Animation 2D | Liminal Fields

This piece was exhibited at the Moscow Contemporary Art Gallery during their Timescapes(s) exhibition.

This project was a joy to work on. It was hand-painted using Krita's powerful RGBA brush engine, with the motion graphics animated in After Effects. Frame-by-frame animation was done in Krita, and color correction was done in Premiere. This piece was an immersive journey of discovery in color, time, and emotion.

At its core, it was a love letter to my hometown, the city of Moscow, ID. It was a time when news coverage dissected my community while it recovered from tragedy, and we found ourselves trapped in a 24-hour news cycle for several reasons.

Moscow is a unique place, located squarely in North Idaho. It is undeniably a part of middle America, yet it is also a university town with an international edge and west coast aspirations. It is cool, but too safe to be hip. Stolen and plowed over, the land itself has a complex history, with layers of meaning and memory. The cross-sections give Moscow a unique grounded quality, with a naivety and innocence of how things actually are—both outside of Moscow and within it.

In truth, I can't say exactly what Moscow is, or how to describe it. It is a deceptively big idea for a small place.

With 'Liminal Fields', I wanted to capture the small-town feeling Moscow gives me. The rolling hills in late winter give the space a transitional feeling, which makes me feel like I am not quite sure what I am. It is both uneasy in its uncertainty and soothing in its emptiness. The feeling nurtures transformation, readying a new self for the challenge of a new year. It is a place and feeling that could be anywhere, anything, or nothing at all.

Tools and Skills:

After Effects Motion Graphics | Krita Frame-By-Frame Animation | Krita Digital Painting | Premiere Color Correction | Video Editing