Aquarium animation in Adobe After Effects

This is an animation that I created with the software Adobe After Effects. This was a lot of fun to make. The animation was done by using regular .jpg images and taking them to photoshop. Once in photoshop, I isolated the body parts I wanted to move and put them in separate layers. I then brought the .psd file to Adobe After effects and used the 'puppet tool' feature and placed points along the areas I wanted to move and started dragging the points to create movement.


Untitled from Maria Senkel on Vimeo.

Finished Animation - Grumpy Birds

Here is my finished animation. It is a story of three grumpy birds whose sleep was disturbed by a bumble bee. They didn't like that so it did not go too well for the bee. The radical ending was, of course, suggested by my husband...lol. Oh well, it happens.

Here are some pictures of how this film was made:

This picture shows the stage. I used what is called a green screen (cloth) to make it easy to remove the background digitally and put any kind of background I wanted.

Here is another view. You can see the tripod I used to place the camera on.

Here are the different eyelids I had to make for each bird to show them opening and closing their eyes.
I also did the sign and some of the bee parts which are used at the end of the film. This was all done in sculpey clay.

I put all the photographs together (more than 80 pictures) and added sound and then I edited the film using the software 'Adobe After Effects'.

Unfinished - Clay Animation (first try)

Here is part of the film prior to editing. A rough draft.

Traditional Animation - Practice

Practicing some of the concepts of traditional animation. I wish the quality of the video was better. Oh well, next time.

The Blue Pansies Fairy Finished!

The Blue Pansy Fairy

Starting the fifth watercolor in a series of watercolor flower fairies.

Update - Japanese Iris Fairy Sculpture

 **More progress to report on this sculpture. Every time I think the next piece is going to be easier than the previous one, I prove myself wrong. This one is a challenge indeed but I am getting some good practice with sculpting a small scale face. I hope to start working on the hair and wings next.


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This is another one of the watercolor fairies that I am trying to recreate in a 3D format. The first one I did was the 'Trumpet Flower Fairy' and this is the second in the series called the 'Japanese Iris Fairy'.

This time, I am trying to plan better the wire structure of the fairy. I find myself always improvising as I do the sculpture. I think it is a good idea to plan it first so I can refine the process and make more robust wireframes.  With that in mind, I started doing some drawings showing how I envisioned the wireframe and all the supporting and removable structures on this sculpture would look.

One area where I always seem to have issues is the wings. This time, I want to plan this process better. The wings in this case are removable because that will allow me to sculpt the back of the fairy and also the wings better.

Above, I started with a piece of wire and did the right side of the figure. I then start twisting the wire with the drill as shown below. I do the same with the other side of the figure. I mark with tape the knee joints so I know where to bend when I need to.

Below is the unfinished wireframe. Next to it is a rough of the wire bent to take the shape of the fairy siting on the rock. In the back, two small pieces of tubing were used to hold the wings as planned.

Below shows another 2 pieces of tubing used around the shoulders which will be holding the removable arms. Certain areas of the sculpture are further reinforced with plumbers epoxy putty.

This is how far I've gotten with this piece. I will post again as I progress.

The Slipper Orchid Fairy - finished

I finally completed the Slipper Orchid Fairy in watercolor.

Some additional progress on the Slipper Orchid Fairy

Here is some additional progress on the Slipper Orchid Fairy.

Working on The Slipper Orchid Fairy

Currently working on the fourth in a series of watercolor fairies. This one is called the 'Slipper Orchid' fairy and it is named after this beautiful exotic flower.

Surrender - My Illo for this week's Illustration Friday

Surrender or else!

The Rose Fairy

This painting is the third piece in the series of 'flower fairies' in watercolor.