Back to worksMotion Playground
Overview
Motion Playground is a self-initiated character animation project built around a simple question: how much personality can movement give to a basic shape?Project typePersonal project
FieldMotion Design
Year2026
ToolsAfter Effects, Illustrator
FROM DRAWING TO MOVEMENT
I developed the project from a blank page, moving through illustration, storyboarding, rigging and animation. Working independently gave me room to test different behaviours and refine the relationship between a character’s shape and the way it moves. Timing, spacing and transitions became the tools for giving each design its own energy.
Four characters, four rhythms
The animation studies bring the cast together through contrasting gestures and reactions. A bounce, a change of pace or a brief pause can shift the character’s mood. The gallery shows the original designs and selected scenes; the final film brings those individual performances into one sequence.
From the sketch to the screen
Every character started as a rough sketch on paper: a few lines to find the shape, the posture and the attitude. From there I rebuilt them as simple shapes and brought them to life in After Effects, testing how timing and small movements could change their personality.
Credits
Animation: Samuele Barbieri
