"Distance" 2D Animation Finals in College
Distance is a story about having a long-distance friend.
The Brief:
Our finals for this class was to create a short animation using Adobe Animate. We had absolute creative freedom in what the animation would be about, as well as whether or not it included dialogue etc. Among the expected outputs were storyboards, an animatic and the final animation. (I must admit I never got around to completing an animatic; I went straight to final animation after storyboards.)
The class was around 14 weeks long, and production for the animation started a few weeks into the semester. (The first few classes were for introductory purposes; how to use Adobe Animate etc.)
Responsibilities:
-Art direction and concept art
-Storyboards
-Directing
-Animation
-Storyboards
-Directing
-Animation
-Shortfilm score / music
-Editing
-Editing
Softwares:
Adobe Illustrator (illustrations)
Adobe Animate (animation)
Adobe Premiere Pro (video editing)
LMMS Studio (background music, composed and arranged by me)
Storyboards drawn on paper.
Left: First concept art. Right: Various face expressions study.
My aim in the character design was to exude an unassuming, guy-next-door vibe; a character that is relatable. I chose a typical, common hairstyle as well as a baseball shirt, jeans and chuck taylors to convey the guy-next-door feel.
My aim in the character design was to exude an unassuming, guy-next-door vibe; a character that is relatable. I chose a typical, common hairstyle as well as a baseball shirt, jeans and chuck taylors to convey the guy-next-door feel.
Main character puppet. Assets created in Illustrator.
When experimenting with the bone feature in Adobe Animate, I found that the joins would sometimes reveal unflattering shapes in my illustrations if rotated at certain angles. I developed a solution and system where all the rotating joints would be perfect circles and lined up over each other, so that the separate parts could be rotated 360° and not expose any unwanted shapes and forms.
Props used in the animation. Assets created in Illustrator.
Background asset. Created in Illustrator.
Fun fact: Aerozine is a fuel used in rocket engines. This name fits the gas station location, as well as the recurring space theme throughout the animation.
Fun fact: Aerozine is a fuel used in rocket engines. This name fits the gas station location, as well as the recurring space theme throughout the animation.
