A black and white photograph of the artist. Theo is white, has short hair, rectangular glasses, a beard and patterned short-sleeved button up shirt. They're smiling

Theo Whelan-Hayes

BA (Hons) Animation
Foundations

In the far future, in escape of rising tides, humans decide to build upon the backs of newly emerging megafauna; Foundations is a multimedia film from the perspective of a whale who had a city built on her back and the horror of that event.

A teaser trailer for Theo's film, Foundations, with music by Alexander Ryan
Oil paint on glass animation of blood dropping into water and taking over the whole screen in red
Oil paint on glass animation of blood dropping into water and taking over the whole screen in red
Blood in the water, which transitions the film from the vibrant blues of the intro to the deep almost-black red that dominates the majority of the film
Three versions of the same animation going from rough to complete. A pair of disembodied hands grasp a handle and turn to swing down the blade of a pickaxe directly facing the camera
Three versions of the same animation going from rough to complete. A pair of disembodied hands grasp a handle and turn to swing down the blade of a pickaxe directly facing the camera
The process of this shot, short as it is, was gruelling. Hands rotating in perspective are quite a challenge
A character sheet of a faceless person dressed like a miner
A character sheet of a faceless person dressed like a miner
The character design was quite simple for this film, all the workers look pretty much the same and don't have any colour on them
Two versions of the same shot, one is incomplete and black and white, and the other is in full colour and is finished. An elevator descends to the right of the screen with a person relaxing on the edge. They then turn towards the camera and their headlamp washes out the screen in light
Two versions of the same shot, one is incomplete and black and white, and the other is in full colour and is finished. An elevator descends to the right of the screen with a person relaxing on the edge. They then turn towards the camera and their headlamp washes out the screen in light
The first vs final version of the descent into the whale. What is an agony for one creature is just another day of work for thousands of others, and with the grand descent, Theo hoped to drive in the scale of the construction.
A stylised digital painting of a bloody ribcage with maggots in it
A stylised digital painting of a bloody ribcage with maggots in it
A background for one of the shots. The thought process was that with distance, the headlamps of the workers would look like maggots
A glimpse at the creative process behind the largest shot in the film
A stylised whale with a big smile. It has a scar along its back
A stylised whale with a big smile. It has a scar along its back
A sticker design made that will be available at the OnShow! Theo wanted to give the whale a happy ending, so though she's scarred, she's ultimately free from the abuse she went through
Project Objectives

The main goal for Foundations was initially to create a teaser for a longer project, set in the city built atop the whale- however after unexpected life events, in which Theo and the original collaborators for the larger project went their separate ways, it became simply a project for them to explore themes of abuse and environmental destruction, and how the impacts of those things linger long after the event.

Another goal for Foundations was to experiment with oil paint on glass animation, as well as integrating as much traditional animation as possible into the process. The digital elements of Foundations were created in Krita, which is a barebones animation program, which to Theo emulated the traditional paper animation process quite closely- the only convenience allowed is the ease of erasing lines and lack of paper waste.

Project Outcomes

Foundations is done! It was a long but rewarding process from start to finish, Theo has come out the other side with better knowledge on how to animate with oil paint on glass, more confidence in their ability to animate and manage their time, and a good deal of respect for cleanup artists, which is not a job they'd wish on any living soul.

A black and white photograph of the artist. Theo is white, has short hair, rectangular glasses, a beard and patterned short-sleeved button up shirt. They're smiling
Theo Whelan-Hayes
BA (Hons) Animation

Theo is a multimedia artist who has a passion for worldbuilding and storytelling, and expresses this through experimental 2d animation projects and environment design. Their film, Foundations, was created almost entirely independently, with Theo taking on the roles of head animator, background artist, cleanup, compositor and editor; allowing them to develop their skill in each of these areas over the course of the year.

BA (Hons) Animation