New Creative Design

Original series · not a client project

Colour Collector

Every episode, one small moment of joy turns JUJU a colour no real chameleon could ever be.

  • WhatAn original animated shorts series for social: positive, funny, made to be shared
  • CastTAVI, endlessly delighted, and JUJU, his palm-sized chameleon
  • DeliveredEp 01 Sandwich Thief · Ep 02 Dawn Duet · Ep 03 First Rain
  • In productionEp 04 The Wave, 3D previz locked
  • Our roleConcept, character and world design, script, storyboard, 3D previz and camera, animation direction, sound direction, finishing

15 s episodes9:16 verticalStylized 3DDesigned sound, no dialogue

01The brief and the idea

Gratitude, made visible and collectible.

The brief: a series people want to watch twice. Positive, funny and made to be shared, 15 seconds at a time. One lovable lead with a pet sidekick, a new place every episode from the quietest moments to the most adrenaline-filled, and the craft of hand-made animated films: the smallest details, wind in everything, time to breathe. Each viewer should leave a little more grateful and a little happier.

People scroll past performed joy. They stop for a tiny, true moment they have felt themselves: wind rolling across long grass, the first raindrop on a hot street, the sun coming up while your cocoa is still warm.

In every episode JUJU lives one of those moments with TAVI, and the moment becomes a colour.

The audience collects the colours with JUJU. Episodes alternate calm and rush, so the feed never flattens.

  • Colour 01Meadow Shimmer
  • Colour 02Sunrise Gold
  • Colour 03First-Rain Silver
  • Colour 04 · soonWave-Foam Aqua
  • Colour 05 · soonCrust Amber

02The 15 second grammar

The same five beats, every episode.

A fixed shape the audience learns, so every new world still feels like the show.

  1. 0.0–2.0 s

    The hook

    Open mid-action, never on a set-up. The thumb decides in the first second.

  2. 2.0–4.5 s

    The gag

    A comic beat, with JUJU’s body carrying the emotion.

  3. 4.5–9.0 s

    The world moment

    Wind, sunrise, rain or a wave: real physics on a big canvas. The “send this to someone” beat.

  4. 9.0–11.5 s

    The money moment

    The colour sweeps JUJU from tail to crest. The screenshot.

  5. 11.5–15.0 s

    The held beat

    Nobody moves, just breath and light. Gratitude lands, and the loop restarts.

03Characters

Designed once, locked for every shot.

Turnarounds, expressions and a colour-behaviour board, with proportions chosen to read on a phone at arm’s length. The sheets travel with every shot as identity references, so TAVI and JUJU look the same in every episode.

TAVI

Round, cuddly and kind: rosy cheeks, warm brown eyes, a swept-up quiff, an oversized mustard hoodie with a leaf patch.

TAVI's character sheet on grey: front, three-quarter, side and back views of a round young man in a mustard hoodie and jeans, beside four expression heads.

JUJU

A palm-sized, slightly chubby chameleon in coral-peach with cream bands, big glossy eyes, a mint leaf-shaped chest spot and a spiral tail.

JUJU's character sheet: a small coral-peach chameleon with big eyes and a spiral tail, in four turnaround views and a set of expressions.

The colour board

How JUJU’s impossible colours behave: iridescent, glowing from inside, one smooth wave from tail to crest.

JUJU's colour board: eight versions of the chameleon in pearl, apricot, iridescent aqua, glittering violet, sleepy gold and coral, each glowing from within.

04Worlds

A new place, and its own light.

Every location is drawn for the vertical frame, with depth stacked top to bottom rather than side to side, and its light specified by colour temperature and direction.

  • Location sheet for Ep 01: three views of a late-summer hillside meadow with wildflowers, long grass and a lone tree in low sun.
    The MeadowEp 01 · late-summer hillside, 4,000 K low sun, seeds drifting in the light
  • Location sheet for Ep 02: a farmhouse porch over a misty valley, shown in pre-dawn blue and in sunrise gold.
    The Porch at DawnEp 02 · two light states, 9,000 K pre-dawn blue to 3,000 K sunrise gold
  • Character sheet for Ep 02's guest: an original small songbird in turnaround views with expressions.
    The songbirdEp 02 guest · an original bird, with a turnaround and expressions
  • Prop sheet for Ep 02: a steaming cocoa mug and a chunky knitted blanket, shown from several angles.
    PropsEp 02 · the cocoa mug and the knitted blanket

05How it is made

Eight stages, nothing by chance.

Every 15 seconds goes through the same eight stages. This is the level of detail behind each one. See the full process, step by step →

  1. 01

    Concept and strategy

    The insight and the series engine are written. Each episode is pre-scored for shareability (hook, payoff, emotion) and passes a creative-director gate before design starts.

  2. 02

    Character design

    Turnarounds, expressions and the colour-behaviour board. Big expressive eyes and strong silhouettes that read on a phone.

  3. 03

    World and prop design

    Every location drawn for 9:16, with light set by colour temperature in Kelvin and direction, per scene and per time of day.

  4. 04

    Script and shot design

    Five shots, four cuts, timed to the frame. Each shot has its lens, size, move, beat-by-beat action, an acting task and its sound. A planned five-frame silence lands before every money moment.

