Technique
agency
CLIENT
Animation
YEAR
The creative studio, Something Inc. Ltd commissioned us to produce a hybrid animated explainer video for Sustainable Salons, which fits perfectly with our ethos. Sustainable Salons help make sustainability part of the natural rhythm of business, so we were very excited to be part of the production to promote their work.
The challenge for this production was using all the storyboards made in Figma and translating them into after effects. This was a difficult task because Figma and After Effects are two very different software. We had to learn new software and come up with a solution of using an external plugin similar to Overlord for Illustrator but for Figma. Figma is a web-based design tool involving interactive design, while After Effects is a motion graphics and VFX software. We solved the challenge by using the AEUX plugin. AEUX is a plugin that allows you to export your Figma designs to After Effects. This plugin saved us a lot of time and effort, as it meant that we didn’t have to recreate the storyboards in After Effects from scratch. It ensured that the storyboards were accurately translated into After Effects and we could move on to creating all the graphic elements for the animated parts of the video.
We used the AEUX plugin to transfer the storyboards from Figma as a shape layer. We then imported the shape layer into After Effects, reviewed the exported layers, and added animation. We used shape layers, text layers, keyframes, and expressions to create the animation. A few of the layers had to be recreated, but they were minimal. We had a couple of rounds of reviews with the client, and we had a team working in Spain and in the US to manage the rush deadline and the time difference, as the final client was in Australia and the agency was in London.
Figma & After Effects
The client was really happy with our work, efficiency and show of skills. Something Inc. Ltd enjoyed working with us and we really enjoyed working with them.
Animation director & Producer: Alixe Lobato
Animators: Eric Larson & VanVelvet
