Concept & Approach The animation was designed to reflect the haunting, poetic nature of the source material. Various animation techniques, including frame-by-frame animation, static vector art, and traditional After Effects animation, were utilized to achieve a visually textured and intentionally imperfect style. The aesthetic goal was to create an experience that felt eerie yet playful, reinforcing the themes within the poetry.
Process The initial phase involved extensive research and ideation to understand the tone of the poetry and translate it into a visual narrative. The script was carefully adapted to ensure a cohesive sequence for animation. Storyboarding played a crucial role in structuring key scenes and establishing pacing and transitions.
The illustration and design focused on creating character and background assets that matched the requested eerie and child-like style. Animation was implemented using a combination of frame-by-frame animation, static vector art, and After Effects animation to create a hybrid style. Voiceover and sound design were then incorporated to enhance the atmosphere with fitting audio elements.
Animation fluidity was adjusted to maintain the desired choppy, hand-drawn feel. Color grading and effects were applied to enhance the eerie, whimsical tone through selective coloring and visual treatments. Finally, client feedback and revisions were incorporated to ensure alignment with the author's vision.
Challenges & Solutions One of the major challenges faced during the project was blending multiple animation techniques seamlessly. This was resolved by experimenting with timing and transitions to create an organic, imperfect feel. Another challenge was maintaining the delicate balance between creepy, cute, and child-like aesthetics. This was addressed by iterating on character and background designs to refine the overall visual approach.
Results & Impact The final animation successfully conveyed the intended emotions of the poetry while showcasing a distinct, hand-drawn style. The unique blend of animation techniques created an engaging and memorable viewing experience that resonated with audiences. Client feedback was overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the animation’s effectiveness in enhancing the poetic narrative.
Conclusion "They Want to Own You" stands as an example of how different animation techniques can be combined to create a compelling, stylized visual story. The experience gained from this project will inform future work, especially in terms of refining hybrid animation approaches. This project was an amazing opportunity to collaborate with close friend and amazing artist, as well as to pursue a purely creative passion project. The end result is just as we envisioned, and we hope to make this into a series.
