Once Upon a Rabbit ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱠᱟᱴᱤᱡ by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ in ᱪᱞᱚᱪᱤᱛᱨ Competition Category.
ᱠᱟᱥᱟᱪᱞᱚᱪᱤᱛᱨ· 2026
Once Upon a Rabbit ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱠᱟᱴᱤᱡ
by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun
A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ Winner in ᱪᱞᱚᱪᱤᱛᱨ Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #180467The Design
About Once Upon a Rabbit ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱠᱟᱴᱤᱡ
ᱚᱱᱥ ᱟᱯᱚᱱ ᱟ ᱨᱮᱵᱤᱴ (Once Upon a Rabbit) ᱫᱚ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱯᱨᱚᱡᱮᱠᱴ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ ᱡᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱫᱚ ᱞᱟᱱᱴᱟᱨᱱ ᱯᱟᱨᱟᱵ (Lantern Festival) ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱞᱟᱠᱪᱟᱨ ᱛᱤᱱᱟᱹᱜ ᱟᱨ ᱜᱟᱫᱮᱞ ᱚᱠᱛᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱧᱮᱞ ᱩᱭᱦᱟᱹᱨ ᱠᱷᱚᱱ ᱡᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱛᱮ ᱟᱯᱩᱨᱩᱢᱟᱠᱟᱱᱟ ᱾ ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ ᱫᱚ ᱰᱟᱭᱢᱮᱱᱥᱚᱱᱟᱞ ᱨᱩᱯ ᱟᱨ ᱛᱤ ᱛᱮ ᱚᱞ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱵᱩᱡᱷᱟᱹᱣ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱢᱮᱥᱟ ᱛᱮ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱚᱨᱠᱚᱢ, ᱩᱫᱩᱜᱚᱜ ᱧᱮᱞ ᱯᱟᱹᱨᱥᱤ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱮᱫᱟ, ᱡᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱫᱚ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱠᱟᱛᱷᱟᱶᱟᱛᱮ ᱟᱨ ᱮᱱᱮᱡ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱧᱮᱞᱚᱜ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱮᱫᱟ ᱾ ᱨᱮᱵᱤᱴ ᱟᱨ ᱴᱟᱝᱭᱩᱣᱟᱱ, ᱪᱟᱣᱞᱮ ᱵᱚᱞ, ᱞᱮᱠᱟᱱ ᱟᱡᱟᱜᱟᱜ ᱢᱚᱴᱤᱯᱷ ᱠᱚ ᱧᱮᱞ ᱟᱝᱠᱚᱨ ᱞᱮᱠᱟᱛᱮ ᱵᱮᱵᱷᱟᱨᱚᱜ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱟᱨ ᱪᱟᱞᱟᱣᱟᱜ, ᱛᱟᱞ ᱟᱨ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨᱚᱜ ᱫᱚ ᱢᱟᱦᱟᱣᱟᱞ ᱟᱨ ᱞᱟᱦᱟ ᱞᱟᱦᱟ ᱪᱟᱞᱟᱣ ᱛᱮ ᱡᱚᱨ ᱮᱢᱟᱜ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱡᱟᱦᱟᱸ ᱫᱚ ᱨᱟᱹᱲᱟ, ᱪᱤᱱᱦᱟᱹᱣ ᱟᱨ ᱞᱟᱠᱪᱟᱨ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱨᱮᱥᱚᱱᱮᱱᱥ ᱛᱮ ᱛᱷᱟᱯ ᱮᱫ ᱢᱤᱫ ᱢᱤᱫᱛᱮ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱟᱱᱩᱵᱷᱚᱵ ᱛᱮᱭᱟᱨ ᱮᱫᱟ ᱾
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ
Once Upon a Rabbit ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱠᱟᱴᱤᱡ ᱫᱚ A' Design Award ᱠᱟᱥᱟ ᱯᱩᱨᱚᱥᱠᱟᱨ ᱧᱟᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱᱟ, ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱫᱚ ᱱᱟᱣᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱛᱮ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱠᱚ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱮᱢ ᱟᱠᱟᱱ ᱥᱚᱢᱟᱱ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾ ᱱᱚᱶᱟ ᱠᱚ ᱫᱚ ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱᱟᱨ ᱠᱚ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱵᱷᱟᱵᱱᱟ ᱟᱨ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱠᱟᱢᱤ ᱡᱷᱟᱞᱠᱟᱣ ᱠᱚ᱾ Once Upon a Rabbit ᱢᱩᱬᱩᱛ ᱠᱟᱹᱢᱤ: ᱮᱱᱤᱢᱮᱴᱮᱰ ᱠᱟᱴᱤᱡ ᱫᱚ ᱠᱚᱞᱟ, ᱣᱤᱜᱭᱟᱱ, ᱰᱤᱡᱟᱭᱤᱱ ᱟᱨ ᱴᱮᱠᱱᱚᱞᱚᱡᱤ ᱨᱮᱭᱟᱜ ᱥᱤᱢᱟ ᱵᱟᱲᱦᱟᱣ ᱟᱨ ᱫᱩᱱᱤᱭᱟ ᱵᱷᱟᱞᱟᱭ ᱞᱟᱹᱜᱤᱫ ᱜᱚᱲᱚ ᱮᱢ ᱠᱟᱱᱟ᱾
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]
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