BACKGROUNDS + VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

TWO LEAFS

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Two Leafs Animated Shorts

The Trials of filmmaking

fish bowl

The manor teaser

As it grows

the trials of filmmaking (2024)

ANIMATED SHORT

The Trials of Filmmaking is an animated short depicting the pre-production struggle of animation filmmaking.

Credits: Visual Development, Background Layout Artist, Background Painter, Title Card/Credit Screen Animator.

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

LIGHTING

I wanted to challenge myself with lighting in an after dark, multiple location setting. I started off establishing lines and painting flats before exploring different ways to express lighting from ONE distinct, on-screen light source. In this example, it was the open laptop.

I would go in and apply the same formula to nearly every background.

ToF BG 1 Color draft (1) — COLOR DRAFT 2

ToF BG 1 Light Draft (1) — LIGHT DRAFT 1

ToF BG 1 Light Draft (4) — LIGHT DRAFT 2

ToF BG 1 Light Draft (2) — LIGHT DRAFT 3

CONCEPTS

THOSE WHO DIDN’T MAKE THE FINAL CUT VS. THOSE THAT DID

Close up of a desk with a bowl of popcorn, a box of chocolate bites and a nearly full bubble tea. The background is a green wall. — CONCEPT

Close up of a desk with a bag of chips and a nearly full bubble tea. Behind is an open laptop. The background is a green wall. — FINAL

BACKGROUNDS

A rough color sketch of a dark wall with a portrait frame hanging in the middle. A door is open to the left so bright blue light is cast against the wall and frame creating bright highlights. — DRAFT → FINAL

A final draft of a dark wall with a portrait frame hanging in the middle. A door is open to the left so bright blue light is cast against the wall and frame creating bright yet subtle highlights. — DRAFT → FINAL

Color draft for a background that features a large desk. The main view is the tabletop with a tea cup in the far left corner and an ipad to the right. Behind the desk, someone is reading a romance novel. The bookmark is placed at the edge of the paper. — DRAFT → FINAL

Final draft of the desk background. The main view is the tabletop with a tea cup in the closest left corner, a box of tissues in the middle and an ipad to the right. Behind the desk, someone is reading a romance novel. The bookmark is placed at the edge of the paper. — DRAFT → FINAL

A rough color draft of an interior of a warm, green colored room. In the center is a block desk with a girl sitting on a yoga ball behind it. On the desk is a salt rock lamp and a tablet with a pen on top. A scrap of paper is placed on the table and a cup of tea sits in front of it. Soft gradients of yellow light emanate from the salt rock lamp. — DRAFT → FINAL

A final draft of an interior of a warm, green colored room. In the center is a block desk with a yoga ball behind and under it. On the desk is a salt rock lamp and a tablet with a pen on top next to it. A scrap of paper is placed on the table and a cup of tea and a box of tissues sits in front of it. Soft gradients of yellow light emanate from the salt rock lamp. And besides the desk to the left is a step stool. To the right of the desk is a trash bin that's nearly transparent. — DRAFT → FINAL

The rough draft of the close-up of the block desk. Besides the desk is a half-filled wired waste basket. A blue yoga ball is cut off as we see the right side of the block desk. On top of the desk is a salt rock lamp. The background is a flat gradient of yellows to sage green. — DRAFT → FINAL

The final version of the close-up of the block desk. Besides the desk is a half-filled wired waste basket. A blue yoga ball is cut off as we see the right side of the block desk. On top of the desk is a salt rock lamp. The background is a flat gradient of yellows to sage green. — DRAFT → FINAL

A rough color draft for the 9th background. It features a dark hallway with a door opened in the middle revealing a warm purple room. The door is opened by a tall individual and in front of the door are two small figures holding up a piece of paper. On either side of the hall are two light sources. On the left is a warm toned light cast against the floor and revealing a staircase railing. On the right is a cool blue light emanating from another room. — DRAFT → FINAL

The final version for the 9th background. It features a dark hallway with a door closed with bright fuchsia light crowning the door. On either side of the hall are two light sources. On the left is a warm toned light cast against the floor and revealing a staircase railing leading downstairs. On the right is a cool blue light emanating from another room. — DRAFT → FINAL

Title Card for the short animated film "Fish Bowl." Against a backdrop of green, a child's drawing of a goldfish is taped down to the background as if it were a wall.

Fish Bowl (2023)

ANIMATED SHORT

Written and Directed by Nayely Santos, Fish Bowl is an animated short about the trials of a goldfish who finds themselves the target of amusement for a devious child.

Credits: Visual Development, Background Layout Artist, Background Painter, and Colorist.

Awards: “The Clark Bar” (Shortest Short Award) – UNLV SPRING FLICKS 2023

Watch Fish Bowl →

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

The Goldfish

Character sheet for a goldfish. Displayed are the colors for the fish, the bowl it lives in and the background color.

The visual development of the look of the goldfish and its fishbowl. The table now established, all that's left in the four boxes are four variations in shading the highlights and water.

THE CHILD

The color character sheet for the devious child from the animated short "Fish Bowl."

Visual development for the Devious Child from the short film "Fish Bowl." The picture shows the various ways to color and outline her curly hair.

