Meet Knock Knock Estudio: The creative animators behind some of InnovatorsBox’s animation
The dream team makes the dream work possible! In the past few months, I’m so thrilled to have partnered with more creatives to tell our story of creativity more visually and through animation. In the next few blogs, I’m excited to introduce you to some of our animators and illustrator who have made the artwork and imaginative land come to life together. As someone who always loves learning behind the scenes and how things come together, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about how animation and creative production is done behind the scenes and I hope these insights inspire you as you learn more about how our animation and creative productions are done.
Today I’m excited to introduce you to Knock Knock Estudio in Mexico.
Knock Knock Estudio understands creative storytelling. When we first had our e-meet and we started collaborating, I appreciated how they took my ideas fully to a whole new level. I loved their animation and style so much that our one-time project quickly turned into a regular collaborative effort. If you have seen some of our animation clips with the character introductions, you’ve seen their magical work come to life! And since I’m always curious about how things come together behind the scenes, I took a moment to catch up with them to ask them how things came together and their thoughts on reflection.
MONICA: How did you first get into animation?
Knock Knock Estudio: We are a team of four partners in Knock Knock Estudio. Our Animation Director, in his adolescence, was into animation, so he started using photoshop and flash software, also one of his friends who was a fine arts teacher helped him to get into the visual creative world, including animation.
And the other partners from the team studied Digital art and Visual Media. We used to work at the same company called Knotion, where we got along to make this team and to start our own studio, doing what we love for ourselves and for everyone.
MONICA: Where do you find inspiration to create good animation?
Knock Knock Estudio: The inspiration comes from big animation studios like Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, etc. They’ve always been present, on the other hand, we found inspiration and motivation from independent animation projects like Huevocartoon, Xiao Xiao, and the Newgrounds website. Also recently, most of the Ghibli Studio and the new wave of 2D animation.
MONICA: What does your team specialize in?
Knock Knock Estudio: Cut-out and Motion graphics.
MONICA: Why do you like doing animation work?
Knock Knock Estudio: For us animation is magic, like Disney’s Nine Old Men once said: It’s the illusion of life, something inert that can transmit emotions and feelings. Each project is a new creative challenge.
MONICA: What is most important in animation development?
Knock Knock Estudio: A good approach and idea, led by a good team.
MONICA: How did you decide on the character developments?
Knock Knock Estudio: We looked for a combination of our style and InnovatorsBox’s style. Maintaining the flat solid colors that characterize us and the charm that each character has.
MONICA: What was the part that you enjoyed the most in developing it?
Knock Knock Estudio: Creating the perfect scene for the characters to live in, making a simple environment but effective to give them life.
The process of revealing each action from a character, watching how they come to life and knowing each of the scenes is a very important part for the client’s identity.
MONICA: What was the part that was the hardest developing and why?
Knock Knock Estudio: The character creation, because adapting from an existing character into another style implies capturing the essence, and that’s a little tricky.
Also developing the idea, because it’s about translating narrative needs into visual messages, besides it’s the starting point of having a white canvas to create, but we know the starting point is always the most difficult part and needs lots of imagination.
MONICA: What do you hope others would feel when they see the animations?
Knock Knock Estudio: Each animation has a goal, for example, it needs to be funny or needs to give knowledge, solemnity, etc. And what we expect from our animation is that it achieves each of the goals without the user/client having any doubts about it.
MONICA: What were your favorite scenes and why?
Knock Knock Estudio: We couldn’t choose just one, each of the scenes has its charm, but if we needed to choose, we love the scenes where each character is building the InnovatorsBox logo, and how each one separately represents something, and together becomes InnovatorsBox Identity.
MONICA: How are InnovatorsBox’s projects different than other projects?
Knock Knock Estudio: The examples and references provided by InnovatorsBox from other projects were the guides for the elaboration of this projects, everything was used to start a free and creative work aligned by the personality of InnovatorsBox. On the other hand with other projects we’ve worked on, the characteristics and approaches of each animation were completely different, from what their goals were.
MONICA: How did you decide on the character developments?
Knock Knock Estudio: First of all, studying and reviewing all content from InnovatorsBox, and secondly thinking on the characters archetypes and their principal characteristics.
MONICA: What was the part that you enjoyed the most in developing it?
Knock Knock Estudio: When we were looking for the characters to show an histrionic emotion.
MONICA: What was the part that was the hardest developing and why?
Knock Knock Estudio: Assembling everything, because while we gather all the elements, we have to make them work together. Finding the correct time and ‘visual silence’ to help the message be transmitted.
Also to give life to each of the characters, looking for them to seem natural while moving. And that each movement is adequate, without omitting the other things animated that reinforce the product.
MONICA: What were your favorite scenes and why?
Knock Knock Estudio: The scene where the pig is trying to leave the mud, because it has a lot of charm and we also love the exaggeration of the mud splashing everywhere, that helped us use it as a transition for the next scene. That’s some peculiar language of the animation.
We also loved the first part of the monkey, because it captures all the essence of curiosity in the first few seconds and that’s what we wanted to show.
MONICA: What do you hope others would feel when they see the animations?
Knock Knock Estudio: That everything we wanted to show in the animation is clear for everyone. Every value, emotion, sensation is transmitted to the user.
MONICA: Any other final thoughts?
Knock Knock Estudio: It’s been grateful and pleasant working for/with InnovatorsBox, the precision and organization allowed us to be an enjoyable working team. We really expect to be part of more projects soon.
Thank You! We’re incredibly pleased and proud of the work that’s been done, and the characters look sensational! Working with the team at Knock Knock Studios was a delightful experience and I look forward to creating more together!
About the Author
Monica H. Kang
Monica H. Kang, Founder, and CEO of InnovatorsBox® and Author of Rethink Creativity is transforming today’s workforce through the power of creativity. She helps companies rethink culture, leadership, and team development by making creativity practical and relatable regardless of industry or job title. She has worked with clients worldwide including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, government, and nonprofits. Monica’s work has been recognized by The White House, Ashoka Changemakers, National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), and Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Prior to InnovatorsBox®, Monica was a nuclear nonproliferation policy expert. She holds an M.A. from SAIS Johns Hopkins University in Strategic Studies and International Economics and a B.A. from Boston University.
