Sanat Sharma

When Rain Comes

This animation follows the interactions of an Indian child who goes outside when the rainfall begins. This animation is an opportunity to look back at a cultural and behavioral difference that I observed in the past during my time in India brought into fruition through visual storytelling while simultaneously being a fundamental breakthrough in developing my artistic process.

“The common response towards rain, from my experience being born and raised in Canada, is to remain indoor during rainfall. However, the observation I made 8 years while visiting India is that for many children it is the opposite, where rain, similar to snow, is an opportunity to go outside and indulge in this natural phenomenon. As a result, the animation follows the interactions of an Indian child who goes outside when the rainfall begins. For many, rain serves more than just a natural phenomenon. In many cultures, rain serves as a strong pillar for cultural and religious ideologies. Indigedous communities often conduct religious activities such as rain dances and in African communities rainmaking rituals are often conducted to encourage the presence of rain; in areas of drought, such as southern Asia, rainfall is a blessing due to its lack of presence. To me this animation explores another perspective to the arrival of rain that differs from my own experience.My main goal with this piece was to develop a moody tone throughout the animation. Rain drastically changes the environment; the increased reflections, desaturation, and contrast is something I find rather appealing to look at and is something I looked to mimic in the environment throughout the animation. As a result, the backgrounds were a large focus of the project. By using colour, light, and composition, I was constantly looking to develop a visual appeal to these environments inspired by the streets and alleyways of India. The character is simple in his attire wearing shorts and a t-shirt, a common outfit for children in India nowadays. The animation is made using traditional 2D animation for the character movement. The backgrounds are made through a combination of 3D modeling blocked in Blender 3D and 2D photo manipulation and digital painting using Photoshop.This animation is an opportunity to look back at a cultural and behavioral difference that I observed in the past during my time in India brought into fruition through visual storytelling while simultaneously being a fundamental breakthrough in developing my artistic process. ”