Anna Sonkina's Blog

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FLIGHT

Before starting to work on the flight cycle, I made sure I went through the documentation on the bird flight animation by Brendan Body that I mentioned in my pre-production. Instead of choosing a more intuitive approach, I wanted to have a structured and anatomy-based workflow for this cycle. I wanted to create a flight cycle which would be easy to speed up, slow down, tweak and adjust and for this, my cycle should've been simply clean.

This doucmentation is a very detailed explanation of the bird anatomy behind the flight mechanics and it does not only suggests how to animate the bird flight correctly, but also explains why this is the correct way from both the aerodynamics and the bird anatomy point of view.

It includes a lot of useful information for a great range of birds, and I'll aim to go through the parts that I've found particularly helpful for my project in the next blog posts, but if I had to summarise the impression I had after going through the whole document is that: it is really easy to get the flight anim wrong. One of the most interesting examples of this is the owl animation from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and the analysis of how a seemingly nice animation is, in fact, having a lot of issues.

REFERENCES: Magic On Location (2021) Harry and Hedwig in the snow | FILM CLIP | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOsfoZLKL7s [Accessed: 8th June 2026]

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RUN

I couldn't find any Red-Whiskered bulbul running references, so I've decided to go with a mix of other small bird references, combine them and create the run that would suit this bird the most. In other words, I'm going to try to catch what makes their run so birdlike and will implement that in my animation.

For this, I've used three birds: Scaled quail, American Robin and Wagtails . All of them have different proportions; however, it was a significantly helpful reference point which I can look at and understand what kind of body mechanics I will aim to go for, given the red-whiskered Bulbul proportions and size. For instance, the American Robin is very similar in size to the Bulbul, and while being insignificantly heavier, it would still be a great reference for the Bulbul's run. Wagtail would be a good source of inspiration for the long-term part. I've noticed that wagtails are usually running a bit further and longer, while American Robins run reminds some sort of dashing, which would indeed be perfect for the run intro in shot 002.

Scaled Quail is a rather interesting source of inspiration. I guess what I'm hoping to find in the referenced of this bird is its crest dynamics while running. Scaled Wuails also have an interesting vertical structure of their bodies, which is something that is also noticeable in the red-whiskered bulbul. However, while I find it interesting, I don't think I'd want to go for a typical to Scaled Quails more vertical run.

REFERENCES:

Ornithology Insights (2024) American Robins Running In The Sunny Grass. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6eiMkW3WfI [Accessed: 6th June 2026]

Ralph Hancock (2019) Pied Wagtail running and calling. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J309zhTKYUU [Accessed: 6th June 2026]

Ven Remsen (2019) Scaled Quail attack. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNHmYNOKoEE [Accessed: 6th June 2026]

[annasonkina]

SHOT 002

When I was working on the first two shots, I realised they would work better as a single merged shot. The composition at the end of the first shot and the beginning of the second seemed to make for a nice seamless transition between them and a smoother transition into shot 003.

The idea of the second shot was to emphasise the similarities between the paper plane and the Red-Whiskered Bulbul by aligning them and merging them into one creature. The main challenge with these two shots was the transition between the surprised jump and the moment the bird is behind the plane. While showing this shot to the fellow animators, I've heard that it seemed a bit unnatural to see the bird running like this. I believe that the reason for such an impression was how unfamiliar the running of the bird (or at least of this specific bird) looks to the viewer. We're used to seeing the bird taking off, flying, hopping, but runnign is something that the audience tend to associate with the different kind of birds such as sandpipers, lesser roadrunners, kildeers, cassowaries or the obvious emus and ostriches. All these, despite being different in size and proportions, can be grouped based on one very defined anatomical feature: long legs.

Given that our bird is a red-whiskered bulbul who can most of the times be noticed on the branches of the trees, making his running look natural was, indeed, one sort of a challenge.

