further evolving the epic remain an exercise in dedication. As a full-time agency cog in London, Rayment has spent much of his spare time over the past two years etching the Knight's world.

The animation style has evolved from earlier projects like 'All I want for Christmas Is ...' and the unofficial video for 'drydioni' by the Super Fury Animals (see below), but everything is done by hand in Flash at 25 frames per second, meaning that a full day of work rarely results in more than a few seconds of animated output. To Rayment, it's all worth it.

"It’s a cathartic experience. I’m able to work without people looking over my shoulder and dictating what I should be doing. That’s the beauty of working alone."

To follow the progress of Rayment's work and the every-expanding world of the Neon Knight, visit www.paulrayment.org.uk.