This was the last animation I did in Adobe After Effects before completely switching to Fusion (in DaVinci Resolve) and Blender for all my animation needs. 

The job was for the announcement of TXCAN and was to serve as an overview video that would show on their website when it launched. During the pre-production phase I went through the script and pitched the art style and general vibe of the project by making a small section to show. The client loved it, and I set to work.  

There was a great deal of animation to do as almost each individual line needed a separate animation done for it. Additionally, it became cumbersome very quickly to have so many layers so, for my own sanity, I had to split many sections into their own comps and have only one master comp for the final render. 

One element that proved tricky was the lack of 3D (all the moving elements are animated the 2D way with no 3D models used). By this point I had grown proficient at using Blender for 3D animation and had honestly become a little spoiled by how easy it was to move things in the 3rd dimension. On this project, however, I was only able to make use of 2D. Getting everything to move naturally with traditional techniques wasn’t hard, but it’s frustrating when you are so used to being able to do a similar thing with only two keyframes.  

All and all, I’m pleased with the result. Not just the animation but the general tone of the piece. I’m most happy and grateful with the client being willing to allow me to add more lighthearted elements to it (such as the shark for example) that help keep the audience engaged as they watch.