ART346: First Blog Post

This is the studio website for a 2D-3D independently animated short film about a mermaid and a sushi chef who fall in love. The film will be set in a reimagined dark fantasy version of the Philippines, in a world where mermaids are a luxury cuisine. I find this metaphor of the exploitation of women and lesbian romances for public (especially male) "consumption" really captivating.

The website design, with striking vibrant reds and blues on high-contrast white and black backgrounds, communicates imagery of water and blood, setting an intense tone. Much of the released promotional and concept art aligns with this high-contrast and vibrant style. I'm especially enraptured by the background art; I know the film has 3D-modeled backgrounds with hand-drawn frame-by-frame character animation, but I think some of the backgrounds might have been painted over digitally to retain both the 3D sense of the depth and painterly textures. For the 3D models, I'm interested to learn how light and texture were modeled or drawn to look so shiny in the second image.

https://www.studioheartbreak.com/