Innocence of the Sea | Animated Short Film

When something most precious is stolen, nothing will stop the hydroptera from retrieving it before it's too late!
Credits:
Julianna J. Landers - animator, editor, composer
Timothious Landers - creative consultant, composer
Want to Support my Artwork?
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Website:
julijlart.wixs...
Instagram:
/ julijlart
LinkTree:
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I am not currently taking commissions as I'd prefer to focus on my own projects.
Do NOT repost this animation, in whole or in part, without my expressed permission. Exceptions include situations where the content made using this animation falls under Fair Use Copyright Law.
About the Dragon:
The Hydroptera, the water dragon shown in this film, is based off of marine mammals (such as beluga whales and dolphins) as well as certain species of fish, such as the flying fish (yes, that's a real thing...and it's really cool).
I keep seeing comments on how "it's just a night fury without legs" and "it's so obviously toothless" and "you stole the design"...
When I made the model/designed the hydroptera, I did not think it looked like toothless. Neither did my brother, and we both are fans of httyd!
I took inspiration from the flying fish and aquatic mammals for the dragon, not toothless.
If you think it looks like toothless, than I don't fault you for that. Just know that it wasn't my intention to make a knock-off nightfury, and for that reason, I will be redesigning the hydroptera for future projects.
Facts about this Animation:
I used Blender to create and animate this scene. I created all of the assets, excluding the hdri (which was from PolyHaven), and animated the entire sequence myself. The soundtrack is original and was a joint effort between myself and Timothious. This project took about 3 months from start to finish and the animation took 100+ hours to render. I hope you enjoy it :)
Thank you! :)
#3d #animation #blender

[@julijlart]

Hey y'all!! I hope you enjoyed this short film and that it was worth the wait! If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :D

[@SolisDiem]

What was the black creature? And why was it there and took the Lil one with it? C.c

[@julijlart]

@@SolisDiem The creature that took the baby hydroptera is called the hydrognath. For why it was there, I'll keep that a secret for now because I might do something more with this cast of characters at a future time. I say "might" because I haven't quite decided yet. edit: for now, um... I guess he was hungry, and a baby hydroptera seemed like a good snack :)

[@AutisticEmo_fairy_X3]

Why did you have to make me cry my hood sir and or ma’am

[@SolisDiem]

@@AutisticEmo_fairy_X3 isn't it obvious that she is a she? XD

[@julijlart]

@@AutisticEmo_fairy_X3 I'm sorry if it made you cry. The whole short film could've been a lot more tragic though: While making the ending, I was debating whether the baby dragon would survive the experience... I was actually considering going with a much darker ending So now I'm glad that I didn't make that ending and I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! :)

[@skyender8353]

I wasn't the only one who thought it looked like a night/light furry kinda mixed with an axolotl right? Also the animation is amazing!

[@julijlart]

Glad you enjoyed it! The hydroptera is more based on aquatic mammals (such as dolphins) than the httyd dragons, though.

[@skyender8353]

@@julijlart I just saw a resemblance, that's all! but that's pretty neat. Also really cool creature name :)

[@KIKURAsky]

OMG SAME I WAS LIKE "uhh...nightfury...lightfury...axolotl sea dragon??"

[@Mollytov840]

not at all, I thought so too

[@laurentrobitaille2204]

They do look like night furries imo

[@Lavicious]

*Slams hands on table impatiently*

[@Cyber_N-7660]

*Stares closely at the waiting screen impatiently*

[@juliekunath79]

Stares at the stairs of the staurs of the gates of the heaven of the impatient people of the living world

[@men_del12]

*biting hard my own fingers calmly*

[@GetGalvanizedidiot209]

*screaming silently*

[@NH23-m8f]

*dies angrily*

[@sewershark4705]

Man, if there was a full movie with these characters I’d watch it! This is really well made! Great job!

[@julijlart]

Thanks! Glad you liked it! :D

[@KIKURAsky]

i love the design of the hydrotera

[@kathleenluckeydoo9205]

We need more water dragons like this

[@shawnbaze364]

You mean....like HTTYD? That the models are obviously based off of-

[@julijlart]

@@shawnbaze364 Please refer to the description of this video

[@Twinkster.]

I really said, "Um, sir, I know you did NOT just inhale that child."

