Animated excerpt for CNN coverage of a massacre in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, November 2020.
Styleframes
Taking cues from traditional and religious Ethiopian art, I explored illustration and collage styles that could be blended together. Images of the Tigray region's landscapes were integrated with a paired down sketch style of illustration to ensure sensitivity over the subject matter and the victims. Simple splatter textures indicates violence without showing graphic representations of it. A level of compassion was very important in the development of the style.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/b51d8e04-5e55-45e1-8b5e-3d35159647fa_rw_1920.jpg?h=a48ac11f6eef73d21d6efc7a414e9105)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/707ea6db-3409-402c-9963-e2c02054e577_rw_1920.jpg?h=67011ed9b8c819b9efe4cf48c2b6fc4d)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/1ab39b59-3e6c-44fe-8c57-7850bd217c2b_rw_1920.jpg?h=3e7ce205fd7b92988cebcf33cacc8e0b)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/08a47c79-8e57-4fea-b0d5-3922c6821a1c_rw_1920.jpg?h=f9363c849573a8f3f4a963c46846ddb2)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/61e1c2a7-545b-4107-8d14-05fc231fd748_rw_1920.jpg?h=671c42c4f41e348db8002e29d407e6e0)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/47d09b6f-4b37-4c3b-98b1-82c1b8e9dd72_rw_1920.jpg?h=ffbfc9d5b44d523615a8e1d248c3ce85)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/4cf127b8-a243-4ed8-a8ed-26fd31686e28_rw_1920.jpg?h=11e2e2319255fa813413f58cc25804ac)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/07d3dff1-7105-45e5-80af-26075fa2dea2_rw_1920.jpg?h=cef42f3c67ce8f90addb602f205686b9)
Storyboards
Due to the shifting nature of the script, I had to distill down each scene to a core visual metaphor.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/64b7d1dee2e806a5fd3a6fabf6c91e6f/0d5dbb3c-c4d2-44c6-b373-c8a17ccb4fd0_rw_1920.jpg?h=dc9254c3a283e5306e572af9d938fd6f)
Art Direction: Elisa Solinas
Design and Animation: Jessi Esparza
Animation: Agne Jurkenaite
Full investigation can be viewed on CNN.com