Molasses
The third installment of our collaboration with Malaki focuses on the Molasses essences.
Molasses, a range of flavored liquid tobacco, is the real protagonist of this joint effort with &Reale agency. The product packs included colorful paints and brushstrokes, shaped differently for each flavor.
The client’s call was to use these design assets, animate them into some mood shots, and eventually combine them with some product shots.
Styleframes
The abstract paintings on each pack are nothing but an artistic representation of the taste it is named after.
We drew inspiration from those very same iconic elements, decoding such neat concept through 3D play, involving liquid colorful paint, dynamic brush effects, and the product packs.
This production was surely the most ambitious and technically complex among all the Malaki projects.
When we approached the design of the brushstrokes, we aimed at a realistic look and behavior. The goal was to create a thick and detailed mesh, with the trace marks looking exactly like those of brush bristles.
Besides, we wanted to achieve a sort of layering of several strokes, in order to get a more realistic fusion between the paint colors.
DevelopmentHere’s a quick RnD edit for the Malaki Molasses video.
Since we love challenges, we opted for the most complex solution that entailed four full weeks of RnD on the 3D fluid simulation only.
Once we figured out the best technique for obtaining the brushstroke effect, we set about the production and everything went smoothly.
The brushstrokes were just part of the challenge on this project. We also put an incredible amount of effort into prototyping various crown splashes, spills, and paint squirts.
Some early styleframes from when we were playing around with the smearing effect. At this stage, we were also testing shapes, hues, surface detailing, and reflection sharpness.
The chosen color palette was entirely inspired by the packs themselves: vibrant accents surrounded by the typical Malaki dark grey base color.
