Kapla - All the colors
a video ad for a small wooden plank
The little story
Every day I find myself looking at new 3D commercials that are all amazing, all different, yet all have this in common : a very high level of awesomeness !
I just had to go for it too and I chose the Kapla. It might be the most common product on the market but it is simply iconic.
All started in October 2021 when I visited the Kapla website.
Looking at all the different products, shapes and colors, I found myself inspired.
So I created a first animatic to convince myself of the potential I saw in these small wooden pieces.
As a result, I understood there was so much to do !
At the end of the month, I bought a box of orange Kapla and another of the traditional wooden Kapla. After taking some pictures, I started working on the lighting, textures and artistic direction of my project.
It occurred to me that showcasing such a simple object is not as easy as it seems.
I had to use the variety of products and colors to match my animation rhythm and flow.
So this is how it all started. Want to know how it went ?
1. Song cuts & animatic
To begin with I put markers on the sound track timeline. I looked for the best parts of the music to know where to cut in order to create rhythm.
Then I focused on the main parts of the animation by using basic rectangles. They were not Kapla shaped but at this point it did not matter much as I was deep in the creation process and not working with any restraints.
2. Pics & cleaning
The second step was to take really accurate pictures of the Kapla to create the UV unwrapping in Cinema4D. That part was easy as a Kapla is a mere rectangle. That’s the advantage of working on a simple object !
I then exported the textures in Photoshop to cut them and create the pattern.
3. Storyboard & stills
Now for the tricky part ! The challenge here was to keep all frames in perfect harmony and at the same time creating rhythm. In the end, I chose to play with the colors of the background, the products and the compositions.
4. Animation breakdown
My favorite part is when everything falls into place. I tried to create dynamic movements and represent Kapla as childs do : building, destroying, throwing them all over…
5. Compositing
And that’s what I’ve got. If you’ve read until now, thank you so much. I hope it was interesting for you to see all the details of a project like this. If you want more, don’t hesitate to follow me.
