This was a pilot project I had the pleasure of creating for GoDaddy. It was a departure from their usual style, and an experiment in a new form of education and animation.
Working closely with the Art Director and Producer; I managed co-Art Direction, Storyboards, Illustration, Design, Animation, and Editing.
Expressions + Rigs = Time savers
Expressions, nulls, and sliders are a great way to add controlled procedural complexity to animations. Animating a wiggle's amplitude can show the swim speed of a fish, and inverse-kinematic chains can create natural motion by animating a single rotation value.
A Global Effects Controller was built to give a wide array of control over the expression-driven boil effect. Text layers, outline shapes, and images are individually controlled by sliders that adjust the frequency, amplitude, and the boiling frame-rate.
Using Joysticks 'n Sliders, I created a simple rig that would animate the talking head and the frame behind it. With just two sliders, the animation and parallax is smooth and consistent throughout the entire video.
Example of Global Controller options
Two slides to control the man-in-box
It's the little things...
Cel animations are my favourite finishing touch. The rough pencil texture contrasts the clean and sharp digital elements, filling in the empty space and bringing life to the compositions.
