Project

SLUMBERLAND- Main on End Title 21-25

Crafting a World Between Dreams and Reality

Info

Slumberland, an epic fantasy on Netflix inspired by Winsor McCay’s classic comic strip. Young Nemo (Marlow Barkley) and a daring outlaw (Jason Momoa) traverse surreal dreamscapes in search of adventure and wonder. 

Guided by an antique map, we embark on a surreal journey through infinite doors, lush jungles, and seas of wonder. Inspired by McCay’s illustrations, we crafted intricate laser-cut dioramas, pop-up sculptures, and magic lanterns, immersing audiences in a dreamscape where shifting landscapes morph seamlessly, turning doors into portals and shadows into living figures, making dreams take flight.

Role

Art DIRECTION
CONCEPT DEVELOPING

Design
R&D
Motion

Client

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creative director: karin fong art director: henry chang designers/animators: alex rupert, russ gautier, jesse jones designers: rob slychuk, kathy liang illustrators: lindsey mayer-beug, daae kim, ella lee animator: merrill hall editor: lexi gunvaldson design interns: alan jiang, wei chung, joie sui, christian arnsparger storyboard artist: tyler gibb senior producer: nicky maser coordinator: megan catoe

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Bringing Dreams to Life:
The Art and Process

Collaborating closely with Director Francis Lawrence, we meticulously refined each design phase to achieve the dreamlike wonder woven throughout Nemo’s journey. Let me take you through each of our journey!

↓ Initial Design

We began with vibrant, full-color illustrations in a style reminiscent of classic children's book dioramas, trying to capture the whimsical and storybook-like essence of the story. 

↓ Refining the Vision

After several rounds of design, we realized that the illustrations felt too busy and were not achieving the dreamlike aesthetic we envisioned. Examining the structure of the paper dioramas in hand, we decided to simplify the visuals by removing the illustrations and focusing on the elegance of paper-cut art.

↓ Elevating the Craft

After a round of research, we realized that adding more detail to our characters was essential in defining their shapes. We redesigned our scenes and characters with carefully crafted details and silhouettes to enhance their visual impact. 

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↓ Early Designs

I then developed these early shot compositions to shape key moments, refining the visual tone and atmosphere of the piece. 

↓ Math Is Everything!

Knowing how crazy it would be for our animator to keyframe each building for the unfolding city. I even called up my college roommate, Vinok Wu—Applied Mathematics whiz— to help me crack the code on building the unfolding city rig in CG. With his number-crunching magic and my Xpresso script, we turned equations into a automated dreamscape! 

Here's the finished Xpresso setup if you ever need some unfolding card animation!

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↓ Crafting a Seamless Journey

To enhance Slumberland’s dreamlike essence, we developed a continuous camera move that seamlessly wove through scenes, fluidly transitioning between moments, gliding through portals, and bending space with an ethereal rhythm.

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You can also contact me at:
henrythechang@gmail.com

 

Henry Chang - 張亨利
henrythechang@gmail.com
+1 (912) 401-3305

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All Rights Reserved By @henrythechang.