Qoi

Plot:
”Qoi – The Polar Bear Cub” is an animated short film in progress. The intention is to introduce the youngest viewers to the wildlife of the Arctic world by addressing their curiosity.

Idea:
My aim is to investigate how the movements of a real bear cub can be translated into a stop motion model made of steel and wool, and portray an animated bear in a way that is dramatically interesting but without using anthropomorphism.

Process:
I studied the skeleton of a real polar bear and made a draft of which parts in the armature that needed to be movable. The body was shaped by using foam rubber and felted wool. I spent a lot of time watching still images and documentary films of polar bears before I started to animate. After deconstructing and translating cycles of walk and gallop, I started to improvise movement patterns based on the knowledge that I had gathered. During these sessions, the character of Qoi slowly started to grow.

Techniques:
Sketches, models, Dragonframe, After Effects, Premiere

Productionyear: 2017