[@julijlart]

XD

[@livinghomosapien123]

IKR, I WAS SO TERRIFIED

[@phyto.tyto06]

I SENSE UNDERRATED ANIMATOR SMELL! THIS IS BEAUTIFUL! 🤍

[@julijlart]

Thanks! XD Glad you liked the film!

[@WingsTheWolf]

At first when the hostile fish came I was like oh mabby it’s being nice- ✨NOM✨ … we’ll god dang

[@TheChristian_Poet9203]

This is the closest thing to making me cry. Thank you for it 🥹

[@julijlart]

You're welcome, and I'm so glad you enjoyed it!!

[@berrysnowyboy5251]

it made me cry at the end because at least the young hydroptera is safe at last

[@glorythenova008]

This is gorgeous! the animation is smooth and the lighting is amazing! i can only imagine how long this took to animate!

[@julijlart]

Thanks! :D The animation part alone probably took me about a month to finish.

[@snowyanimaltronic3154]

I love this animation! It's smooth, clean, and I love the designs of the creatures! p.s. i thought they looked like Night Fury's from HTTYD

[@julijlart]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) The hydroptera was based on aquatic mammals (such as dolphins) and fish. The design was not derived from httyd.

[@bugloverspiderlover8490]

@@julijlartit’s almost like convergent evolution

[@julijlart]

@@bugloverspiderlover8490 That's a good way to put it

[@Yahmai2014]

Whale, dragon, lizard

[@Jackxxhsskdshs-s3x]

my thoughts exactly

[@ItsMeFern2019]

My soul almost shattered 😭 You did such a lovely job on the expressions/animation! The character designs look great too, I feel like I could spot them in HTTYD or Sea Beast! 🌊 🐉 I also love how you tied those spikey little balls on the ocean floor into the story to make a bigger impact at the end! Well done :)

[@orriolson4432]

This is such incredible work! I think I'll probably start to see these creatures in my dreams, honestly. The way you made them move is so satisfying. Also, I'm always overjoyed to see other animators and creative people composing their own music for their films, because I also like to compose my own music for my animations and I love multimedia creative processes and DIY approaches. In a world where automation/AI and the pressure to specialize/pick a side are eating away at multimedia/multidisciplinary creative people, it's encouraging to see people take the time to develop and fine tune a whole host of creative skills. It can be a lot to figure out what works best with scoring for film and weaving music and motion together, because the intersection of music and film is such a complex area, but it can lead to uniquely cool and personal art. Here are some tips I have from what I've learned for anyone curious or anyone who is daydreaming about making something like this: -It's okay for the score to have open spaces and areas of silence. The music doesn't have to fill every crevice of the film. This helps it breathe, creates ebb and flow, and can serve as a cue for the audience to pay attention to something (emphasis). This way the music becomes part of the flow of the story rather than something kind of constantly overlaid on top of it that may be distracting. But above all, have trust in your beautiful animation work and know that when it comes to film scoring, less can be more for building a scene's mood and using music to enhance the narrative. -Experiment with your virtual and physical instruments and how you mix them in your DAW. The sound design of how you mix/produce them, layer them, and create texture, rhythm, and space/atmosphere is as important as the base sound design within the scene itself. The way you mix things and how you sculpt the sonic quality of the music can add so much to the storytelling and vibe when you use them very intentionally. -Depending on the program you use to compose your music, there is probably some sort of way to pull video reference into your composition software so you can match it more closely to picture. When you score something separately, the timing might be off, a key moment might fall flat, or the vibe may just not fit the way you imagined it would when you join them together. The music and the animation are two creatures caught up in a fascinating mating dance or some kind of conversation together, so they'll want to get to know each other and complement what the other one does. Scoring directly to picture can make this tailoring process a lot more efficient.

[@julijlart]

Thank you for the kind words! And very well said!

[@fang609]

Fantastic work on this. Really lovely animation and model work, and a really nicely executed story.

[@MegicTheGriffin]

This is just.. so gorgeous! You are TOO underrated and deserves more subscriberss! I hope this like and comment recommends this vid more to the algorithm!

[@SolisDiem]

Every comment and like does that :D plus if we watch it often till the end

[@SolisDiem]

We need an making of off this masterpiece!

[@julijlart]

I might just have to do that then :) It might take a bit to make though

[@SolisDiem]

@@julijlart oh yea sure! Take your time we'll wait :D

[@YardanTosemito]

I love this! The designs are so charming!

