FROM SKETCHBOOK TO AFTER EFFECTS

FINDING EXCITING COMPOSITIONS

This project draws inspiration from one of my favorite animated driving sequences: the iconic motorcycle scenes in AKIRA, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo.

To begin, I analyzed every shot of the dynamic downtown chase sequence, extracting compositions that captured my interest. From this pool of references, I chose the ones that most aligned with my narrative vision, rearanging and amplifying their elements to suit the hyperactive tone of my project. These enhanced compositions then served as the foundation for creating my own unique visuals.

BOARDOMATIC

Next I put these compositions together into a rough boardomatic to nail down the timing and continuity between shots. It's important here that the path of the car is clear form shot to shot, so it doesn't look like a bunch of random clips.

HAVING FUN IN AFTER EFFECTS

COMPOSITING + 2D

Directly out of Octane these shots don't look very good, but through the power of adjustment layers and level effects I can create the 2D look I'm going for. On top of that, some cartoony 2D effects in a lower frame rate elevate the look

CREATING CEL LIKE PROCEDURAL ANIMATION

We all love the look of traditional cel animation, nothing beats it, but it is never a speedy process. I like to create procedural animations based off of vector inputs in After Effects to create editable cel-like animations much more quickly. Here's on one my methods.

DESIGNING THE CAR

DECIDING ON A CAR

I chose to animate one of my all time favorite vehicles, the 1965 Chevy Impala. A perfect mix of muscle car power and 60s design simplicity, the Impala became my vision of a night time joyride through the city.

SKETCHING

Next I drew out my vision for how the final hard surface model would look. As you can see, the design didn't change that much between my sketches and the final model.

MODELING

The next step was to create my hard surface model in Cinema 4D using my gathered reference.

UV MAPPING

After the model was complete, I animated a "2D style" UV map to be applied to the car. This texture includes line work, halftone textures, superimposed lighting using gradients, and animated glass reflections. Creating these effects in a 2D software allowed me to rely less on the unpredictable nature of lighting effects using Octane's tune shaders.

DYNAMIC
DRIVING

FROM SKETCHBOOK TO AFTER EFFECTS

C4D ANIMATION

HAVING FUN IN AFTER EFFECTS

DESIGNING THE CAR

DYNAMIC DRIVING

DESIGNING THE CAR

DYNAMIC
DRIVING