Aes Pellicula · 2026
Once Upon a Rabbit Fabula Brevis Animata
by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun
- Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum 2026 in Pellicula
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 4,452
- Verification code D7F9B152E3 · Verify this award
Colors
About Once Upon a Rabbit Fabula Brevis Animata
Olim Cuniculus est opus animatum inspiratum e particulis culturalibus Festi Lucernarum et memoria visuali pueritiae. Opus linguam visualem mollem et expressivam constituit per commixtionem formae dimensivae et sensus manu delineati, imagines creans quae simul structae et lusoriae videntur. Themata recurrentia, ut cuniculus et Tangyuan, globuli orizae, veluti ancorae visuales adhibentur, dum motus, rhythmus, et compositio atmosphaeram et continuitatem extollunt, unde experientia designationis cohaerens oritur, in calore, familiaritate, et resonantia culturali radicata.
About the Praemium A' Design Award Aeneum
Once Upon a Rabbit Fabula Brevis Animata victor est Praemii A' Design Award Aeneum, honoris multum aestimati formis egregiis, creandi ingenio, sollertia et acumine insignibus dati. Victores Aenei opera perita et mire creandi sunt, quae experientiam, imaginationem et solertiam auctorum suorum confirmant. Exspectatur Once Upon a Rabbit Fabula Brevis Animata rem multum aestimatam, admiratam et carissimam, notabiliter professionalem et novam fore. Haec forma Aeneo victa optimas consuetudines artis, scientiae, formandi rationis et technologiae amplectitur et in cura minutiarum excellit. Once Upon a Rabbit Fabula Brevis Animata necessitates egregie explet, cupiditates tangit, sensus capit et curiositatem allicit.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Once Upon a Rabbit is an animated short inspired by childhood memories and subtle cultural details of the Lantern Festival. Guided by the recurring presence of the rabbit and tangyuan (rice balls), the film unfolds as a sequence of connected moments that gradually lead toward a shared table. The piece emphasizes emotional flow and visual association over explicit storytelling, capturing the lively warmth of the Lantern Festival.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 16x9 video file
- Tags
- Animation, Motion Design, Illustration, Culture, Year of Rabbit
- Production Technology
- The project was produced using a hybrid 3D and 2D animation workflow. Core scenes and motion were created in Cinema 4D, with a focus on modeling and animation. The renders were then composited in Adobe After Effects, where textures, graphic details, and subtle motion accents were added to achieve a cohesive, handcrafted visual quality.
- Design Challenge
- A key creative challenge was achieving a sense of warmth and human touch within a digitally constructed visual environment. The project sought to avoid a rigid or overly polished appearance by introducing texture, softness, and brush-like qualities into form and motion. Balancing control and imperfection required careful visual restraint, ensuring the imagery remained expressive and inviting while maintaining coherence and clarity throughout the animation.
- Research
- This project is based on exploratory design research focused on visual expression and cultural memory. The objective was to understand how abstract form, color, and motion could evoke familiarity associated with the Lantern Festival without relying on literal depiction. The research was conducted through visual experimentation, reference studies, and iterative sketching using digital tools. Observations were drawn from personal memory, cultural imagery, and repeated motion tests. The results informed a visual language that balances simplicity and expressiveness, demonstrating how motion design can translate shared cultural atmosphere into an accessible and emotionally resonant visual experience.
- Inspiration
- Once Upon a Rabbit was inspired by childhood memories and subtle cultural details of the Lantern Festival. The project explores the use of 3D techniques rendered with a 2D sensibility, creating a vivid yet dreamlike visual language reminiscent of childhood doodles. By prioritizing mood, memory, and shared cultural experience over literal representation, the work aims to evoke a sense of warmth and nostalgia through motion.
- Project Duration
- The project was developed and completed in 2023 as an independent animation project, produced remotely.
- Operation Flow
- Motion unfolds through a sequence of gentle transformations, where shapes, colors, and motifs transition fluidly between scenes. Visual elements expand, contract, and reorganize to guide attention and create continuity, allowing the design to feel cohesive while maintaining a sense of lightness and rhythm throughout the experience.
- Image Credits
- Direction / Design / Animation: [Jesseter Wang & Hannah Sun]
Music / Sound: [Davis Aguirre]
