LUAN - Stories Before Answers

Transforming Personal Narratives into Animated Expressions

Luan Emotional Museum in Mexico City is a space for creative expression and storytelling.

Stories Before Answers was an initiative inviting individuals to share personal narratives about objects that held deep emotional meaning. These stories were transformed into two animated short films, visually exploring the emotional connections people form with everyday items.
How was I involved?
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- Character Rigging – Designed expressive rigs to enhance movement and emotional depth.
- Illustration Conversion – Adapted static raster artwork for smooth 2D animation.
- 2D Animation – Focused on character-driven storytelling to emphasize emotional impact.
- 3D Modeling & Animation – Created simple 3D assets to integrate with the 2D environment.

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Client: Luan - Emotional Museum
Illustrations: David "El Dee" Espinosa / @el.dee

Overview

Background
I was invited to collaborate in this project by my good friend and very talented illustrator David "El Dee" Espinosa. First assisting with a teaser and later taking full responsibility for animating both final videos.
Challenges
Racing Against the Clock
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A major challenge arose when the original animator dropped out unexpectedly, leaving no assets behind. With only two weeks until the exhibition, all animation had to be built from scratch. To meet the deadline, I streamlined the workflow, focusing on efficiency without sacrificing quality.

Adapting Non-Animation-Ready Illustrations

The provided artwork was detailed but not designed for animation. Many elements had to be restructured to allow fluid character movement. I retraced and refined the illustrations, ensuring consistency and flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the original artwork.
A Teaser That Flows Like Jazz
The teaser video, a promotional piece inviting people to submit their stories, was a minimalist animation using simple shapes and text. Thanks to well-organized Illustrator files, transitioning between elements felt organic, creating a fluid and engaging experience.To maintain readability and engagement:

To maintain readability and engagement:
- Snappy Transitions – Kept transitions under 1.5 seconds, using overlapping movement for seamless flow.

- Pacing Strategy – Ensured scenes remained visible for 6–7 seconds to balance clarity and engagement.

- Music Syncing – Selected an upbeat jazz track that enhanced the rhythm of the transitions.

The result was a dynamic and inviting video that set the tone for the project.
Bringing Characters to Life
For the two final animations, expressiveness was key. Since the goal was to showcase emotions tied to personal objects, every movement had to feel intentional and natural.

Breaking the Rig: A Shape-Driven Approach

Rather than using traditional After Effects rigging tools like Duik, I animated characters using shape layers.
This technique allowed:

- More fluid and natural movement.
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- The ability to morph limbs and features dynamically.
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- A style closer to frame-by-frame animation without extensive manual redrawing.

Since the characters needed to be highly expressive, I relied on path animation to refine facial expressions and limb movements frame by frame. This approach made it possible to animate nuanced gestures, such as a subtle hesitation in a hand movement or a gradual shift in posture, reinforcing the emotional tone of each scene.

For the Man in the Radio video, I developed a shape-layer-based 360-degree head turn, using time remapping for fast and effective direction changes without complex controls. This allowed the character to maintain fluidity in motion while reacting naturally to dialogue and environmental changes.
Thanks for watching!
Project Credits — Project Management – David "El Dee" Espinosa + Storyboarding & Illustration – David "El Dee" Espinosa+ Animation – Rodrigo Serna + Character Rigging – Rodrigo Serna + 3D – Rodrigo Serna