How to Grow Clouds - story

How to Grow Clouds

It takes a lot of work: it is necessary to weed very carefully, to toss out muck and small stones by hand, to kneel on the earth, bend over, dig about in the soil, water profusely, collect caterpillars, exterminate aphids, loosen the ground and serve the earth; when your back hurts from all this and you straighten up and look at the sky, you will have the prettiest clouds. Probatum est.

Philemon, or On Gardening

Karel Capek

No page-turning action or plot twists, this form belongs more in the recipe book than the narrative of a short puppet stop motion animation, but it was in this “recipe” that I found my inspiration..

As an enthusiast of all things Japanese I was attracted to the almost-haiku style atmosphere that inspired me to set my animation in a Japanese-like environment. Like Haiku poetry I wanted the animation to focus on emphasizing the small details, to catch the fleeting moments and glorify the everyday actions of something as simple as the act of gardening while playing on the allegorical meaning of “you reap what you sow.”

After preparing some initial watercolor story boards I decided that I wanted the whole animation to envoke the feel of a 3d watercolour painting.