CONTEXT
As part of a school workshop, I collaborated with two fellow students to create a one-minute short film with a Western theme. The only requirement was to include the keywords “cat” and “candle” at the heart of the story. Our team was made up of a motion design student, an art direction student, and myself, in charge of environment design. We used Blender, Procreate, and After Effects throughout the production process.
CHALLENGE
Our main challenge was to build a compelling and coherent narrative within such a short format while visually blending 2D animations seamlessly into 3D environments. We also had to define a strong and consistent artistic direction that would enhance the emotional arc of the story and support the psychological depth of the character, particularly through the use of color and sound design.
SOLUTION
We started by developing the story together and creating a quick storyboard to align our creative intentions. I took charge of designing and building all the environments in Blender, which gave us full control over camera movements and allowed us to avoid redrawing scenes from different angles. This 3D approach also opened the door to dynamic effects like the vertigo shot, which added cinematic depth. For the visual style, we experimented until we found a cartoon-inspired look that merged well with the character design. I used Blender’s Grease Pencil tool to draw hand-drawn lines around 3D elements, giving everything a unified illustrated feel. On the audio side, we crafted a sound design that brought the film to life and added a playful rhythm matching the tone of the story. We also focused on color grading to strengthen the atmosphere, using warm tones for the cozy saloon setting and colder, darker hues to reflect the character’s descent into madness.
