Retrò 2D animations created for Fluffy Audio and their digital sound library created for Mickey Mousing.
Client:
Fluffy Audio
Executive Creative Director:
Riccardo Galimberti
Executive Producer:
Pietro Polentes
Design:
Rachele Santini, Chiara Loiacono
Animations:
Chiara Loiacono
Compositing:
Riccardo Galimberti, Chiara Loiacono
Sound Design:
Fluffy Audio
Fluffy Audio is a brilliant Barcelona-based company creating high-end sample libraries built from recordings of real instruments, performed by outstanding orchestras and musicians. Their libraries are used by sound designers and musicians to create music and sound design digitally.
For their Cartoon Maestro library, designed to bring the sounds of retro cartoons to life and perfectly suited to the art of Mickey Mousing, they asked us to animate some of the most important instruments.
The animations would then be synchronised within their sound-design tool, creating a real-time connection between the actions of our cartoon characters and the sounds composed by the user.
The challenge was to create short but expressive animations that could respond to different sounds and adapt to the specific way each instrument was played.
The animations were designed to work both within the software interface and as traditional promotional videos for the web.
Each character had to perform in a way that was both expressive and functional. A trombone’s notes could become a series of sneezes, while flute melodies could turn into graceful butterfly flights.
The character designs were carefully developed around two key elements: their resemblance to the musical instruments they represent, and their belonging to the retro visual language that defines the project.
The fun part was imagining how musical instruments could transform into colourful, whimsical characters — from elephants and dragonflies to salsa dancers.
This project was one of those where, proportionally, the production phase was shorter than the pre-production. The development and exploration phase was crucial, requiring several days of careful study before moving into production.
The animations were used in a remarkably versatile way. Originally created as part of the library’s software interface, they were later refined and completed with backgrounds to become a mini promotional format, as well as a series of supporting videos to promote the digital sound library.
