Animation
Cadence of Empires
The passing of the seasons is one of the most beautiful parts of nature, and it has always been used metaphorically for changing or the passing of time.
The Concept
Every designer has faced the prompt of illustrating the four seasons before. The challenge is to create something new. The changing seasons symbolize the stages of an empire, from the rise in morning spring to the total collapse in a night-scaped winter.
The Process
The colours were inspired by the seasons themselves and the sun's movement adds to symbolism of an empire coming to an end. Inspiration was also taken from Studio Ghibli works, seen in the illustrative differences between the background and the foreground.
The images were originally hand rendered, then brought into Adobe Illustrator. These files were later brought into Adobe Aftereffects to create an animation.
The Solution
The animation moves through the seasons, slowly lowering the island as time passes. This helps illustrate the rise and fall of the empire, especially as pieces start to crumble off the towers. The light also changes throughout the composition, adding a layer of symbolism through the progression from sunrise to nightfall.
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