"GEDANKENARCHIV" is an animated artwork set within my project, Magidelik. It delves into a world of wizards trapped in perpetual paperwork and bureaucracy. Through this imaginative realm, I explore themes such as mental health, critique of everyday life, and reflections on my own past.
Typically, my larger animations evolve and undergo changes throughout the creation process. Nevertheless, I maintain a focus on the main idea from the outset, using an initial sketch to outline the key components of the story.
I enjoy creating quick mockups with planned camera movements to immediately gauge scale and visual aesthetics. This process allows me to revisit the initial sketch and verify if everything aligns with my envisioned outcome.
As I'm not proficient in sculpting characters, I opted for a kitbash approach. Utilizing various purchased models and self-made assets, I reconstructed some characters from previous illustrations. To maintain fidelity to my 2D style, I prefer hand-painting all textures and assets. The UVs are painted in Procreate, which, though a bit messy, aids in preserving the desired style.
Throughout the process, I capture several shots from perspectives outside the main camera movement to ensure that colors and details align with the overarching concept. Drawing inspiration from Wes Anderson movies, I adhered to a monochromatic color palette, learning valuable lessons from his stylistic choices.
To further translate my 2D style into a fully 3D scene, I extract keyframes and completely overpaint them with a messy, glitch-like appearance. This approach is intended to keep the viewer on their toes and disrupt any sense of predictability.
Throughout the creation process, I aimed to illustrate additional small scenes depicting side storylines for some of the characters in the main scene. These additions serve to enhance the overall depth and detail of the animation, enticing viewers to delve into the artwork and seek out hidden details.
To give a more detailed insight about my thought process and approach to this project, I made a behind the scenes video on youtube that you can check out down below.
