Watercolour Animation
- Illustration & Motion Design
Introduction:
While working at a video production house, we were approached by the Health and Social Care Board in Northern Ireland to help visualise a sensitive, heartfelt story about the impact of social workers.
I pitched a painted, watercolour animation that would lean into warmth and storytelling, giving the piece a unique, hand-crafted feel.
Inspiration & Research:
The idea came to me while watching a show with illustrated storybook transitions.
I’ve always kept a wide net of inspiration such as film, literature and even games because you never know what’s going to spark something. I liked the idea of revealing scenes as if they were pages being drawn in real time, something gentle and layered with emotion.
Design process:
Storyboard & Scene Planning: I began by listening closely to the voiceover and mapping out the story moment by moment. From there, I drew up a full storyboard to match the pace and tone of the narration, landing on the idea to have each scene appear at a slight angle.
Illustration: Even for digital work, I like to start by sketching traditionally. I drew each scene by hand, then refined the linework in Procreate using a pen with a scratchy, inky texture. Once happy with the outlines, I painted each element on separate layers to capture that washed, watercolour look without losing clarity.
Animation: The assets were brought into After Effects, where I worked with the animator to set up camera rigs. Each scene was then revealed using layered masks, so the colours would slowly build in like a paintbrush sweeping across paper. This gave the whole thing a really organic, textured feeling.
Final Design:
This is still one of my favourite projects. I loved getting to build it from the ground up, developing the style, crafting the artwork, and learning a few new After Effects tricks along the way. It’s a great example of how I bring storytelling into my design work, even in more subtle, illustrative ways.