[@jaw____3]

its giving httyd

[@boxxy-not-Noxy]

This is so cute, the hydroptera look like aquatic nightfuries and I love it

[@anyaflowerofsummer4320]

this is beatiful.. i was having a terrible day before seeing this but this was so so sweet and the special thanks after made me laugh. thank you for this gorgeous film

[@julijlart]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and I hope your day gets better from here! :)

[@babychips.]

Im not crying your crying!! THE BABY WAS SO CUTEEEEE!!!!!

[@Jackxxhsskdshs-s3x]

the thumbnail lowkey had me like “TOOTHLESS??!”😭😭

[@GiperYay]

Same :D

[@burnedtoachris]

Screw helluva boss this goes deeper!😢😢

[@Audrey_AC]

Absolutely beautiful and breathtaking.❤😊

[@julijlart]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@Chymai]

The animation of the characters is amazing! Truly did an amazing job with portraying character emotions! I just found it a bit difficult to tell they were under water. Either changing their movement or adding bubbles would have made it more believable. But other than that really loved the story telling! Thanks for the hard work!

[@julijlart]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it! And yeah, I agree with you. I tried my best to make the movement more flowy, but probably more could've been done with that. If I could go back and redo it, I'd probably try to figure out how to make the underwater scenes look more like they were underwater... And probably tried to figure out VFX to make splashes and such.

[@Chymai]

@@julijlart I believe you’ll figure it out! You got true talent! :D

[@julijlart]

@@Chymai Thank you! That's very kind :)

[@ripplingriver9482]

@@julijlart​​⁠You did really good!! I would recommend watching some real life videos on how manta rays and sting rays swim through the water, or the way sea robins sort of spread their wings and glide! I imagine with the shape of their wings it could also be useful to see videos of how birds (with the exception of penguins, since their method is so unique and specialized for their wing shape) swim ^^ I can see what you’re going for and you’re doing a really good job!

[@AnkhAnanku]

Sound could do a lot of lifting here. I’m not a sound engineer so I don’t know what it is but underwater there’s often this rumbling sound of bubbles in a surge and distant waves echoing.

[@NessaTheBat1]

This is so beautiful! The animation, the creatures, the music and the sounds! These creatures look like a mix of axolotl and bat which looks very nice!

[@Unemunem]

This is incredible! I hope this animation will be blessed by KZbin recommendations

[@fireandice2164]

This could literally be a type of dragon in httyd it even looks so much like them too, it’s so good 😮

[@dartskyee]

They sound like whales/dolphins😊

[@Emzlga]

Aw, these little guys are simply so lovable, from their design and “biology” down to their little characters and calls

[@lindsey_the_wolf1294]

It looks like if you combine a axolotl, lightfury and butterfly.🥹

[@lilianapereguda513]

This water night/light fury looks beutifull and gorgeous 😀

[@ВикторЖуравлёв-у9о]

Интересно, эти драконы вели изначально воздушный образ жизни и потом от него перешли к подводному, или наоборот? Или они как-то умудрились адаптироваться к жизни в обеих средах одновременно?

[@TheWolfQueentm]

The sounds remind me of Sky:CotL

[@immagical7036]

*WHY’D YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME THE FEEEEEELS* Also this was incredibly well done and oh my god I love the creatures

[@kajamaja7148]

The bad guy: *Mlem* Me: "AND NOW YOU ASKED FOR A FIGHT"

[@julijlart]

XD

[@underwateremu]

!Spoilers! Child: *gets eaten* The entire gang: *literally wakes up and chooses violence*

[@Rats.rule2134]

2:05 I’m currently crying right now.

[@Sqwatonch_Inniri]

This is so adorable 😭😭😭😭😭

[@RobotBoyAZ]

Good animation but one problem it literally went from sun too moon in the next 2 seconds but good animation I give it a 7-10

[@lost2439]

Oh Gods i was NOT expecting that! It was so sweet and pure and then suddenly! I thought it was gonna be a friend situation!!!! I genuinely think my heart stopped in my chest for a sec there!!!!

[@linckidstv]

I DONT CARE WHO YOU ARE YOU CANT TELL ME THIS ISN'T ABSOLUTELY AWSOME!!!!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤!!!!!!

