One of the greatest things about animation and motion graphics is the opportunity to see something new that has rarely been done, if ever. We were fortunate enough to have the chance to bring history back to life, making this one of the most unique marketing projects we’ve ever had the pleasure of working on.

Back in 2018, our client El Nacimiento Tequila was honored by being selected as the Official Tequila of the Illinois Bicentennial Celebration, marking the 200th birthday of the state of Illinois. To mark this momentous occasion, they contacted VFX Haus and asked if it was possible to bring the Great Emancipator back from the dead. Our response: “No problem!”

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This massive undertaking began with scouring the internet for public domain images of our 16th President. After we found what we needed, the images were tossed into photoshop to be sliced and diced in a manner that would allow for animation.

We then brought the images into After Effects to begin the tedious process of creating a digital marionette.

By strategically placing axis points and parenting layer upon layer, we were able to articulate his limbs in a manner that would imply seamless movement in 3D space using nothing more than flat 2-dimensional layers.

Abe’s face proved to be an even bigger challenge! With such a distinct and recognizable likeness, we needed to make sure to create believable movement taking care not to make it look cheesy or overstated.

By using the puppet pin tool with very specific moveable, and immovable points, we were able to manipulate the lips, eyebrows and chin and cheek areas to illicit the commanding presence indicative of good ol’ Honest Abe.

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In addition to the animation, we even created some small static graphics for the client’s social media showcasing Abe snapping selfies around Chicago and the surrounding area! Once we had the animation finished these all came together very quick and easy. A few of those images can be seen below! A huge thank you to El Nacimiento Tequila for bringing us on for this project! Salud amigos!