Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Abaalmarinta Naxaasta ah ee A' Design Award in Naqshadeynta Filimka, Fiidiyowga iyo Kartamada Competition Category.

NaxaasFilim· 2026

Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon

by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Abaalmarinta Naxaasta ah ee A' Design Award Winner in Filim Category

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The Design

About Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon

Qoraalka Buugga: Once Upon a Rabbit waa mashruuc naqshadeed oo firfircoon oo dhiirrigelin ka helay faahfaahinta dhaqameed ee Bandhigga Nalalka iyo xusuusta muuqaalka carruurnimada. Shaqadan waxay dhistaa luqad muuqaal oo jilicsan, muujineed iyada oo la isugu daray qaab saddex-cabbir ah iyo dareen gacanta lagu sawiray, iyada oo abuuraysa sawirro dareen naga siinaya inay yihiin kuwo qaab leh iyo kuwo madadaalo leh labadaba. Astaamo soo noqnoqda sida bakayle iyo Tangyuan, oo ah kubbadaha bariiska, ayaa loo isticmaalaa sidii barooyin muuqaal, halka dhaqdhaqaaqa, laxanka, iyo qaabaynta ay xoojiyaan jawiga iyo joogtaynta, taasoo keentay khibrad naqshadeed oo isku dhafan oo ku salaysan diirimaad, aqoonsi, iyo dhawaaq dhaqameed.

The Recognition

About the Abaalmarinta Naxaasta ah ee A' Design Award

Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon waa guuleystaha Abaalmarinta Naxaasta ah ee A' Design Award, aqoonsi sharaf sare leh oo la siiyo naqshado aan caadi ahayn oo lagu garto hal-abuur, hal-abuur cusub iyo caqli. Guuleystayaasha Naxaasta waa shaqooyin xirfad buuxda leh iyo hal-abuur yaab leh oo xaqiijiya khibrad weyn, male-awaal iyo kartida naqshadeeyayaashooda. Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon waa walax la filayo inay noqoto mid aad loo tixgeliyo, la ixtiraamo oo la jecel yahay, xirfad cad leh oo hal-abuur cusub leh. Naqshadahan ku guuleystay Abaalmarinta Naxaasta ah ee A' Design Award wuxuu ku darsadaa hab-dhaqanno ugu wanaagsan farshaxanka, sayniska, naqshadaynta iyo tignoolajiyada wuxuuna ku fiican yahay dhawrista tafaasiisha. Once Upon a Rabbit Shaqada Aasaasiga ah: Filim Gaaban oo Firfircoon si fiican ayay u buuxisaa baahiyaha, taabataa rabitaannada, soo jiidataa dareenka kicinayaanna xiisaha aqoonta.

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]