Motion Design & Animation

2D Animation

Most people think of 2D animation from traditional hand drawn films or shows that they grew up on. As much as those films and shows inspire us, we lean more on a program called After Effects. This allows us to create rigged characters, 2d animated characters, build motion design templates for editors, as well as fine-tuned design driven pieces for any display or projected medium out there. This also enables us to pivot quickly with client changes and add to our talent pool with a wider array of freelancers when the project calls for a bigger team. 

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is where we get to try ideas out quickly and with less cost then building animated demos. They usually look like hand drawn sections of a scene to help convey what is being described in the script. A lot of times these drawn frames are placed together in an edit along with recorded dialog or music to help you as the client better feel the tempo and feel of the scene. When paired with concept art this is a great way to make sure we are nailing the story you want told before we animate a single keyframe.

Character Design

Character Design all starts with a set of questions trying to nail down their personality and attributes. Those answers get crafted into sketches. From there every other decision about how that character looks, acts, and reacts is filtered through those answers ultimately resulting in a character that feels alive.

Character Modeling & Animation

There are several steps to making a character come to life. After the design is approved we move to modeling, rigging (adding controls and bones for movement), then we finally get to animation. First of all we have to pick the style we want the character to be rendered as. 2D drawn, clean, sketchy, painted, claymation, 3D etc. This is important to help make sure that the style is communicating everything about who the character is and what the storyline needs. After the animation rigging is finished, it’s time to animate. Here, the way the character moves directly speaks to who the character is without saying one word. This is just one of the many ways we breathe life into all of our characters!

Illustration

Sometimes you just need to add a little flare to a live action clip with illustrated accents.  Other times you need fully illustrated scenes. The benefits is that you are not limited to just one style and it lets you find that right tone for the client project.

3D Animation

After we have completed the 3D modeling, along with textures and lighting, we come to 3D animation. This allows us the flexibility to control any aspect of the digital world and have it conform to our needs to tell your story. With this power comes a lot more details that need to be taken into account. That is why there is a much larger discrepancy between the 2D animation and 3D animation process and bids. However, when it’s all said and done the final piece has a uniquely crafted visual that could not be easily created any other way and is tailor fit to amplify the story.

3D Modeling

When adding a 3D element to a spot sometimes you can’t get the model from the manufacturer or from a stock model site. When this happens we can step in and rebuild the 3D element from scratch. This includes designing it if need be, texturing and lighting to help create the final look. At the end of the day you can trust that if we need to we can rebuild your product or element to match the way it looked or would look in real life.

Editorial

Editorial is the Mr. Miyagi of every project. It keeps the animations flowing seamlessly from one scene to the next, keeping the narrative in line by adding or cutting scenes even down to shaving a few frames just to make sure the emotion and communication is at its peak. As story tellers we hold a lot of respect for editorial, it is the crucial element that we use to help make your production kick butt.

Titling & Typography

This is so often treated as an afterthought relegated to a purchased animation template. Titling can be so much more than text on a screen with a name or location. When you make it part of the experience it is the polish that not only brings clarity to what you are communicating, but it also reinforces the branding all the way through the project.

Experimental

With years of experience and opportunities to use so many different tools and tricks we are able to experiment and mix tools and techniques in ways that are new and exciting. That can look like mixing animation with oil paints, Virtual reality with stop motion, you never know what could work together until you try. It still all comes back to what your unique project needs, but maybe showcasing it in a new way that really sticks out to your audience.