[@hotbread1004]

loved this. that little baby learned a very valuable lesson from that encounter, it's momma is right about the world and dont wonder off

[@rafertieslorekeeper5771]

Like slot of comments, I first thought this was a fan-made Nightfury animation. But after watching I think they were supposed at be a blue sea dragon? I don't suppose the animators comment about that; I think they're beautiful (if dangerous) creatures.

[@rafertieslorekeeper5771]

Pardon the typos. I'm on my Kindle (can't edit) and my eyesight isn't the best so I miss spelling errors.

[@julijlart]

Hi there! I call this dragon species the hydroptera I'm glad you like them! :D Since making this animation, I've slightly redesigned them to improve their silhouette. I'm actually working on another animation with the redesigned version, and I hope to have that ready in a month or so.

[@eeriedan]

This is so cool! Very inspiring!

[@julijlart]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

[@Haah_lah]

I love when the hydroptera have Y tails,and the dark creature have -< tail😁

[@lebucone7922]

This is a beautiful animation and the ending fr got me emotional when the little baby woke up😭😭😭

[@SweetXoXMira]

it's kinda annoying how wrong their bodies act inside the water. They are moving like birds in a density of gas and not something that lives inside a liquid.

[@akallathecallo]

Did anyone else here "you just need kindness and forgiveness, huh?" When the little critter swam up to the big critter?

[@fangirls_leader687]

2:06 i immediatly went "NO THE BABY D: !!!!!!!"

[@jennal337]

This short flim was azming! and the baby was so adorable!!

[@Alex-ft1df]

It's a sea nightfury dragon, and a sea lizard rolled up into one thing.

[@sirenn413]

Absolutely beautiful! The characters are soo cute and I can tell just how much love went into this! Please keep it up!!

[@dartskyee]

And i think this is an original design! Not a knock-off nightfury!

[@Bear-bc1pv]

I find the hydroptera noises so cute and adorable.

[@tangiecalloway6572]

Moral of the story: Don't talk nor approach strangers at night

[@loganatort5883]

WATER TOOTHLESS!! i love them 🥺

[@-xxlightwingstudiosxx-51]

SOOO CUTE!!!! I can’t wait to see more! The designs are perfect!

[@julijlart]

Thanks! :D

[@-xxlightwingstudiosxx-51]

@@julijlart And, what did you learn most when creating this? What is the creature based off of? I got Axolotl/Night Fury vibes. Also, new sub!

[@julijlart]

@@-xxlightwingstudiosxx-51 I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) I'd say that one of the things I learned the most is how to use camera movements to convey the story. The water dragons are based off of aquatic mammals (dolphins, beluga whales, etc...) and some species of fish (specifically flying fish).

[@JadeDragon407]

Well done... *meep* poor things have to be careful out there

[@agathaf.1350]

oh my goodness!! these creatures are so cute! I want to hug them tight! 🥺🥺

[@FernandoMazzo175]

Oh boy, can't wait for Part 2: Guilt of the Sea Excellent job, the animation and noises are beautiful 👏

[@julijlart]

@@FernandoMazzo175 Thanks! XD

[@katylunatalents]

I'M GOING TO EXPLODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Getmynameoff]

I can’t believe toothless ate the light fury

[@dr1gonz]

I love this so much!! It’s so cuteee ahhh

[@Ravens93]

That was beautiful ♥ good job 👍

[@oliviadavis3638]

Was literally not expecting the baby to get eaten 😳

[@faenene]

Wow such cute characters, and this is very well animated! Amazing work!

[@OrigamiFanClub]

This is adorable! I also love the fact that your dog made it into the credits too

[@theshowofficial1290]

This is the pure action! 👍

[@JaybirbXD]

Woooh! It's finally here! Everything was amazing, smooth, perfectly rendered, creature designs are real nice, with a short but interesting story! 4 minutes 16 seconds of pure beauty. It's amazing how much you grew, from a few subs to 2k! Can't wait to see more of you 👍

[@julijlart]

Thank you for the kind words! :D

[@Ghazt-]

Bruh the way it just eats the child 💀

[@HelloImStaticman]

Then all of a sudden "🦈"

[@ellesandralady8596]

Is it weird to want to live there now???

[@warriorcats2755]

it looked almost nice then tried to eat them.

