“CHALAWAN” | Animated Short Film (2024)
Chalawan, the monstrous crocodile, dwells in a cavern with his beloved, the gorgeous Tapao. Yet, the arrival of a mercenary named Kraithong, who desires to vanquish the beast, compels Chalawan to defend his loved one and confront this looming threat with all of his might.
Accolades
“Chalawan” is a 3d animated short film that reimagines the traditional Thai folklore, the legend of Chalawan. The original tale is about Chalawan, the mythical crocodile king, and Kraithong, a traveler merchant who seeks to kill Chalawan to save a missing girl. In this version, the roles of Chalawan and Kraithong are intriguingly reversed, offering a fresh perspective on the well-known legend by presenting a unique twist on the classic narrative.
In this version, Chalawan, a kind and wise crocodile, who lives happily with his wife in their peaceful cave. Their peaceful life is disrupted by Kraithong, a misguided hero who believes he must rescue Chalawan’s wife from captivity. Ignoring her protests that she loves Chalawan and wants to stay, Kraithong insists on taking her away. This leads to a dramatic battle between Kraithong and Chalawan, who must fight to protect his family. “Chalawan” challenges traditional notions of heroism and villainy, exploring themes of love, misunderstanding, and true bravery.
In the original story, the character Chalawan lived in an underwater cave. We have reinterpreted the cave by replacing the character’s residence with a more generic cave and adding an element of intrigue by suggesting that the cave belongs to a crocodile with a crocodile statue.
First draft environment concept
The final concept chosen for the cave’s design involved an opening at the top of the cave, while retaining the crocodile head and pond.
Environment objects
The environment is designed to reflect Thai characteristics. The houses in the story are modeled after traditional Thai houses, which are raised off the ground to prevent flooding during the monsoon season. Other props in the house are also everyday items commonly used in Thailand.
Storyboard
Character Chalawan
In the original Thai folktale, Chalawan is a powerful crocodile who can transform into a human. In our reimagining, we’ve kept the monstrous crocodile aspect of Chalawan but added a touch of kindness. His form is now more rounded and smooth, but he still retains his sharp spikes for a touch of coolness and awe-inspiring power.
Character Tapao
In the original folktale, Tapao is the chief of village’s daughter who is kidnapped by Chalawan. However, in our version, we’ve changed Tapao into Chalawan’s companion.
Character Karitong
Kraithong is a mercenary who comes to defeat Chalawan to save Tapao, the maiden he loves. In designing Kraithong, various magical yantra tattoos have been incorporated into his attire to give him an aura of enchantment, and beautiful Thai patterns have been added to showcase the character’s luxuriousness. His facial design is crafted to exude coolness while also hinting at his villainous nature.
Kraithong’s spear
Candle Bomb
RnD and Effect
Lighiting
The lighting in our animation is divided into six emotions: solitude, neutral, hope, rage, despair, and tranquility. These emotions correspond to the six sequences of the film.
Lighting References
Once the lighting was done in blender, we exported all the images to Pureref for comparison to ensure consistent lighting throughout the animation.
By utilizing Blender’s view layers and scene system, we optimized rendering times significantly. This system’s flexibility allowed us to leverage multiple render engines. Notably, we used Eevee for volumetric lighting, as it renders them considerably faster than Cycles.
Compositing
