For: Owlstation Store
Skills: Animation for Augmented Reality, Illustration
Not long after I’d started exploring ideas for my second product line, the pandemic broke out. My initial ideas around fantasy landscapes and dwellings began to transform into an idea for a product that would somehow give my customers a chance to escape from our unsettling new realities, even for a second or two! When a friend introduced me to Artivive, an AR tool allowing artists to combine their artwork with animation, my idea for my ‘Magic Portals’ range fell into place.
After a period of R&D, I created two designs. The first a fantasy castle in the clouds, the second a cosy cabin in a forest. I opted for a circular motif to lean into the idea of these being portals or peepholes into other worlds. I then planned animations that would enhance the scenes and bring them to life. For the cabin a daytime to nighttime transition. For the castle, billowing candyfloss clouds and a dragon fly by! I’d wanted to try traditional frame by frame animation for a while, so I used this project as an opportunity to learn and after a little practice was able to draw and animate each frame of my dragon sequence. The Artivive AR tool allowed me to link the animations to the illustrations, so that they play when viewed through the app on smartphone devices.
I was really pleased with the final result and the illusion of a door into a secret little world. I’ve had lovely feedback from my customers and am excited for future AR projects.
