The Line Animation Studio

The Line Animation is getting a glow-up! We’ve been grafting hard behind the scenes to give our brand a fresh coat of paint, and it’s now ready for the world to see. Say hello to our brand-spanking new revenge-body website! You’ll notice a cleaner, sharper feel across everything we do. Our brand refresh marks a moment in time where we’re pushing even further than we have before. Our Entertainment department is firing on all cylinders and The Line is evolving. Animation is in our DNA, but the future is also about so much more. Games, interactive projects, long-form originals—it’s all on the table, and we’re coming for it. Creative lead: Bjørn-Erik Aschim Designs: Isaac Powell Site develop & build: Thomas Aufresne Producer: Denise Cirone, Macarena Gaset Extra special thanks: Timothy McCourt, Ella Johnston, Juancho Crespo, Skye van der Walt, Sophia Owen Moulding, Anna Degenaar, Kateřina Grecová, Pedro Mathias, Nathan Amery #THELINE

The Line Animation Studio will be at The Barbican next week for The Line Expo! Tickets are still available https://lnkd.in/eg3aTkZE

This sequence tells us the story of how the team has became famous, by looking at all the crazy things they have accomplished, trophies, merch even a video game. We wanted to feature Chiaki, P and Nobu, but without cutting away from the messy corner at the garage, so we decided to show them on TV while being interviewed for a show, even when they only appear for few seconds we tried to make sure we could showcase their distinctive personalities Client: Acura/ Mullen Lowe Storyboard: JuanPe Arroyo Background Layout: Igor Piwowaczk, Eido Hayashi, JuanPe Arroyo, Pauline Mauvière, Background: Igor Piwowaczk, Eido Hayashi, Daniel Converio, Juancho Crespo Character Layout: JuanPe Arroyo Animation: (Pixel art) Simon S Andersen, Jacob Matthess, Simone Cirillo Cleanup & Colour: (Pixel art) Simon S Andersen, Daniel Morales, Hannah Judd Compositing: Natasha Z Francis, Skye van der Walt #ACURA #ChiakisJourney #THELINE

Introducing the six Protoframes from our upcoming collaboration with Warframe! We just wrapped on animation last week and are now moving into clean-up & 2D FX. The film is looking sick already and we can’t wait to share it with you in December. But without further ado, meet our heroes... First up, Arthur—the de facto leader of the group. Responsibility weighs heavily on his shoulders as he navigates the challenges the group face. With an unwavering sense of duty, Arthur's steadfast commitment makes him the pillar that everyone relies upon for leadership. Aoi - Arthur's right hand and most trusted ally. Outwardly peppy and full of enthusiasm, she infuses the group with energy. But beneath her cheerful exterior lies a core of steel; Aoi is tough as nails, both mentally and physically. Eleanor - Arthur's sister. Having lost her voice, she communicates with her mind. Her silent presence and telepathic abilities make her an enigmatic and invaluable member of the group. Lettie - the medic of the group. Sworn never to turn aside those in need, she stayed behind in Hӧllvania despite her growing pessimism, out of a sense of duty to its abandoned people. Suspicious of Eleanor, Lettie carries the weight of her experiences while tending to those in need. Quincy—the arrogant and self-assured marksman. Forced to abandon his future plans when Hӧllvania went under lockdown, he remains fiercely independent, which makes him withdrawn and hard to get to know. He's the ladies' favourite on the project ;) Last but not least is Amir - The youngest member of the team and an ex-military technician turned electric superhero (in his mind, at least). Though he has trouble focusing on tasks he's not passionate about, he brings an eternally positive charge to the group. As the complete polar opposite of Quincy, their interactions often spark a bit of tension. Amir doubts himself sometimes, but his energy is indispensable to the team. And yes, we couldn't resist all the electricity puns— Sorry if you had a negative response to them or found them shocking :) Character Design: Simon Takerkart, Masha Moran, Venla Linna Modelsheets & Cleanup: Masha Moran, Jacob Matthess #Warframe1999 #THELINE #THELINEXWARFRAME

Something that made this project extra special was that this marks the Comp Lead debut of our very own Skye Van Der Walt! And we couldn’t be prouder of the innovative techniques and skill he brought to it. The 3D Bobble Head of Chiaki was actually a painted asset, which was animated by Skye in comp using a cool technique called 3D Projection. This BG is full of fun easter eggs, among which is THE LINE logo, marking our third collaboration with Acura and Mullen Lowe. Client: Acura/ Mullen Lowe Storyboard: JuanPe Arroyo Background Layout: Igor Piwowaczk, Eido Hayashi, JuanPe Arroyo Background: Igor Piwowaczk, Eido Hayashi Character Layout: JuanPe Arroyo (Chiaki Toy) Animation: Simon S Andersen (Pixel Art) Cleanup & Colour: Simon S Andersen (Pixel Art) Compositing: Natasha Z Francis #ACURA #ChiakisJourney #THELINE

