Dolly Baby : Rhythm & Flesh

I’m incredibly proud to share Dolly Baby : Rhythm & Flesh, a 5-minute animated short film currently making its way to festivals, including Annecy 2025 and more.

This marks my final project as a graduate of NAD, and it’s been one of the most fulfilling creative journeys I’ve had. Under the direction of the talented Boucher Tahraoui and alongside an amazing team, I had the opportunity to wear many hats and contribute across multiple departments.

My Roles:
- Layout Artist / Supervisor
- Environment Artist
- Simulation CFX / Supervisor
- Crowd Artist
- Modeling

This project came with a range of exciting challenges that pushed us both creatively and technically:

Cloth Simulation Workflow: One of the major hurdles was converting 2-step animation from Maya into 1-step animation for simulation in Houdini, while needing to simulate dynamic cloth on three characters across many shots. I created a robust cloth simulation setup and used TOPs to manage and automate per-shot simulations efficiently.

Procedural Layout and Modeling: I also developed procedural modeling tools that worked dynamically with crowd systems in solaris, allowing our layout to adapt quickly during retakes. This gave us flexibility to handle creative changes and iterations late into production without starting from scratch.

These solutions were crucial in maintaining quality while meeting the demands of a tight production schedule.

This project was a true team effort, and I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved together. We hope you enjoy the result!

Keep an eye out for Dolly Baby : Rhythm & Flesh coming to Annecy 2025 and other festivals near you.