In 2022, I had to produce a tiny 3D short to graduate my 3rd year at ESMA. It is called Quakin’, and I contributed to various aspects including props, character design, and environment design.
In Quakin’, I had the chance to work on the artistic style, focusing on the contrast between two distinct worlds. Inside the tiny world (the one I worked on here), the design was deliberately angular and stylized, giving it a sharp, almost exaggerated. In contrast, the outside world was portrayed with a more realistic touch, grounding the story and emphasizing the difference between the two spaces. Balancing these contrasting styles was both a challenge and a creative thrill, and it really shaped the visual language of the film.
If that sounds a bit abstract, feel free to check out the short’s page on my website for more details!
Character
Philibert, a passionate engineer
Philibert is the ultimate nerd — a civil engineer who’s all about keeping their buildings (in truth, hair follicles) standing tall and strong.
He’s the kind of guy who gets genuinely excited about structural integrity and can ramble about load distribution for hours.
Passionate to a fault, Philibert often gets so caught up in the details of his work that he forgets to, you know, actually live a little.
He’s quirky, a bit awkward, and totally lovable — the type to pull an all-nighter over a follicle fracture without even realizing he skipped dinner (or sleep).
Environment
Office
Philibert’s office is a perfect reflection of his quirky, detail-obsessed personality.
It’s round — naturally, since they’re living inside a hair follicle — but the space is a charming mix of chaos and precision. Blueprints and sketches are pinned haphazardly on his half cleaned boards, curling slightly at the edges because he’s too busy working on the next big thing to bother straightening them out. His desk is cluttered with tiny models, half-finished calculations, and the occasional forgotten coffee cup (probably cold). Despite the mess, everything somehow makes sense to him — there’s a strange order to the chaos, like his mind spilled out into the room. And true to Philibert’s overthinking nature, there’s always a stack of “just in case” notes nearby, because you never know when you might need to reinforce a follicle.
Props
