Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award de Bronze in Design de Cinema, Vídeo e Animação Competition Category.

BronzeCinema· 2026

Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação

by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

A' Design Award de Bronze Winner in Cinema Category

4,452
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #180467

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação

Once Upon a Rabbit é um projeto de design animado inspirado em detalhes culturais do Festival das Lanternas e nas memórias visuais da infância. O trabalho estabelece uma linguagem visual suave e expressiva por meio de uma combinação de forma dimensional e sensibilidade de desenho à mão, criando imagens que parecem ao mesmo tempo estruturadas e lúdicas. Motivos recorrentes, como o coelho e o Tangyuan, as bolinhas de arroz, são usados como âncoras visuais, enquanto o movimento, o ritmo e a composição enfatizam a atmosfera e a continuidade, resultando em uma experiência de design coesa, enraizada em calor, familiaridade e ressonância cultural.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Bronze

Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação conquistou o A' Design Award de Bronze, um reconhecimento altamente prestigiado atribuído a designs notáveis que se distinguem pela criatividade, engenho e perspicácia. Os vencedores do Bronze são artefactos amplamente habilidosos e surpreendentemente criativos que comprovam a vasta experiência, imaginação e capacidade de iniciativa dos seus designers. Espera-se que Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação seja um objeto muito considerado, admirado e estimado, notavelmente profissional e inovador. Este design vencedor do A' Design Award de Bronze incorpora as melhores práticas em arte, ciência, design e tecnologia e é excelente pela sua atenção ao detalhe. Once Upon a Rabbit Curta-Metragem de Animação satisfaz esplendidamente necessidades, toca desejos, encanta sentimentos e desperta curiosidade.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

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.
Team Members: Jesseter Wang,
Hannah Sun
Image Credits: Direction / Design / Animation: [Jesseter Wang & Hannah Sun]
Music / Sound: [Davis Aguirre]