Pilot episode for children's animated series
Introduction
Last year, I received news from a client who assigned me the general project of creating a pilot episode for an animated show for children. The project involved creating everything related to an animated episode, including designing the storyboard, character design, animation, renders and final composition, sound design, and trailer adaptation. The final duration of the episode was 6 minutes and 35 seconds, and it took me 25 days to complete (1 month and a half).
Concept and Script
The first thing I received was the script for the episodes, which I had to adapt to a 2D animated format. The plot is about a boy who is bored with school and wants to go home to play computer games, in this case, Minecraft. I had the freedom to choose the visual style and decided to pay homage to the design of the 2000s, taking as reference cartoons such as The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and The Fairly OddParents.
By a magical force, upon opening a chest in the video game, a portal appears that takes him to a magical world where he will have to star in medieval stories. The client provided me with the script and voices.
Character Design
As previously mentioned, I designed the characters with reference to the shapes and aesthetics of cartoons that I watched as a child, mainly from Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. The enemies have more pointed and aggressive designs and colors, while the good guys have more diverse and friendly colors.
Background and Environment Design
For the background design, I used the main concept of how the main character would feel in each of them. For example, in school scenes, the lines are straighter and the colors more boring and desaturated, while as he gets closer to his room, everything becomes more colorful, saturated, and integrated. For the magical world, the colors and contrasts are more balanced, and the scenarios are more complete since they are the main scenarios of the story.
Animation
The main animation style I decided to apply was Motion Graphic due to the deadline given by the client, which was less than 2 months. This way, I saved time and prioritized design, color, and composition.
Final Result
The final result was a cut of 00:06:35 minutes and a 00:17-second trailer.
Trailer
Conclusion
This was an opportunity that I value greatly. The client trusted my work, and I managed to meet the times and expectations. Without a doubt, this experience helped me grow a lot.
Screenshots