REFERENCES:

Cassowary: The Majestic Bird of the Rainforest (2026) Available from: https://visitdaintree.com.au/daintree-rainforest-animals/cassowary/

Maron, M. (2019) Killdeer [Photograph]. Available from: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/killde/cur/introduction Roadrunner (2026) Available from: https://a-z-animals.com/animals/roadrunner/ [Accessed: 5th June 2026] The Western Sandpiper (2026) Available from: https://www.nocsprovisions.com/blogs/digest/the-western-sandpiper?srsltid=AfmBOopByWyC33EMYXdLgXWrMHSFAuHYBWh6QqiUQdIkK34ksQd1lnc6 [Accessed: 5th June 2026]

[annasonkina]

PLANNING FOLDER

Creating the planning folder helped me a lot with finalising the project planning stage and gaining a clear understanding of the schedule for the FMP, but most importantly, of its components. LOM was significantly useful for identifying the information I have to present in the contents of the Final Major Project and its format. In a way, this part of the assignment made me summarise the art direction of the project, my expectations from it and how I expect this project to benefit not only my personal learning process, but also my career goals. I have also added my Final Presentation and the promotional video to the project schedule, as it would be equally important to have a dedicated amount of time to work on those.

In my planning folder, I've emphasised the importance of this blog in the production of the FMP. I believe that it would be extremely useful to not only reflect on the theory and the methodology of the project, but also use it as a place for brainstorming and structuring the thoughts behind the creative decision-making process. One of the main intents of blogging would also be to keep track of the progress made and its accordance with the schedule.

Finally, as it was the case with the semesters A and B, I'd reflect on the latest tendencies and relevant examples from industry, share the inspirations and references and demonstrate how they affected my work.

Image by Author

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A SNEAK PEEK TO WHAT'S AHEAD

FLAPS ' pre-production has laid a solid runway for the film to take off. There's a strong foundation of inspiration to carry the project forward, a clear art direction to follow and simply an idea to deliver. While everything is set up and ready for production, I still want the project to remain flexible. I expect there will be changes along the way, as well as adjustments and challenges. Nevertheless, I hope the result stays close to the original vision established during pre-production.

Ultimately, I want this film to evoke positive emotions and perhaps a warm sense of nostalgia. It is not intended to carry any grand message; rather, it aims to offer a moment of fun and comfort. I'll conclude with a shot that is about 85% complete as a small sneak peek of what's to come. This shot was created a while ago, and it was this piece that inspired me to create a short film. It has revealed some of the challenges we may face and has not only become the starting point of this idea, but also helped shape our workflow for the production ahead.

[annasonkina]

INSPIRED BY OTHER ARTISTS

As someone who has primarily worked in a realistic style, I felt the need to spend more time observing and practicing  in order to understand the techniques behind a stylised workflow and to develop a stronger sense of what makes stylised pieces stylised. As mentioned in some of the earlier posts, I explored a wide range of stylised animation pieces, however, I wanted to also try and replicate this side of production within 2D context.

 I have always been impressed by how appealing and dynamic characters can appear when animated by 3D animators who began their journey in 2D. There is clearly a strong connection between drawing an appealing pose and achieving the same result in 3D. Ultimately, all 3D work is viewed on a 3D screen, so it is important to consider how it reads in a flat format.

The artwork of Greg Baldwin has been a major source of inspiration for me and I wanted to try and create Bulbul in the similar style. What stood out to me was the dynamism of his line work and the way he exaggerates shapes while maintaining a strong sense of appeal.

Artworks by Greg Baldwin

His work almost feels like an invitation to break the frames of realism and create. I particularly admired how energetic his pieces are, as well as the clarity and strength of the poses. In my own work, I feel I may have remained slightly too restrained, but I did enjoy experimenting with bolder line work. Moving forward, I would also like to push exaggeration further and achieve a stronger sense of movement and action within my pieces. 

Artwork by Author

REFERENCES

Baldwin, G. (2025) Always Remember to Stretch! Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOwxQ-TjQeU/ [Accessed: 10th March 2026]

Baldwin, G. (2021) Scavenger du jour...s’il vous plaît. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CLhrVKdjYDS/?img_index=1 [Accessed: 10th March 2026]

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EXPLORING COLOURS AND SHAPES

In order to better understand stylised shapes and poses I've done an exercise in which I studied realistic references and then translated them into stylised characters. For this, I chose painterly shading as I felt it would best convey the softness and fluffiness of bulbuls. Following advice from a fellow animator, I explored the idea that stylisation can be achieved by taking a pose from a reference and pushing it by around 20%. I edcided to first experiment with this approach through drawing.

