Motion Graphic Animator based in Detroit
JAZZ CHISHOLM
Cleat NFT Series
Miami Marlins' superstar baseball player Jazz Chisholm reached out to First Fight requesting a series of exciting dynamic NFT's. Known for his huge collection of one of a kind hand painted cleats, the NFT series focused on unique 3D cleats. He also requested a "anime-style" action packed intro for every NFT that leads to the big cleat reveal, featuring himself. When I made the storyboard I sought to make every pose exaggerated and full of energy. On the production side I jumped at the chance to bring the cleats to life in C4D, I modeled the base myself and added accessories to bring out the Jazz aesthetic.
Client: Jazz Chisholm
Role: 2D Animation, 3D Modeling/Animation, Storyboard
Direction: First Fight, Jazz Chisholm
Collaboration: Joe Dao, Emily Tinklenberg
Cel Animation: Facundo Lopez
Studio: First Fight
Exploration
Ideation for the cleats, I was tasked with modeling the base shoe along with the gold chain and jetski (not pictured) options. The designs were more inspired by his personality and Miami since he wanted to avoid baseball references.
Final pose sketches, deciding whether he would summon the cleat or hit the ground hard enough to make it explode out. We decided to go with the more energetic option of the impact.
Animatic & 3D Test
Since the timeline for this project was short I needed to make the storyboard and animatic as close to the final look that I could get. So I focused on stylizing Jazz and his expressions.
Below is a process shot for the chain cleat, I wanted the chains to wrap around as the shoe turned in the final animation.
Jetski Cleat
Since this was a part of an NFT series I also made an animated Jetski shoe. This was the most ambition design out of all the options but I was up for the challenge. I matched the shape of the jetski with the contours of the base cleat, making it as seamless as possible. The wave is an AE animation I made and UV'd onto the back of the cleat that follows its curved edges.