8-Bit Diorama

Prompted to depict a scene based on my interpretation of the word “memory”, I ventured to animate more than just a literal representation of the term. My objective was to compose a nostalgia-driven audiovisual glimpse into my childhood.

All assets and imagery designed exclusively for Sprout Studios and client.

Early on, I realized that this project had to revolve around something that I could get passionate about; something that I would want to invest hours into. That’s when I decided upon the theme of video games–a hobby of mine that has been largely influential since a young age. Interpreting “memory” in a more personal sense of the word, I based my diorama on the sentimental nature of retro gaming. I would achieve this by recreating a setting from Chrono Trigger, an acclaimed role-playing game from 1995, in an 8-bit style of pixel art while pairing it with an iconic track from the game itself.

All assets and imagery designed exclusively for Sprout Studios and client.

After studying reference images from the original game, I began creating the scene by coloring pixels with the help of Adobe Illustrator’s Live Paint tool. Slowly layering assets, I translated the game’s original style into a full setting of my own. Once these visuals were complete, I brought them into After Effects to begin the animation process. Working solely with keyframes and translation effects, I created movement mimicking that of older video games. In an effort to enhance the animation, I added television-like effects to open and close the piece, as well as the accompanying audio. To finalize the sequence, I tailored the transitions and focused on the synchronization of assets to ensure seamless motion.

All assets and imagery designed exclusively for Sprout Studios and client.

This diorama would live as a sensory-focused sequence that captures the nostalgic nature of retro gaming. Serving as a glimpse into one’s perception of the word “memory”, this piece captures the child-like whimsy of a distant recollection.

All assets and imagery designed exclusively for Sprout Studios and client.