Tightrope

"Tightrope" is a 2d animated short film created and directed by Emma Vines for their graduating thesis project from Kennesaw State University! Our story follows a young circus monkey named and his journey coping with the pressures put on him by his father, the ringmaster Lacronzo.

Shape language was the key to designing these characters in a way that the audience could immediately pick up on their contrasting personalities. For Lacronzo, we went for something bulky, sturdy, and a little intimidating; this contrasts with Aramis, who we made meek, slender, and very timid.

I wanted color to be a leading factor in telling this story, as it's a great avenue for conveying emotion. One of the main challenges, especially for the first half taking place in the circus ring, was making sure the characters stood out enough against the similarly/colored backgrounds. We tried to mitigate this issue with strategic placing of characters and shifting of values between each scene, as well as using the spotlight to give starker shadows to make characters readable.

Backgrounds were one of the trickiest parts for this film, as we had to keep the space very consistent. Unlike scenes taking place in outdoor areas that may allow for playful composition with trees and natural objects that could change between scenes, the indoor space of the tent meant we had to be careful what we showed and how we showed it due to the inside being a rigid, unchanging space.

                           THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!!! (Drawing above by Eli Palomino)