One of the most challenging aspects of this process was adjusting the poses so they appear stylised rather than distorted. I also spent time figuring out how to move away from realism in the eyes and facial proportions as each adjustment intially resulted in a slightly uncanny look. Through this experimentation, I developed a small set of checks to help achieve a stylised feel.

Artwork by Author

Firstly, I ensure that the silhouette remained clear and reable, avoiding shapes that appeared too vague or blobby. Secondly, I made sure the shading followed the form and the lines rather than remaining flat as if copied directly from the original reference. When working on facial expressions, I applied a widely used technique of enlarging the eyes and stylising them by simplifying and adjusting the shading to add more expression. Finally I experimented wiht the head proportions to emphasise the bird's sense of "adorability", refining through trial and error until it felt right.

[annasonkina]

Music & Sound

As I’ve mentioned before I’m planning to use a great variety of red-whiskered Bulbul chirping sounds in the short as it will not only add the expressiveness to its character, but also in a way convey the atmosphere of bird sounds on this Espanola Way. I wanted to make a film which would feel nostalgic and I think that surrounding sounds are as essential as the visual side of it. 

The wind sounds would also be an important part of the narration. Not only would they add up to the general feel of the scenery, but also reinforce the presence of the wind, and support the dynamics of the characters.

As a soundtrack I think I’d want to go for smth in the style of the short films that inspired FLAPS, maybe with a shade of Spanish music. Perhaps, the jazzy and peaceful music in the beginning will eventually turn into a Flamenco which would accompany this sort of sky dance. Indeed I might add a slight hint for a flamenco move during the race part, as the dress of the flamenco dancers often resemble wings. This way, there would not only be an intrigue of the race, but also a set up choreography.  

REFERENCES

Ling Daisly (2012) Flamenco Dance, Seville, Spain. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNhfV_53W7A [Accessed: 7th April 2026]

[annasonkina]

Birdwatching

Some time ago I came across an interview with Disney animators who worked on Zootropolis. They’ve shared how they went to Safari and explored the different types of animal locomotion, their characters and habits which they can then translate into biped animal motion in such a way so they preserve the animality of the characters and avoid looking like humans in the animal costumes. And while I didn’t have a task of translating animal behaviour into a biped form, I thought it would be nevertheless useful to look into Red-Whiskered Bulbul character traits and bring some of them into the animation. Some can make the animation look more interesting whilst others can simply help up with the birdy-ness of the motion.  

Red-Whiskered Bulbuls have a very distinctive appearance. It is difficult to confuse them with any other species. Having a bright red spot right under the eye and a crest, they have a rather appealing and unusual silhouette. Elegant on the outside, Bulbuls are often characterized as explicitly charismatic, curious and energetic.  It is for a reason that in many cultures these birds are associated with happiness and vitality, while in some parts of Asia Bulbuls are considered to be the harbingers of good fortune. It is due to his appearance and character that Red-Whiskered Bulbul is favored in many different forms of art as the combination of its character and artistic appearance. 

In FLAPS I’ll aim to convey their curiosity via constant head tilts and add up some sounds as they’re famous for their high-pitched pips and long buzzy notes. 

REFERENCES: ImRootvik (2022) Red Whiskered Bulbul. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MjmKRT8AKyE [Accessed: 13th April 2026]

NATWEB (2022) Calls of red-whiskered bulbul. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nDHWjyayhbg [Accessed: 13th April 2026]

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Real Life refs 

During the whole pre-production process, I was exploring not only  the works of other artists, but also observing and looking for some real-life references. I wanted to capture as many similar locations and lighting scenes as possible in order to then recreate the same atmosphere as there was during that time. Luckily there were a lot of sunny days in the past month and all I had to do was to get out and collect the refs. I was looking at pretty much everything: the shadows their length, the light direction, its reflection, the shades of green during different times of the day and simply at the sky, however all these were in one way or another resembling the atmosphere me and Diana (the Environment and Lighting Freelance artist) wanted to see in our film. 

