The inhabitants of the Forest of Eels answer a mysterious call, summoning them to join a sacred ritual. They each bring an offering for the cauldron…but what will they create together?

The idea

Often with an animated film the story comes first, and the characters are made to fit into it. In this case the characters were the starting point. Illustration legend Guy McKinley had been sketching anthropomorphic animal characters based on the Flow team, and we loved them so much we knew we had to animate them.

The characters

We created a cast of characters, each of them representing one of the Flow team. Our spirit animals. We experimented with halftone textures, brushstrokes, and colours, until we were happy with the look. The idea was to use a strong limited colour palette, combined with a bold graphic style, influenced by comic art and eastern culture. 

The story

Once we had our characters, we need a story to gives us a reason to bring them all together. They needed a common purpose. We really liked the idea of a journey. A call that goes out that draws them all together for a collective purpose, to represent the Flow team being drawn together to make cool stuff.

We started to plan out each characters individual journey. They are all in separate parts of this strange land when they each hear the sound that calls them together. 

Sound design was always going to be an important part of the film, and even in the early stages we were thinking about the style and types of sounds we could use. 

The storyboard

Creating the first iteration of the storyboard is where we start to plot the story, thinking about the pace and timing, transitions and flow of information. One of the characters needed to send out a signal into the wild landscape, for the others to respond to. We liked the idea of some kind of mystical power being at play, and the visual language of fables and folk stories.

Refining the story

We then refined the shots and compositions, working out the flow of the film and the timing and transitions between shots. We wanted a slow, intriguing build up, with lots of anticipation. Then moments of horror-style jumps. 

The artwork

Once we were happy with the storyboard we started to create some of the final artwork in order to work out the colour palette, use of textures and brushstrokes. How we use light and dark was very important in creating the feeling of intrigue and mystery.

Final artwork

The final artwork for the film is a mix of influences, from Far Eastern folklore to movie posters, combining the graphic language of comic art with a bold and minimal colour palette. We really wanted to create an iconic look that had a clear identity and felt very different from our usual client projects.

Composition and layout

For the composition of shots we wanted to use cinematic framing, thinking about where the camera is and where it’s moving to. What we’re revealing to the viewer, and how we’re leading them through the story. We wanted to create some dramatic tension with the composition and camera angles, using a mix of expansive and epic landscape shots, and close-ups to focus on specific moments.

Darkness and light

The colour palette is kept deliberately minimal. To create a bold, graphic style we used lots of black in the shots. We were keen to create an ominous tension, as the call goes out and the characters gather for the ritual. To create this, the artwork, sound design and timing of animation all had to complement each other tonally.

Animation Tests

Using artwork files from Photoshop we started to set up the character rigs in After Effects and test some 2D animation, looking at how they could move and how we could bring out their personalities. We’ were also testing the limitations of the artwork – seeing just how much we could rotate and articulate the character designs.

2D and 3D animation

At the same time as testing the character animation we set up some layered compositions in After Effects for the landscapes. We then recreated some of the artwork in using Cinema4D in order to create some depth in the shots, and move the artwork into 3D space. This also allowed us to create the camera fly-throughs in the forest and riverbed shots.

Style and consistency

It was important to ensure the final animation felt stylistically consistent, and all the shots worked together. Creating some shots in 2D and some in 3D we had to be mindful of the style of moment of the camera, keeping the pace and angles consistent. We rendered all 3D shots in a 2D ‘flat’ look, adding animated textures and shading overlays to keep to the 2D art style.

The monster

Once all of our characters have completed their individual journeys, they make it to the Tiger’s lair. They each provide their own offering and the ritual begins. As the cauldron bubbles they await in anticipation, but they have no idea what they are about to create. A huge eye appears in the liquid, and then multiple eyes, and then a strange monster begins to rise from cauldron. Could this thing they have all created together be the end of them?! Maybe. We animated the monster using frame by frame techniques in order to give it that wet and slimy look.

Final Animated Scenes

The final process of compositing pulls together all of the animated characters, background art, textures and lighting. The end result is a rich and textured art style, that uses subtly integrated mixed-mediums of animation to create a cinematic finish.

Sound design

We were really lucky to be able to collaborate with the super talented team at Sanctus, who created a bespoke soundscape for the film. They got the tone of the film straight away, and had lots of ideas for how we could give it a unique feel, including recording some violin strokes for key moments in the film. The sound perfectly builds the tension in the opening shots, and creates the atmosphere of foreboding that we wanted. All building to the crescendo of the final shot.

The end. Or the beginning.

The film has been touring the world on the festival circuit, being screened from Manchester to Mumbai, Bolton to Berlin, London to Leeds. It’s received critical acclaim, including winning Best 2D Animation at the British Animation Film Festival, where it was also nominated for Best Sound Design, and has been nominated for Best Film at the Pulse of Animation Festival. It’s been a joy to see something we put so much love and care into being so well received. Is that the end of the story? Or is there going to be a sequel? We’ll have to wait and see.