Hi, I’m Yuval, a 2D animation director specializing in design and illustration in a playful style, either leading teams or as a one-stop shop. I’m also a versatile motion designer, working with studios and agencies on a variety of projects, from  identity motion systems to character animation.
Covid Loop
A contagious virus shows us just how connected we truly are. Each panel of the comic is a vignette – separate locations linked through character contagion. The animation ultimately forms a loop for the next wave to begin.
Featured on Sagmeister’s page, Motionographer, booooooom, WINE after COFFEE, buck.u.back, goodmovestv, Ben Marriott, motionmass, Yorokobu
Credits:
Story, Illustration, Direction: Yuval Haker
Animation: Arthur Guttilla, John McColgan, Yuval Haker
Music: Micha Gilad
Sound Design: Arjun Sheth

Process:
Creating a micro-world with its own set of rules helped determine narrative and action. The comic strip is a self-imposed limitation. With these hard boundaries in place, the characters could “break the rules” – flow between panels and take control of their frames. Ex. the lifter uses the comic divider for weight lifting, the punk’s frame turns into a phone, etc.


During the animatic phase, I used a red square to keep track of where the main action was happening. Even when the viewer’s attention shifts to the next panel, the characters left in the “inactive scenes” keep themselves busy by sipping coffee, coughing, etc.
Music:
Micha created the music track and used the repetitive sound of the heart rate monitor as the musical backbone and layered goovy synth, bass and drums on top. Micha masterfully tweaked the music between every frame (techno in the gym, experimental heavy metal in the concert). The lighthearted track gradually strips away until we are left with the lone heart rate monitor.
Video reference > rough pass > cleanup