Cidercade
So it turns out I really enjoy animation. Having received great encouragement & support from my “Pursued” video trailer, I sought out more opportunities to work with motion media and came upon Cidercade’s Creators Cup. Cidercade is a waterfront arcade in downtown Austin, and in 2025, it launched a competition calling on filmmakers to create a 20 to 30-second video marketing the arcade. I joined a team of two other motion designers, and this video project here was our entry to the competition.
Drawing is designing!
My role was mostly in early production, assisting in writing the script and creating the storyboard for said script, along with establishing the visual style of the video and animating the characters. My team members did the voice acting, 3D model building, compositing, and final video renders in Cinema 4D. To showcase the fun, dynamic atmosphere found in Cidercade, we decided on a fully animated 30-second ad, highlighting what makes Cidercade special. The neon aesthetic of the video is a callback to the flashing, colorful lights that arcade games are known for. We also decided on animating “bean” characters in a way that was reminiscent of old pixel games, again calling back to the arcade and the many nostalgic games it hosts. To accomplish that choppy, Game Boy feel, I animated the bean characters as looping GIFs that were then posed in Cinema 4D with a looping animation applied.
Storyboards
The project was a great opportunity to learn how to blend 2D and 3D animation styles using multiple programs. This was also a great way to learn working within a team online and finding your place in said team, depending on your skills.