BACKGROUNDS

Lines

The linework for the establishing background for short film "Fish Bowl." The picture depicts a living room with a recliner in the left corner, long curtains next to it and a decorative stand which holds a fish bowl. In the foreground of the drawing is a table with a child's tea set and candy wrappers laying about.

Final

The colored version of the establishing background for short film "Fish Bowl." The picture depicts a living room with a recliner in the left corner, long curtains next to it and a decorative table which holds a fish bowl. In the foreground of the picture is a table with a child's tea set and candy wrappers laying about.

The manor

(Teaser Trailer)

Co-directed and produced by Erika Mariah Santos and Nayely Santos, The Manor (Teaser Trailer) is an introduction to the animated short film with an Undecided Title. Release date for the short is TBD.

Credits: Background Layout Artist, Background Painter, Animator

Watch The Manor (teaser trailer) →

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

The first draft for the Garden Background. It features a solitary round birdbath with an ivy wall as a backdrop. — Concept 1

The second concept for the Garden background. It features a scalloped edged birdbath with a bird at the edge. A willow tree hangs over it and in the background a wall is covered with ivy. A door can be found to the right of the door. — concept 2

The Manor House Reflection

The unofficial, official version of the manor's reflection. It features what the manor house looks like under the reflection of the water in the birdbath. — final Concept

The lines for the final draft of the Manor house. It features the linework of Victorian style manor with ivy crawling up its walls. — lines

The flat coloring and initial shadows for the Manor House concept. It features a Victorian styled house with ivy growing on the walls of the main turret and on its most adjacent walls. — flats

The full rendered version of the Manor House. It features the flats now fully rendered with shadows and light. Highlights from the warm sunrise are shown reflected in the windows and on the green ivy crawling on its Victorian styled structure. — Final

BACKGROUNDS

Main Background for short teaser trailer, "The Manor." A fully rendered landscape that features an empty birdbath. A willow tree's branches hover above the bath and behind the bath is an overgrown garden. The soft warm light of the early morning create warm highlights over everything.

The official color draft for the Garden background. It features a color scheme most similar to the final product. A birdbath in the foreground is filled with clear water. In the back, luscious overgrown greenery is basked in the morning rays.

The foreground line work that feature the birdbath, the weeping willow's branches and leaves and the overgrown weeds.

The background lines that feature the overgrown grass, four overgrown bushes and a wall with green ivy draped over it.

The flats for the line work. Everything is pretty 2D, no render.

The first round of rendering which include deep shadows and shape for the background bushes. The birdbath has more dimension and the final flat coloring for the weeping willow's leaves are set.

A gif of the title card for short film "As It Grows." Under the title states "A short film by Nayely Santos and Erika Santos. Above the title is a small animation of the four steps of growth for a small seed.

As It Grows (2020)

animated short

Co-directed and produced as a student film by Nayely Santos and Erika Mariah Santos, “As It Grows” is a slice of life animated short. The story follows a little gardener who stumbles upon a plum seed, and with the help of her grandmother, she plants it and tends to it as it grows.

Credits: writer, director, visual development, storyboard, background layout artist, background painter, animator, and colorist.

Awards: NATAS-PSW Emmy Award Winner (2021) for Student Craft – Animation/Graphics/Special Effects

Watch As It Grows →

VISUAL DEVELOPMENT

Nana’s Garden

The setting of the short film takes place in a garden inspired by our own grandmother’s home and garden. Inspired by Mexican architecture and plants found within Mexico’s tropical yet dry climate, we opted for more traditional plants we often see in our trips to Mexico such as nopales, tomatoes, oranges, etc.

A front view and side view for an illustrated tomato plant on a stake. — Tomato Plant

Concept art for an orange tree. On the left is a close up version of an orange and on the right of it is an illustration of an orange tree. — orange tree

Early draft of the layout for Nana's Garden. It would be the base for the establishing shot. It features an early draft of the house to the right with the chicken coop at the far left. A plum tree is hanging over left wall with tomato plants right in front of the wall. — Concept 1

A sideview of Nana's Garden for the animated short "As It Grows." It features a rectangular wall with planters running up the wall on the left with two large planter pots under them. A large paned window stands in the middle of the house with a standing herb planter. A hose stands to the right of it with a low wall and fence after that. In the foreground is a small plant. — Side View

Concept art for the visual development of Nana's Garden. It features a concept for the house, its window and the exterior garden. The chicken's coop is in its first version with a slanted roof. The cactus are to the right of it. The bed for the tomatoes is empty, and a faint impression of where a plum tree hangs over the left wall is roughly sketched. — Layout + Color Draft

Concept art for Nana's Garden. Rough coloring for the orange walls with a bright green plum tree hanging over the left wall. Concept 2 for the chicken coop is placed in the left upper corner and in front of it is a tomato planter with six tomato plants. In the foreground is the plum plant the main character is growing. — Concept 2

A concept layout for Nana's Garden. It features a pink squared house with a flat roof. To the left and in an L shape in the back is a garden. At the far left corner of the lot is a chicken coop, to the right of it are cactuses and orange trees. In front of the coop is a bed of tomato plants. — House + Garden Layout

The Plum Plant

In the timelapse, the viewer is given a glimpse of the development of the plum seed undergrown before it sprouts above ground. In a sense, we as the viewers are meant to also watch as it grows.