Portland, Oregon animation and live-action studio Deep Sky recently released the first installment of their animated anthology It’s The Little Things to a warm global welcome from viewers. Originally released as the studio’s 2022 holiday short, the carefully crafted 2D film has counted over 500,000 views and over 60,000 likes on Instagram and TikTok.
The piece shows a homesteading frog settling in for a cozy evening in his log cabin during a peaceful winter. The visual style was largely inspired by “cottagecore” aesthetics, combined with a nostalgic perspective of the production team’s memories of winters spent at home. A number of works, including Over the Garden Wall, The Wind and the Willows and Studio Ghibli’s famous food scenes were crucial influences tapped to capture the hygge vibe.
“Through animation, we explore how daily rituals can hold the same sense of delight as a grand adventure, if only we take the time to notice them. Every detail on screen hints at an important piece of a larger world, just as every moment in a day is what makes up the whole of life,” said Gaby West, the creative lead for the project and Art Director at Deep Sky.
Background artist Finn Sylwester cultivated a sense of warmth throughout the interior scenes, inviting the viewer into this slice-of life piece. To match the style developed by the illustration team, animation lead Jack Ellis and animator Adam DiTerlizzi combined traditional and modern animation techniques — custom Adobe Animate brushes were developed specifically to match the delicate vintage-inspired illustration style.
For the multi-faceted studio, animation production was a highly coordinated team effort between not only 2D animators and illustrators, but also other internal production teams. The 3D team helped create complex visual effects without sacrificing the unique quality of hand-drawn animation, while sound design created an intimate, ASMR-inspired experience.
It’s The Little Things will continue with seasonal installments “celebrating the romance and beauty of the everyday.” The next video is set to premiere in Spring 2023.
Watch It’s the Little Things on Instagram, TikTok and Vimeo. Learn more about the studio at deepsky.tv.
