Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award in Ifilimu Competition Category.

IbhulonziIfilimu· 2026

Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short

by Jesseter Wang and Hannah Sun

Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award Winner in Ifilimu 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 I-Animated Short

U-Once Upon a Rabbit uyiphrojekthi yokudweba enyakazayo egqugquzelwe imininingwane yamasiko yoMkhosi weLantern kanye nezinkumbulo zokubuka zobuntwana. Umsebenzi usungula ulimi lokubuka oluthambile, oluvezayo ngokuxuba isimo esinamathoni kanye nomuzwa wokudweba ngesandla, kudala izithombe ezizwakala zihlelekile futhi zidlala. Izimpawu eziphindaphindekayo ezifana nonogwaja kanye ne-Tangyuan, amabhola erayisi, zisetshenziswa njengezimpawu zokubuka, kuyilapho ukunyakaza, isigqi, kanye nokuhlanganiswa kugcizelela umoya kanye nokuqhubeka, okuholela kokuhlangene kokuhlangene komklamo osuselwa ekufudumaleni, ekujwayelekeni, kanye nokuzwakala kwesiko.

The Recognition

About the Umklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award

Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short iwinile uMklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award, ukwaziswa okuhloniphekile kakhulu okunikezwa imiklamo ephawulekayo eyehlukaniswa ukudala, ubuhlakani nobukhali bengqondo. Abawinile beBhulonzi yimisebenzi enobuchule obukhulu nedala ngokumangalisayo eqinisekisa isipiliyoni esibanzi, umcabango nobuhlakani babaklami babo. Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short ilindeleke ukuba ibe yinto exatshwa kakhulu, edunyiswayo nethandwayo, enobungcweti obuphawulekayo nezinto ezintsha. Lo mklamo owinile uMklomelo Webhulonzi we-A' Design Award uhlanganisa izindlela ezinhle kakhulu ebuciko, esayensi, ekuklameni nasebuchwepheshe futhi uhamba phambili ngenxa yokunaka kwawo imininingwane. Once Upon a Rabbit I-Animated Short iyanelisa izidingo ngokumangalisayo, ithinta izifiso, iheha imizwa futhi ikhanga ukufuna ukwazi.

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]