2D Production Memo - August 2026

Written by Sheena Santamaria, Writer

Art by Ivory Bi

With our Animation department officially launched, FOREST is now in production!

Picture Lock Animatic: Locked and Ready
Thanks to editor Ian Logan, we now have a picture lock animatic. This means that our short film is “frozen” and no further changes will be made in terms of shot sequence and timing. Armed with this picture lock animatic, our crew has a clear idea of how the final version of the film will unfold.

Animatic Board by Aloha Lee and Rough Animation by Grace Jung

The Animation Department: Full Speed Ahead
We have officially launched our Animation department and onboarded over 20 animators. Under the leadership of Heads of Animation Joanna Jiang and Lara Pascual, our animators are using our picture lock animatic as their visual blueprint to get our charming cast of characters moving. 

To tackle the task of animating the film, every animator is assigned a list of shots. When asked how the animation process unfolds at FOREST, Animation Production Coordinator Bear Rondon explained:

“Each shot goes through four passes: layout and keyframes, rough animation, clean-up and in-betweens (CUIB), and color.

During the layout and keyframes pass, the animator focuses on hitting key poses and replicating the staging of the animatic but with more polished backgrounds and on-model characters. Once this pass is approved, it moves onto the next stage called rough animation. During this pass, the animator will sketch the general movements of characters. After this point, the shot is handed off to another artist for the last two passes. During CUIB, the shot is further refined with clean lines and additional frames to smooth out the motion in between poses. Finally, the clean lines are filled with color.”

Animator Grace Jung at her desk! Grace contributed the very first approved rough animation shot for FOREST.

Spotlight on: Character Designs
As our animators breathe movement into our film, our Design department continues to fill in our lush world. Art Lead Vanessa Nakasone has been curating the colors that highlight the story’s emotional arc, while Background Leads Ivory Bi and Nick Pina and their team have worked on nearly 100 backgrounds.
When asked about her philosophy on character design, Character Lead Laura Swalley shared:

“My philosophy for creating characters is that you must have a genuine love for designing them! My interests and hobbies, the types of people I meet, the cultures I’ve learned about, and the characters and stories I’m inspired by all influence my own design decisions. I hope this comes across in the designs of our protagonist and his friends!”

Character Art by Sarah Tran

What’s Next

• As our animators continue to tackle their shots, our Compositing team, led by Eric Wolford, continues to onboard and familiarize themselves with the nooks and crannies of our short film. Tasked with bringing all the film’s visual elements together, the Compositing team plays a vital role in ensuring that what ends up on screen is cohesive.
• In the coming weeks, we’ll be onboarding the remainder of our post-production team, who will be responsible for getting our film across the finish line.
• In the meantime, Composer Hunter Chang continues to craft the film’s melodies and will be conducting live recording sessions soon, creating the sonic landscape that’ll further bring the world of FOREST to life.