Photos by Author

[annasonkina]

SONDER

During the pre-production stage, I was also trying to understand the motives behind this film apart from simple creative drive and I came to realisation, that this film might be a way to convey the feeling of Sonder. Sonder is a sudden realization that people around you are also having their own complex and vibrant life and are the main character in their own stories. In my experience it was always fascinating to think that there’s always some story happening somewhere at the present moment. However, while I reckon that Sonder is more connected with humans, I would want to go for a broader form of it and show that even animals or birds can have their own plots unfolding at any moment. 

I think it is important that we slow down sometimes and try to notice things which might not be so obvious to see yet are  interesting to observe in their own way. In fact, it’s usually the small things which are interesting to find and watch, and this is the great thing about behvaiour interpretation. Despite all the species on this planet talking different languages, there’s a way of interpretation which makes every story understandable to anyone. 

The winner of the “Wildlife Photograohy of the Year” captured two mice fighting in the underground and indeed, it doesn’t take a lot to understand this story.Same goes for the recent picture of a baby rat hiding from the crowd in the bird feeding house. It just takes a little bit of context and there we are learning about someone else’s story and emotions. 

[annasonkina]

LOCATION

Initially it was planned to bring the whole story into a European setting. Somewhere in France or Italy on the empty morning street with cafés and restaurants quite before the busy day. I reckon that this kind of location in the chosen lighting felt particularly nostalgic to me. However, after researching the red-whiskered Bulbul habitat geography, I thought that perhaps European landscape wouldn’t make sense as Bulbuls can be found mainly in Tropical Asia, Australia or in some of the States like Florida or Hawaii. 

Given this, I’ve decided to go for Miami’s European areas. This way the logic behind Bulbul’s appearance won’t be broken, but the European look of the environment would be kept. The story will be unfolding in the Miami’s historic Spanish village, on the Espanola Way. The place looks amazingly similar to the classic Spanish street. 

Festive lights on Espanola Way. Available from: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/inside-miamis-historic-spanish-village [Accessed: 4th March 2026]

I thought this location would also mean a lot for the story. Miami has a non-native population of Bulbuls that came from escape from the aviary in Kendall area. Just like Red-Whiskered Bulbul appeared in Miami after the escape, this paper plane has perhaps flew away from someone’s hands and landed next to Bulbul.

[annasonkina]

COLOR & LIGHT by JAMES GURNEY

When I was researching different lighting setups and moods I’ve found a book “Colour and Light” by James Gurney significantly helpful. This book not only covers a multitude types of lighting, but also analyses paintings in depth and describes the physics behind the lighting and suggests a variety of techniques for painting light. 

Speaking of science behind lighting it was interesting to read about James Gurney’s take on chemistry of colours. He explains how colours were created and emphasizes the importance of their symbiosis. The “Light & Form” section is arguably one of my favourite parts of this book. It is fascinating to see how objects are getting shaped by light or how great is the role of shadows in the composition aspect of the painting. I think one of the most interesting types of light I’ve learnt about is a Contre Jour light. Perhaps for animator this type of light which makes the shape’s silhouette more prominent is particularly appealing to watch. And the way to achieve this feeling from the lighting was to imagine the light are not as a flat wall of light, but rather as a “sea of illuminated vapor”. 

Artwork by Author

While this is not entirely my specialism I am looking into the possibility of switching more to the art direction style and understanding the theory behind colour and light is essential. Also, given that short films have usually a relatively small team I would want to expand my expertise into the generalist direction and explore the concept side of production. 

REFERENCES:

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OTHER INSPIRATIONS

In this post Id want to look into two other examples of short films that I’ve come across. “the Little Bird and the Leaf” by Lena von Dohren and the trailer for the upcoming game “the day I became a bird” Both films are featuring a bird, however, the first one appeared to be interesting to me because of the story and its minimalistic style while the second one caught my attention by its visuals and the atmosphere. The little bird and leaf shows how much you can tell just by using simple shapes colors and contrast it has an interesting story development, which appeared to be somewhat similar to what I was going for in my movie.

The bird who cannot fly is following the leaf which is flying away. The animation of the leaf and the whole chase is rather compelling. This animated film was particularly useful as it showed the wind playing with the leaf bringing it up and down which mirrors the “wind” effect I’m trying to create in my short film. Also, the bird animation was very cool to watch throughout as it was some sort of charming mix between the exaggerated biped and simplistic bird animation. 

