MRA - Kentucky Derby

I've never been to the Kentucky Derby (or Kentucky in general), but I had a blast working on this project for the Lexington, KY location of Mr. Appliance! The clients wanted a short animation to share on socials in preparation for the race.

The clients asked for a video of the Mr. Appliance character riding a horse that transitioned to "book a service now." A lot of my inspiration came from Rich Strike and his rider since they had won the most recent race. I studied the rider's posture as well as the anatomy of horses in motion.

The Inspiration

Role
Motion design
Art design
Conceptualization

Sources
Logo and character copyrighted by Mr. Appliance

My original idea included the race track in the background + another horse and rider for the character to charge past. I started to worry if it was a little too "on the nose" and busy for a short animation. Ultimately, I opted for a cleaner design with minimal detail.

As a side note...this was a fun challenge not only because I had to rig the horse, but I also had to redesign the character. The more unique aspects like the overalls and wrench had to be omitted for proper riding form. Still, I was able to retain most of the design by just redesigning the torso/back!