Praise the Sunflower — Surreal 3D Animation
Praise the Sunflower is a surreal 3D animation inspired by a strange piece of artwork I encountered featuring a black-and-white sun with a mouth full of dark, unsettling teeth. Initially, I set out to recreate the artwork as closely as possible, using it as a starting point to practice 3D modeling, composition, and animation. As the idea developed, however, I decided to move away from creating an exact copy and instead explore where the concept could take me creatively.
The original sun evolved into something much stranger: a mysterious man in a suit seemingly controlling the cosmos around him. I built the characters, environments, and visual elements in Blender, experimenting with surreal imagery, looping animation, and unusual compositions to create a world that feels both cosmic and unsettling. I then brought the animation into After Effects to enhance the final visuals and build the finished motion piece.
The project became an exercise in creative evolution—taking a simple visual reference and allowing it to transform into something completely different. Rather than being limited by the original artwork, I used it as a creative spark and followed the idea wherever it led. The result is Praise the Sunflower, a looping surreal animation that combines 3D modeling, motion design, visual effects, and experimental storytelling into a strange little world of my own.