‘Circle of Streams’ incorporates reusable characters and a mixture of 2D and 3D animation to help raise awareness about the importance of storm water quality.
“Our clients wanted memorable mascots to playfully educate the public about storm water issues for seasons to come,” said Producer Kathy Buxton. “Since the re-usability of the characters was important, we felt 3D would be a better fit. Aesthetic-wise, we wanted something whimsical and cartoony.” This first PSA introduces us to Sergeant Red, an abrasive turtle drill sergeant, his sidekick Mingo, an affable fish, and Civilian, a well-intentioned but misinformed contractor.
A common complaint about broadcast animation is that 3D never looks as good as 2D -- that it’s ugly. To counteract this, Grasshorse’s Director Stephen Jennings built upon techniques he developed for Powerpuff Girls, where he meshed 3D backgrounds into 2D animation, making the two aesthetics as seamless as possible.
“We had three-dimensional characters that we wanted to incorporate into stylized hand-painted backgrounds,” Stephen said. “By using orthographic cameras in 3D animation software, we eliminated traditional perspective making the characters appear flatter. This integrated them beautifully with our 2D backgrounds.”
Grasshorse determined early on that the characters would not be shown from every angle. These 3D characters are very stylized and have the same strong silhouettes used in early limited cell animation characters, like Pink Panther’s Inspector Clouseau and Mr. Magoo.
“We were also inspired by conceptual paintings created for 3D animated features that were later created in 3D,” said Kathy. “Why not skip the step of modeling and texturing the backgrounds when we could use the conceptual paintings? They are hand-painted in gouache on canvas, delivering a tangible aesthetic with remarkable texture.”
“This was an experiment for us to see how well the effect would translate,” said Stephen. “The City of Tulsa Stormwater Quality and the Grasshorse teams are delighted with the results.”
Source: Grasshorse Studios
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
