How I Made 'Open Air'

How missing a deadline helped me make the first animated short for the studio

Petatini, my main character, is resting on a tree limb.

In 2021, I started 3D Modeling from A to B, an online school to share knowledge of 3D Modeling and animation. As accomplished as I felt from making tutorials, there was still something I loved more: animating my own stories.

I decided to expand 3D Modeling from A to B into an animation studio, AB Animation Studio.

I wrote scripts for my own animated shorts, drew storyboards, and made animatics. I completed several personal projects, an animation for a client, and an animatic for one of my films. I did not release an animated short due to my perfectionism. I was waiting on the "right" time to do so.

Well, I stopped waiting for the "right" time. I stopped procrastinating and recently released the studio's first animated short, Open Air, on the studio's YouTube channel. You can watch it by clicking here. In this blog post, I explain my process of making it.

Brainstorming

I learned about a film competition. For the competition, filmmakers must make a film that showcases post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth is when someone changes or improves for the better after a traumatic event.

I was ready to take on the challenge. There was just one problem - the deadline was only a few days away. I was determined to make the film anyway. Because of the short time, I decided to come up with a simple story.

Character Design

I went through different scenarios in my head of a traumatic event, and decided to work on a story about an animal losing the ability to fly.

I decided that the animal I should make a film about was a flying squirrel, even though a flying squirrel technically glides, not flies.

Before I started designing my flying squirrel character, I collected reference images of flying squirrels to observe and design from.

The references I collected to observe while designing my flying squirrel character.

After collecting the reference images, I began to draw a stylized version of a flying squirrel. At first, I was having fun and liked the design, but then I realized that the character looked more like a bat, which, of course, was not what I wanted.

My first design of Petatini. I realized that she looked more like a bat than a flying squirrel.

I redesigned her while focusing more on the main shapes of a flying squirrel. This allowed me to draw a much cuter design.

Petatini's final character design.

When her design was complete, I posted it on social media and asked my subscribers and the public to suggest a name for her. The first person to comment named her Petatini based on the scientific name for flying squirrels, which is petauristini.

Starting The Story

I began to think about how Petatini would lose her ability to fly. Since flying squirrels in the wild tend to glide from tree to tree, it made sense that she encountered something that would affect her gliding among trees. I then thought of one of her patagia becoming injured from a tree branch.

Once I figured out how her patagium would become damaged, I then had to decide how she would adapt and grow from the trauma of not being able to glide like before. This was hard to do. Barely anything came to my mind, but I had to think of something because of how close the deadline was for the competition.

I decided to start animating and hoped that an ending would come to me as I animate.

Animating

Although I was not sure of how it would end, I knew how I wanted to start the animated short. I wanted the flying squirrel to be on a branch with certainty in her eyes as she views a tree branch that she is about to glide to. She will look like a normal flying squirrel until she outstretches her "arms" to reveal holes in one of her patagia. Then it's revealed, through a flashback, how she received those holes before her failed attempt at gliding.

I started by blocking the different scenes. Next, I added details. Then, I drew the linework before adding color.

While animating, I realized how I would end the animation. I had researched how not being able to glide would affect a flying squirrel, and one of the things I learned is that it makes it harder for it to find food. This is because it was designed for gliding while foraging, instead of running on the ground. Since it will be hard for her to find food on the ground, I thought of her befriending a creature that can, a chipmunk, to help her find food.

Letting Go of The Competition

Because I had only a few days to complete the film before the competition, I was rushing the animation. I realized that led me to make work that I would not be glad to show. I knew I could do a better job if I did not rush, so I decided not to enter the competition. By no longer focusing on a deadline, I was able to make an animation I couldn't wait to reveal to the public.

Sound

My favorite part of making an animation is any part that involves drawing, such as character design, background design, and making the frames, but the most fun part is adding the sounds. Why? - because sound is what adds more life to the animation and makes it feel more complete.

Conclusion

I am glad that I did not enter the film competition when I realized I could not do my best to meet its deadline. Making a project you are delighted with is not just about what you choose to do. It is also about what you decide not to do.