The Touch

Studio: Scholar
Role: Cel Animator

I got the opportunity to work on this emotionally moving project with the talented people at Scholar. Every project over at Scholar is always top tier, but this was one of the projects that really stood out to me the most because of it's technique. Every shot was rendered in 3d, then put through a special program that allowed us to use one ( or multiple ) painted frame to apply on the character models and backgrounds as an initial texture. Afterwards, 2 other cel animators and I would individually paint each stroke to give the smooth characters a more painterly look. It was amazing to see the tremendous difference between start and finish.

"Utilizing a tactile and elegantly frenetic technique we aimed to craft a world that personified the complicated and impassioned emotions of a caregiver. The experience of being swept away, harnessed by an impressionistic style, parallels the struggles of our character to understand each next step. Through the imperfection of the loose animation technique and cinematic lighting, we focused our attention on how the journey of the narrative could unfold.

From a foundation of 3D character animation and cel-animated paint-overs, we created a balance of aesthetics that reflected the disarray of the moment. Painted in gestural brushstrokes, our story does indeed have a happy ending."

Original uploaded here.

See the full spot and process below !

Select Animations

Animated all of the below

credits

Design and Animation: Scholar
Creative Directors: Will Johnson and Mike Tavrez
Managing Director: Jo Arghiris
Executive Producer: Nic Barnes
Head of Production: Tyler Locke
Art Director: Danni Fisher-Shin
CG Supervisor: Tim Hayward
Producer: Nicky Maser
Designers: Jina Kwon, George Fuentes
2D Animators: Sam Button, Phil Hoeschen
Cel Animators: Blake Patrick, Michael Relth, Aly Tain
Model/Texture Artist: Matt Berenty
3D Animators: Alejandra Alvarez, Evan Mayfield, Tyler Mele
3D Generalist: Jacques Clement
Lighter: Christian Sanchez
Storyboards: Fred Fassberger
Telecine: RCO
Colorist: Seth Ricart
Mix and Sound Design: Canja Audio