  5. 05

    Storyboard and 3D previz

    Every shot blocked in a real 3D scene with the actual lenses and camera rigs, then scored on a 35-point camera checklist: smooth acceleration, readable pans, a level horizon, a hold on every landing.

  6. 06

    Animation direction

    The previz drives the animation frame for frame, with a director’s brief of about 1,200 words per 15 seconds: physics, light, acting beats, a “nothing is ever still” list and every sound cue.

  7. 07

    Quality control

    Every render is measured, not just watched: cut timing to ±0.1 s, frame-by-frame motion, identity against the sheets, the colour sweep’s direction, the audio. What fails is fixed in the edit or re-made.

  8. 08

    Finishing

    Upscaled to 2K (1440×2562) at 24 fps, with an episode card and captions written for each platform.

  • 5shots, with 4 frame-timed cuts
  • ~7reference designs
  • 360frames of 3D previz
  • 35point camera checklist
  • ~1,200words of direction
  • ~10measured QC checks
The Ep 01 storyboard: five final frames, each paired with its 3D previz frame, with the lens, the timing, the action and the sound for every shot.
Ep 01The storyboard: each final frame above its 3D previz, with lens, timing, action and sound

Swipe to see all five shots →

3D previzFinal

06Behind the scenes

Planned in 3D, frame for frame.

The camera, the cuts and the blocking are decided in 3D first. The stand-ins become characters; the lens, the timing and the composition stay exactly where the previz put them.

07Episodes

Three colours collected so far.

Colour 01 · Meadow Shimmer

Ep 01 · Sandwich Thief

JUJU steals TAVI’s sandwich, and in doing so makes him lie back in the grass just as the wind arrives.

Detail to look for

  • The gust rolling across the whole meadow in silver-green waves
  • A ladybird clinging to a bending blade in the foreground
  • The shimmer rippling over JUJU like wind over grass
  • A seed landing on TAVI’s hair in the final hold

“When did you last just… lie in the grass?”

TAVI laughing as he leans back on a picnic blanket, JUJU beside the sandwich. The money moment: JUJU on TAVI's chest, glowing Meadow Shimmer green. The held ending: TAVI lying in the grass with his eyes closed and a seed on his hair, JUJU resting on his hoodie.
Colour 02 · Sunrise Gold

Ep 02 · Dawn Duet

JUJU fails, twice, to sing back to a songbird at dawn. The third try lands at the exact moment the sun comes up.

Detail to look for

  • The light changing from 9,000 K blue to 3,000 K gold
  • JUJU’s eyes swivelling in two offended directions
  • The gold glowing from inside JUJU, lighting its own cheeks
  • Steam curling from the mug through the sunbeam

“Tag the friend who never gives up.”

TAVI on the porch in blue pre-dawn light, the songbird perched on his cocoa mug and JUJU on the rail. The money moment: JUJU on the rail, glowing Sunrise Gold as the sun clears the valley behind it. The held ending: TAVI resting his cheek on his hand, eyes closed, with JUJU glowing gold beside the songbird on the sunlit rail.
Colour 03 · First-Rain Silver

Ep 03 · First Rain

The first drop of the season lands on JUJU’s head, and TAVI dances in the rain.

Detail to look for

  • The camera riding a single raindrop down onto JUJU
  • TAVI’s two-fist celebration as three drops land in his palm
  • Main Street mirrored in the wet pavement as he spins, arms flung wide
  • JUJU turning pearly silver, droplets sparkling across it like rain on glass
  • The drip falling from the awning edge in the final hold

“The smell after the first rain.”

TAVI celebrating with both fists raised under a stormy sky, JUJU on his shoulder. The money moment: JUJU on TAVI's shoulder, turned pearly First-Rain Silver. The held ending: TAVI under a striped awning on Main Street, looking up at the rain, JUJU on his shoulder.
The Ep 02 storyboard: five final frames, each paired with its 3D previz frame, with lens, timing, action and sound.
Ep 02The storyboard, final frames over the previz

Swipe to see all five shots →

The Ep 03 storyboard: five final frames on a rainy Main Street, each paired with its 3D previz frame, with lens, timing, action and sound.
Ep 03The storyboard, final frames over the previz

Swipe to see all five shots →

Ep 03, planned in 3D and finished as film: five shots, the 3D previz stand-ins above and the finished frames below, with the camera and framing unchanged.
Ep 03How it was made: planned shot by shot in 3D, then rendered once. The first render matched the plan to within a frame.

08In production

Then the rush: the next colour.

Blocked in 3D with its camera locked. The finished episode joins this page when it is delivered.

09For your brand

A character your audience follows.

The same studio process, built around your brand: a mascot or cast designed once and locked, a repeatable episode shape, and a steady run of shorts for your feeds.

  • A cast you own

    Characters, sheets and a colour or story engine made for your brand, locked across every episode.

  • A format that repeats

    One episode shape your audience learns, so every new short still reads as yours.

  • Planned before it’s made

    Boards and 3D previz you approve before any animation is made, so nothing is left to chance.

  • Ready to post

    9:16 masters, episode cards and platform captions, with the AI disclosure in the post.

10Your series next

A series like this, for your audience.

Animated shorts and characters made for your brand, from the first sketch to the posted episode.

Start a project

How we make animation, step by step