The trailer for “The Day I became a Bird” by Passion Pictures has caught my eye with its nostalgic style and colors. I always liked the unusual style that passion pictures choose for each of their projects. This piece is a trailer for the first Passion Pictures game. I am definitely looking forward to its release to see why bird has become a central character in its story. In any case, everything: animation, character design, the painterly look of it, and the lighting make this upcoming game feel light-hearted and sentimental and in a way, I’d want Otto to have the same feeling too… 

REFERENCES: MAGNETFILM (2021) The little bird and the leaf | Animated short film by Lena von Döhren | Winter. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-ua_3K80RI [Accessed: 18th April 2026]

PlayStation (2026) The Day I Became A Bird - Release Date Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5gaMyEt8LU [Accessed: 18th April 2026]

[annasonkina]

CREST ANIM

In one of the previous post, I have been talking about adding the expression to the animation via the beak opening and blinking animation. However, red-whiskered Bulbul was especially interesting to work with due to this particular bird species having a crest while working on an animation I’ve realised that crest while not being particularly dynamic in real life can work as eyebrows for the stylized animation. The rig itself allowed making the crest quite expressive. 

Crest Anim pass seemed to be quite straight forward, however, after getting the first pass out and applying the textures, I’ve realised how invisible its animation might be due to transparency of the textures. And while in the original scene the animation might’ve looked like too much, it looked just right with  the textures applied and motion blur on it. I think in a way, the crest part of Bulbul’s head reminded of cats’ ears that go down when scared, go sideways when angry and go front during alert and this is smth I would want to add into Bulbul’s character. Nevertheless, it was just another interesting detail to add into the animation and smth I’ll always go through in the polishing pass.

[annasonkina]

YOUNG BULBUL

In this post, I would want to go through the proportions of the main characters The average red-whiskered Bulbul is usually 17 to 23 cm in length, while the average paper plane made out of an A4 paper sheet is usually 29.5 cm long which makes both of our characters have roughly the same size. However, looking at the proportions of the model that we’ve got it seems that we are having is a young red-whiskered Bulbul.

Adult red whispered bubbles are usually quite thin and have a rather Oblong silhouette well our character is appearing to be a little bit chubby fluffier with a bigger hat, which is typical for younger stylized characters. Thus I’ll go for a smaller size of the bird which will in turn make it a bit even more adorable and appealing. This would also help with hiding the bird behind the plane in the very beginning of the short film. 

Artwork by Author

The size of the characters was especially important for this film. When the tail of the bird appears on the back of the plane, their shapes must align and turn into a one half paper plane, half bird creature. Further in the story I would experiment with how close both of the characters are to the camera and add some dynamics via experimenting with their shapes and difference in their sizes. in order to understand the difference between the sizes of the main characters a bit better I’ve done this quick drawing which would compare their silhouettes and give a clearer idea of their proportions compared.  

[annasonkina]

RUNNING VS JUMPING

After showing the first shot to one of the animators I used to work with, I’ve received a couple of notes I’ve found extremely useful and which I would want to adress in the next passes. He mentioned how I could perhaps add some overlap on the surprised jump moment and add some ease-in on the wings. 

He also outlined how despite being a normal for some of the birds traits it was unusual to see the bird running, and perhaps using references of birds that run a lot didn’t work particularly well for this particular bird’s proportions. Indeed, in the context of red-whiskered Bulbul it is rare that they run at all. they spend most of the time on the tree branches or in the air, yet since running was a necessary part of the story I’ve decided to use a combination of running and jumping, which will then add birdy-ness to its actions. Which proves how important it is to keep in mind that although there’s a great number of examples where things that actually happen in real life look don’t look right when brought into animation.

I would also think that it would make the dynamics of the whole shot more interesting, and less monotonous. It will also add some variety to the arches of the animation. In any case here, I attached a couple of reference that I will look into while animating running and jumping. It is strong advice to look at the real life reference when an animated creatures, realistic or stylized. Yet I’d want to look into Pixar’s Piper to analyze how to add character into the bird’s run. finally, I would look into the transition between the running and the takeoff.

REFERENCES: Variety (2019) 'Piper' VFX - Pixar's Short Film Before 'Finding Dory'. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVBMLVIicMA [Accessed: 18th April 2026]