CAUGHT IN THE RAIN
3D Character Animation | Academic Project | Apr 2025
BRIEF
Create a 30 sec-3 min video about the theme 'Understanding'.
"Your story should in some way evolve around misunderstanding and understanding- but not necessarily between humans. It can trigger the entire plot or be the resolution towards the end of your film. Or anything in between."
CREDITS
This project was created by me, from ideation and scriptwriting to animation.
The cat character is modeled, textured, and rigged by me. See more here.
Main character Lisa – Kenny Praise
Male character Snow – Blender Studio
THE ROLE OF 'UNDERSTANDING'
“The girl thinks the world is against her, when in reality, it’s on her side, showing its support for her. The girl understands that she is in charge of her own perspective of things.”
In this short film, we follow a young girl through a day where everything seems to go wrong. What starts as a hopeful and joyful morning soon spirals into a series of setbacks, leaving her feeling as though everything and everyone is working against her—even the earth itself. After all the missteps, she begins to understand that her reality is shaped by her own perspective. By shifting how she views the situation, she learns to embrace the challenges and finds happiness again, showing that joy comes from how we choose to see the world, regardless of the obstacles.
CHALLENGES
One of the biggest challenges in this project was being my own client. As the only person working on it, I had to balance both the creative and critical sides of the process—constantly making sure I was satisfied with the work while also pushing myself to improve. On top of that, my story included several elements I had never tried to animate before—such as animating tears and crying for the first time, as well as two characters interacting with each other. These scenes were crucial to the story, so I had no choice but to learn how to execute them! My biggest helper was my mirror—watching how the body moves and reacts. I also watched many tutorials online, but the most valuable lessons came from doing it wrong… many, many times. Until finally, something clicks, and the characters suddenly feel the emotions you want them to express and move the way you envisioned.
This process was a valuable learning experience that pushed me to grow as both an animator and a storyteller. I learned the importance of references, trial and error, and what it truly means to be your own client.
COLOR PALETTE
As the film progresses, we move through different colors that reflect the girl's emotional state. It begins with warm yellow tones, symbolizing her optimism, but shifts to dark blue as things unravel and the rain sets in. By the end, the color transitions from dark to light, symbolizing her newfound perspective. Though it's still raining, she ends the film with a sense of contentment, and her yellow shirt stands out clearly through the rain.
PRODUCTION
This short film was animated in Blender, with some 2D elements incorporated throughout. I love to sneak a bit of cel animation into my projects, since that’s where my passion for animation first sparked. I used Procreate Dreams—a tool I hadn’t worked with before—to animate the piece of bubble gum that Lisa unfortunately starts her day by stepping in... All post-production was done in After Effects, including some animated rain, which turned out to be both a fun challenge and a great learning experience. I also created all the sound design and original music in GarageBand.
