Chess

by Clay

Looking for an animator that could bring 2D animation into live-action footage, Clay reached out to bring this wonderful idea to life, showcasing what their platform enables like it were a chess game!

Project Stats

Type: Commercial
Length: ~35 seconds
Turnaround: 4 days

Crafting the Character

Taking the adorable icons that Clay have designed for their in software tools, the character had to be designed to work in a 3D space as a series of 2D drawings. The icon was re-drawn at multiple angles until the 3D form was consistent.

2D Style to Live-Action Footage

Several techniques were used to help the character feel like part of the real world. Cast shadows, even subtle ones go a long way, light matching the direction of lighting on the illustration, moving behind objects for depth and subtle camera movements tracked back into the character help situate them in the frame.

Character Interactions

Having the character interact with chess pieces provided a feeling of physicality to the Claygent. This was done with a mix of footage where someone would nudge a piece and their finger was removed or manipulation of the video for slight bumps and shakes.

Showcasing the Software

One final key part of the design was to visualise the software in chess board format. Showcasing complexities and options of each choice when using the nodes in the software.

These were mapped out like move options for each chess piece and visualised through satisfyingly snappy connecting animations.