[@the-sus-drake5775]

(Wipes tear) BEAUTIFUL! JUST BEAUTIFUL!1!1👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@julijlart]

I'm glad you liked it :D

[@the-sus-drake5775]

@@julijlart FANATASTIC JOB DUDE!1!1

[@lerneanlion]

I knew what was going to happen as soon as the darkly ray-like predator appeared. But the sudden attack definitely took me by surprise because I was expecting the predator to make the prey feel comfortable by giving it the false sense of security. The highlight, however, is the fact that the preys struck back with sea urchin! And I like it! Thank you for this animation! You guys are awesome!

[@julijlart]

Thanks! :D I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

[@RayDrawzDragonz]

No i’m not crying, you are!

[@koalaray_sketches]

I love their little sounds 🥺

[@ChuM00n_]

*TAKE MY MONEY AND MAKE A FULLY FLEDGED FILM!* Please🙏🙏

[@julijlart]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I wish I could make a full film, but I don't have that kind of time. I've thought about making a short series with this dragon among other creatures. I'd need time to figure out the overarching story though.

[@bluewhalestudioblenderanim1132]

also another odd thing is: they are literaly toothless also normal glue or sticly slaliva doesn't work under water so either they have an incredibly soft , moldable tongue . . allmost to the point of being amorphous mass , . or they use it allmost like a suction cup

[@thejaguarsultima2655]

The sounds the make tho 🥹

[@XenoflareBahamut]

When I saw the Black dragon ate the baby I immediately said "KILL THE OCEAN!". But when the baby was saved: Become Seaborn.

[@ashleypisarts]

This is beautifully well done. The animation is stunning, and the score is produced so well! I also love the designs of the creatures, they’re adorable!! 🩵🩵

[@kayleeschmidt7274]

sea fury!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ASharkNamedWaffle]

They remind me of the Night fury. And now i imagine them as the ancestors of the night fury before they evolved for a life in the sky.

[@julijlart]

I like the theory! It's very creative! The hydroptera isn't from the httyd universe though. The design was inspired from fish and aquatic mammals (such as dolphins). I like the thought behind the theory nonetheless! :)

[@loksven83]

Aww water toothlesses!

[@deletedddddddddd]

under water you think they'de move way slower and more graceful, this is way too choppy, erratic and just awful animation

[@SC4RL3T_animations]

Wooooooo!!! I can't wait

[@katierenee5699]

Axolotle dragons. OH MY GOSH. Also that animation was SO SMOOTH. Great job!!! Also I'm not crying you're crying.

[@Lilypadsthoughts]

I love this!❤

[@Xumi_]

Crying, sobbing, slamming my door, punching the air, hugging my pillow

[@theworldofthestrangethings7599]

So cool 😎 They look kinda like Nightfuries From HTTYD

[@Quickwings.Nightwing]

2:05 im not the only one who started to lagh at this since.. right?

[@julijlart]

Nope XD My family did as well

[@giulf3der957]

Well done!! It's amazing❤ Poor baby, I'm glad they're okay🥺

[@shadowmoonwof]

This animation is stunning! Wow, This is unbelievable quality! How did you animate them so well? The flow is so smooth, it’s incredible! Do you think you can give me some tips? This is just so flawless!

[@julijlart]

I'm glad you liked it! :D I've of the biggest things that helped make the moment so flowy was with the "copy rotation constraint" on the wing bones. Using a controller bone that controls the rotations of most of the wing bones allowed me to curl the wings up and down when swimming/flying. When you time that curl with the up/down motion of the wing just right, you can make it look really smooth. Hope that helps!

[@shadowmoonwof]

@@julijlart Thank you so much! I’m definitely going to use this, lol. That’s amazing how you figured that out! Keep up the good work!

[@julijlart]

@@shadowmoonwof Thanks! And good luck with your projects!

[@shadowmoonwof]

@@julijlart Thank you!!

[@drakonvaettir9842]

This was so beautiful! I loved the animation and sounds! The creatures kinda reminded me of a night fury. Which I absolutely loved! Great job!

[@vikkiearley8997]

Earned a sub :D Great video Incredible animations I hope I can do this one day

[@Coconuttty3]

*cough cough* FOLLOWS AGGRESSIVELY CAUSE 😨⭐*cough*

[@christhe2dprotogen511]

Now I’m interested in the speculative ecology of this world

[@anonymousanon3055]

Sweet!

[@Asp3n_or_something]

that evil one must be thinking “GODDAMNIT I WAS HUNGRY”