Behind the Design: Aliens in the Yard

My pets are a big source of inspiration for me. If I see them doing something or just being adorable, I really try to film them to see if I can eventually turn the footage into something unique.

Then one day after a discussion about an alien invasion, I started to doodle on my iPad and this is what my brain decided it was going to draw.

That little blue dog ended up being the key…

I decided to make a UFO using Procreate. I find it a bit more intuitive to draw with than Photoshop when I’m working on certain illustrations. I also created a background scene that is much larger than is actually shown. What I also love about Procreate is that the files can be imported as Photoshop files with layers. That way in After Effects I could blur the background pieces individually to create even more depth.

Time to Animate!

I was not graced with steady hands, so this footage was quite shaky even though it was essentially a still shot. After using the Warp Stabilizer the footage was much easier to work with. I used Roto for the windows, so I would have a new illustrated background.

Although I wanted this to have a distinct contrast between illustration and live footage, I did some compositing to match lighting and shadows to make the scene more cohesive.