Work In Progress - Lonely Koi

"Lonely Koi" is based on the East Asian motif of a carp that transforms into a dragon because it unwaveringly keeps swimming upstream against the current. It also speaks about the importance of connection to others and how this can impact the success in overcoming hardships. I also wanted to address that it is ok to take a break from something or change the goal completely if it doesn't resonate anymore. So the core message is: Don't be afraid of decisions, don't waste time on regret and please ask for help to be able to keep growing.

Main Characters

Kai - Carp Form And 1st Stage Dragon Form

Nobu - Pond Owner

Art Style

I wanted to mix the aesthetic of Ukiyo-e prints with water color textures and planned to blend digital and traditional art for this. Here are a few tests from back then.

Recreating The Style In Blender

Later I decided that I didn't want to draw the whole movie frame by frame and found my love for 3D modeling and texturing. I started to experiment on how I could recreate the style in 3D whilst keeping the 2D vibe. My goal wasn't to make 3D look like it was 2D. I rather wanted to find a mix that has its own magic. Looking at it now I want to find a better way to combine the 2D and 3D approach.

Tracking Shot

Animated Still

The original idea roots from a tiny story that I once wrote when I was still little. During my studies of Animation at the film school I decided I wanted to turn it into a short movie but never finished it because of my own hardships. I wasn't able to grasp what I wanted to put out with this and how to tell it at that time. So I kept focusing on experimenting with the art style and the character designs. I hope that I can pick this up in the future and turn it into a truly touching story together with a great team of artists.

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