Postauto

100 Years Dreiklanghorn

The three-tone horn of the Swiss Post is 100 years old. To celebrate this event, a competition was organised in which participants were asked to submit pictures or videos, among other formats. My contribution, a short 3D-Animation won the 1st-Price in the category, Foto/Video.

The concept for my contribution was a looped Animation that guides the viewer through the history of the Postbus and the three-tone horn. The bus model changes from an older model to the current model while the Postbus drives in a circle upwards around a small hill in a picturesque landscape.

I was later asked to create a christmas animation for the passenger TV of the Postbuses, based on my winning entry:


Mockup: 100 years three-tone horn

Design Concept

I tried to find a suitable setting to tell a little story about the Swiss Postbus and to include the three-tone horn. By changing between simple bus models while the bus drives around a hill, I tried to symbolise progress over time. This also allowed for the function of the three-tone horn – the warning of oncoming traffic in the mountain regions – to be referenced.

One of the main motivations for the project was to learn more about shading in blender. What started as a test for toon- and cel-shading became an exploration of the possibilities and the use of halftone shading in 3D. Also, I wanted to exercise low-poly modelling by creating three simple models of the postbuses. The models were not meant to be a perfect depiction of the actual vehicles but to be reduced as much as possible while still maintaining the core forms and designs of the buses. 

I created a vibrant color palette to set a friendly and lush tone. I tried to minimize the amount of different colors to adhere to the toon-shading and to keep coherence throughout the scene. In post-production, I added a subtle noise texture over the composition and adjusted the color temperature to a warmer tone. Together with a low poly flock of birds and a suitable sound design, I wanted to wrap the animation in a cozy and natural atmosphere.

With the vivid color palette, the low-poly style, and the use of procedural halftone shaders, I tried to give the animation a modern yet simultaneously vintage aesthetic. In the end, I added a text element with a retro look and recreated a logo of the old post horn. The whole animation was meant to work as a loop for use on social media.

Making Of

Postauto Weihnachtsgruss

Postauto Christmas Greeting

After my short animation for the Dreiklanghorn won first prize in the anniversary competition, I was invited by Postbus to rework the video into a short Christmas animation that was shown in the Postbuses across Switzerland and on social media.

Using the same models for the buses and the mountains, the challenge was to design the surrounding landscape to create a Christmassy atmosphere. I therefore created fairy lights allong the guarding rail, piles of snow on the mountainside and cute little chalets with smoke rising from their chimneys. In the end I populated the mountains with small houses and a cozy forrest.

Passenger TV | Deutsch

Making Of

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