Objective 

The objective of this project was to demonstrate a meaningful but abstract journey with Cinema 4D animation. I also considered this project as a chance to study how to create animation with organic aesthetic style in Cinema 4D. 

Inspiration 

Zhuang Zhou (369BC-286BC), one of China’s most famous philosophers, once had a dream about a flying butterfly. After waking, he wrote that he didn’t know if he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming that he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that he was Zhuang Zhou. The ambiguity of reality inspired the concept of the story, and I wanted to use 3D space and contrast in color to help push the motion of the butterfly through its journey. 

Treatment 

The animation demonstrates the journey of a red butterfly. The camera follows it flying through the inside world of a Chinese Ink Wash painting screen. The butterfly stops on the top of a pavilion for a while, then flies out of the screen and disappears in the sky. Sketch & Toon Shader Effects was used in the animation to create a Chinese Ink Wash painting aesthetic style.