Story about my grandma and her garden. It is also a gift for her 77th birthday.
Fri Oct 15 2021
About My Project
I created My Grandma’s Garden as a heartfelt 2D animation to celebrate my grandmother’s 77th birthday. This project is deeply personal, telling the story of my grandma’s love for flowers and her journey to bring color to a gray city after moving from her village. As a motion media designer, I chose to narrate the story from my perspective as a child, using a whimsical, colorful aesthetic to capture the magic I saw in her gardening. Crafted in Cinema 4D, this animation is my gift to her, reflecting her resilience and the joy she brings to my life through her flowers.
My Conceptual Framework
I wanted this animation to feel like a memory from my childhood, full of wonder and warmth. It’s about transformation—how my grandma turned a dull city balcony into a vibrant garden, and how her love for flowers changed the way I saw the world. The key ideas driving my design are:
- My Child’s Perspective: I imagined myself as a kid, seeing my grandma’s gardening as a magical act. I used exaggerated shapes, playful movements, and bright colors to make everything feel larger-than-life, like a fairy tale.
- My Grandma’s Strength: I wanted to show how my grandma overcame challenges—like the city’s grayness, pesky birds, and harsh sun—to grow her flowers, reflecting her determination and love.
- Nature vs. City: I contrasted the lively village garden with the stark city to highlight how my grandma brought beauty to a tough environment.
- Emotional Tone: I aimed for a warm, nostalgic, and uplifting vibe, making this a tribute to my grandma that feels personal yet relatable to anyone who loves family and nature.
I chose a third-person narrative (voiced by a child version of myself) to keep the storytelling intimate, with my script guiding the emotional flow. The colorful palette reflects how I saw the world as a kid—full of hope and vibrancy.
Storyboard
The animation tells the story of my grandma’s garden. Back in her village, she had a huge garden bursting with flowers, but after I was born, she moved to the city, where gray buildings replaced her green paradise. Not giving up, she started planting flowers in pots on her balcony, facing challenges like curious birds and scorching sun. With her care, the balcony bloomed, and a single white flower marked her triumph over the “gray forest.” My child’s voice narrates this journey, celebrating how she brought color and life to the city.My Visual and Technical Approach:
- Animation Style: I used Cinema 4D to create a 2D animation with a flat, illustrative look, inspired by my love for 2D noisepoint illustration style. The child’s perspective shapes a whimsical aesthetic—bold outlines, soft textures, and playful movements. Cinema 4D lets me add dynamic camera angles and smooth transitions while keeping the handcrafted feel I love.
- Visual Motifs:
- Village Garden: I envisioned the garden as a colorful, oversized wonderland, with giant sunflowers and daisies swaying in golden light. It’s how I remember it as a kid—vibrant greens, pinks, and yellows full of life.
- Gray City: I depicted the city as a “gray forest” of sharp, angular buildings in muted grays and blues, contrasting the organic garden. The balcony starts bare to show the challenge my grandma faced.
- Flowerpots and Growth: I designed quirky, hand-painted flowerpots, each unique to feel personal. Green buds pop up with a playful bounce, growing into flowers, with a glowing white flower as the centerpiece of hope.
- Obstacles: I made the birds cartoonish, with big beaks and curious expressions, pecking playfully. The sun is a mischievous orb casting harsh rays. I showed my grandma’s protection with gentle, glowing hands shielding the buds.
- Transformation: I transformed the balcony into a colorful oasis, with flowers spilling over pots and vines softening the railings, turning the gray city into something alive.
- Color Palette: I chose a bright, cheerful palette—vivid greens, pinks, yellows, and reds for the flowers, against grays and blues for the city. The white flower glows softly at the end, symbolizing purity and victory.
- Motion and Rhythm: I used smooth, flowing movements for the garden and flowers, with bouncy animations for buds and birds to keep it playful. Dynamic camera moves—like zooming into buds or panning across the balcony—mimic my childhood curiosity. Transitions are soft, like petals opening, to keep the pace gentle.
- Duration: I planned the animation for 90–120 seconds, giving enough time to tell the story while keeping it lively for my grandma’s birthday gift.
Sound Design
I crafted the soundscape to match the animation’s warmth and whimsy, enhancing the child’s perspective:
- Voiceover: I used a child’s voice (representing me) to deliver the script with excitement and wonder, emphasizing lines like “biiiig garden” and “gray forest” with playful energy. I ensured the recording feels natural and heartfelt.
- Music: I chose a light, acoustic score with ukulele or glockenspiel for a nostalgic, uplifting feel. Soft strings or piano notes highlight emotional moments, like the white flower blooming.
Voiceover Script
IntegrationI timed the visuals to match my script, bringing the story to life:
- “My grandma has a biiiig garden. She likes flowers.”: I opened with a sweeping view of the vibrant village garden, flowers swaying as my grandma tends them with a smile.
- “After I was born, my grandma moved to the city. There are gray buildings everywhere.”: I transitioned to the stark city, with towering gray buildings and an empty balcony.
- “Grandma said: ‘what a gray forest! I wish I could do something for it!’”: I showed my grandma on the balcony, looking determined, as the camera pans across the city.
- “Then she got lots of flowerpots: ‘I’m going to put some magic on them now!’”: I animated colorful flowerpots appearing, with my grandma arranging them, her hands glowing to suggest “magic.”
- “A few days later, small green buds appeared in the flowerpot.”: I made buds sprout with a bouncy “pop” motion, full of energy.
- “The bird tried to peck them. The sun tried to dry them. But my grandma protected them!”: I depicted cartoonish birds swooping and a glowing sun casting rays, with my grandma’s hands shielding the buds like a gentle barrier.
- “One day, a white flower was blooming on the balcony! ‘Here is not the grey forest anymore!’”: I animated a radiant white flower blooming, the balcony transforming into a colorful oasis. The camera pulls back to show vines softening the city, with my grandma smiling proudly.
Styleframes