This is where everything kicks into gear and we dive down into the world of the game for the first time. 🌎 We spent time working with the team at Theorycraft to make sure the design of the world felt true to the game, whilst bringing our own sense of flare and design to it ☄️☄ Client: Theorycraft Games Storyboard: Jonathan Djob Nkondo, Alvise Zennaro BG Layout: Eido Hayashi Layout Camera: Sam Taylor Background Paint: Eido Hayashi, Sam Taylor, Juancho Crespo Character Layout: Jacob Matthess Animation: Jacob Matthess FX Animation: Alexandre Logeais Cleanup & Colour: Daniel Morales Compositing: Florian Ojeda Diop #ProjectLoki #TheorycraftGames #AnimationBreakdown #BackgroundPaint #THELINE #Supervive

Typical ACE’s morning routine, no biggie… The short is super fast paced so we wanted to give it a slow start to amp up the DRAMAAA and suspense. We had a lot of fun playing around with the lighting and contrast which really made it come together! Client: Uncapped Games Storyboard: Ninoc BG Layout: Simon Masse, Cesar Chevalier, Daniel Converio Background: Eido Hayashi, Igor Piwowarczyk, Daniel Converio Character Layout: Jacob Matthess, Venla Linna 2D Animation: Jacob Matthess, Alvise Zennaro 2D Spotkeys: Jessica Teare, Paola Costigliola Cleanup & Colour: Amix Camera: Natasha Francis, Skye van der Walt Compositing: Natasha Francis, Abel Kohen #BattleAces #UncappedGames #TheLine

This project marks our third collaboration with Acura, adding even more depth to Chiaki’s Journey! The latest episode follows Chiaki’s newly found fame in the racing scene after winning Pikes Peak. Chiaki is now a celebrity, though she doesn’t care much about fame - her real dream is to drive her new Acura Integra Type S HRC and win alongside her family. As always, we wanted to showcase Acura Type-S in all it’s glory and our Art Director, Eido did just that. She defined a style that didn’t just replicate the car’s stunning design but highlighted every stroke of the artist's brush, transforming each image of the car into a unique piece of art—more captivating than reality. Finally, a big shout out to Skye van der Walt for his amazing debut as Compositing Lead, bringing it all the art together in a brilliant and masterful way. We hope you enjoy this new installment of Chiaki’s Journey. Client: Acura/ Mullen Lowe Director: JuanPe Arroyo Producer: Macarena Gaset Art Director: Eido Hayashi Storyboard: JuanPe Arroyo Animation Lead: JuanPe Arroyo Compositing Lead: Skye van der Walt Production Assistant: Bingqi Liu Technical Director: Pete Addington Managing Director | Commercials & Branded Content: Laura Breaden Executive Creative Director: Tim McCourt Head of Production: Nick Miller Head of Animation: Yino Huan Head of Compositing: Freddie Lewis-Wall Head of Art: Juancho Crespo Head of CG: Pete Addington #ACURA #ChiakisJourney #THELINE

"If she wasn't your blood, she'd be on her own out there..." Introducing one of the six Protoframes in Warframe’s 1999 update: Lettie. The reluctant healer of the group, Lettie stayed behind to protect the people of Höllvania at a great personal cost. Strategic and pragmatic, she is ready to act in the best interest of the group above any individual - or anomaly (in case you're not getting that from the her major side-eye she's serving 👀) We're taking our character layouts a step further in this project, drawing cues from traditional anime layouts, incorporating coloured shadow and highlight passes with the layout drawing. This character layout of Lettie was created by our director, Venla, who drew inspiration from 90's classics like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Magnetic Rose for the design and tone of the characters in this film. Since some of the shots in the film (releasing in Winter 2024) require more detail than others, it's crucial that the character has as much depth as possible, even at the layout stage. Layout by: Venla Linna Character design: Masha Moran, Venla Linna #THELINEXWARFRAME #WARFRAME1999 #CharacterLayout

Who was your childhood hero? For Nicolot, it's The Captain. And Mathilde did an incredible job of capturing Nicolot's awe of them when they finally come face to face. We love the way the wind gets caught in Nicolot's clothes, it almost makes him look like he's about to fly! Storyboard: Simone Cirillo Character Layout: Nicola Bernardi Background: Luc Courtois Character Layout: Simone Cirillo Animation (Main): Mathilde Vachet Animation (Background Characters): Jessica Teare Spot Keys: Daniel Morales Cleanup & Colour: Studio Zmei, Daniel Morales, Yino Huan Camera/ Pre-comp: Natasha Francis Compositing: Florian Ojeda Diop #THELINEXNOUNS #DeliveryAtDawn #AnimationBreakdown