Animated Short: Ronin
Overview
A brooding animated short inspired by Japanese ink paintings. Approaching the short, I wanted to build moody tension, all leading up to epic and cathartic story beats.
Concept
Early-on in development, I was inspired by the title "Ronin", which was used to describe rogue or wandering samurai which reflected my vision for the main character's story. I began by developing a storyboard detailing story beats and movements. In tandem, I also determined the short’s visual style with a mood board itemizing inspiration for the illustration style and colour palette.
Illustration
I started by developing style frames with complete illustrations to show off the visual style. With client approval, I then moved on to completing all of the vector illustrations. I focused on keeping the colour scheme minimal and eye-catching.
Animation
I developed an animatic based on the storyboard which showed each story beat in motion to give the client an idea of the timing and pacing. I also included the full audio track with sound effects compiled in FL Studio.
With illustrations complete, I used the animatic as reference for timing and focused on clean transitions and smooth easing.