Journal

Animation ProcessBlender

The Ugly Duckling

This is how I built the film: the storyboard and scene blocking, the animation and camera work, how I modeled both swans in Blender, and why certain shots look the way they do.

5 min read

Storyboard and scene blocking

I made the blockout and the environment myself. At first I wanted a purely stylized, cartoonish look.

Then came the storyboard and the scene blocking.

Animation and camera angles

Animation

I created the animation with low poly ducks.

Camera angles

I created the camera angles using different compositions.

Character design

Baby swan

I made all the characters in Blender, using five simple techniques:

  1. Cube
  2. Subdivision Surface (level 4)
  3. Mirror
  4. Sculpting
  5. Hair Particle System

I used the same process for every part of her body.

Mother swan

The mother swan was made the same way, with the same five techniques:

  1. Cube
  2. Subdivision Surface (level 4)
  3. Mirror
  4. Sculpting
  5. Hair Particle System

I used the same process for every part of her body.

The eye

I couldn't build an eye rig, so I animated the eyes manually, using Shrinkwrap.

Shots explained

I placed the tree branch between them on purpose. It stands for a barrier, for distance, and for the unseen divide between where she was and what she was looking at.

I brought in the thunderstorm and lightning to show hardship, struggle, emotional weight, sadness, depression and anxiety. It is the harshness closing in, and she is fighting against it.

Right after the storm, Shot 8 shows her solitary strength. With no one around, she fights through her inner turmoil and consoles herself. Even completely alone and battered by the elements, she is strong.

Here I wanted the quiet that follows the storm: the lingering emptiness and solitude after fighting through her inner turmoil. It carries a searching longing, and a small hope that she will find the place where she truly belongs and deserves to be.

Repeated framing

Same frame. Four stages of one feeling.

Shots 4, 7, 9 and 14 share the exact same framing and camera angle. It creates a visual thread, and a parallel progression across four stages.

  1. Shot 4 She is sorrowful, accepting and admitting to herself that she is “ugly”.
  2. Shot 7 She is actively fighting her inner thoughts and emotional turmoil.
  3. Shot 9 She feels the lingering emptiness and solitude of her isolation.
  4. Shot 14 She finally realizes the truth: she is one of the very swans she always admired and longed to be, and sees at last how beautiful she truly is.