Howest Christmas Card
Clients
Howest
Services
PROJECT
DETAILS
Howest is one of Belgium's leading universities of applied sciences. In 2023 they reached out to create their annual animated Christmas card for social media, employees and students. As a Howest DEVINE alumni, getting this call was a full circle moment. They came to me for a specific style they had seen in my work and gave me creative freedom to make it happen, with one condition: no photos, faux 3D elements welcome, abstraction encouraged.
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2, https://vz-2f7b0269-e87.b-cdn.net/b52f69ff-2de4-4e64-86ea-0233c521899e/playlist.m3u8, https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/69a817443644943f444ef21d/69ccc4489f17a78330497b5f_Howest_GeanimeerdeKerstkaart_Loop_2_Image.png
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4, https://vz-2f7b0269-e87.b-cdn.net/2a1c6c7e-6db0-4b7b-b547-85086376fdbd/playlist.m3u8, https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/69a817443644943f444ef21d/6a180baeeee56f95d926b475_1080x1080_Character%20design.png
DESIGN
PROCESS
After presenting three distinct concepts, we moved forward with my personal favorite: a character animation driven approach. To nail the visual direction I built a moodboard that matched the happy, proud energy of Howest while staying true to my style. Styleframes followed, and once the look and feel was locked in, production moved quickly.
One technical challenge stood out. The animation needed to work in both landscape and portrait format without resizing or duplicating the work. My solution was to animate everything in a 3840x3840 format, large enough that both a 16:9 and a 9:16 crop fit perfectly inside the frame. No quality loss, no extra costs, no compromise.
The hardest creative challenge was finding a seamless way to connect the abstract world of shapes to the animated character. It required the most iteration of the entire project but set the stage for what became the most satisfying moment in the final animation.
Programs
The character animation was rig-based, built on a foundation of carefully drawn key poses. Only when every pose felt right did I move into inbetweens and smooth the motion out. That order of operations matters: get the storytelling right first, then make it flow.
The project ran over 2 to 3 weeks including feedback rounds that genuinely shaped the final result. Good feedback at the right moment is worth more than a perfect first draft.
But the moment I'm most proud of is the transition where abstract 3D shapes form into the character. It was the biggest creative risk of the project and it worked better than I had imagined. That transition, combined with the character design itself, is what makes this one stick with me.
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3, https://vz-2f7b0269-e87.b-cdn.net/d5cfe1f6-ae09-408a-92d6-6d01278cc5f8/playlist.m3u8, https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/69a817443644943f444ef21d/69ccca2abdc73648b0cf49d4_FrameAnimation_BTS_Image.png
4, https://vz-2f7b0269-e87.b-cdn.net/8e7a4fad-b66c-4914-a00a-47a9ed734003/playlist.m3u8, https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/69a817443644943f444ef21d/69ccca294ea4b487d7f5a1f3_Howest_CharacterAnimation_Image.png
Ready to bring
Your Story
Into Motion?
Let's make something worth remembering. Whether you have a fully developed brief or just a vague idea, I'm always up for a good conversation. Drop me a message and let's see where it goes.
Let's Talk
