Awaken Akira

AWAKEN_AKIRA

2018

Design / Editing / CGI

Awaken Akira was created by three friends, Ash Thorp, PilotPriest, and Zaoeyo, who wanted to collaborate on a tribute to the iconic anime, Akira, by Katsuhiro Otomo.

Awaken Akira / 01

Selected Frames

01 / 08

Awaken Akira / 02

Form Studies

Awaken Akira / Form Studies — study 3 — 03 / Form Studies

Awaken Akira / Form Studies — study 4 — 04 / Form Studies

Zaoeyo and I spent a year building this passion project through late nights and weekends. We wanted to push our CGI skills, using Akira as both a catalyst for learning and a tribute to one of our favorite animations. It was demanding, playful work—and a chance to connect through something we both loved.

Ash Thorp

Moving image / Silent loop

Awaken Akira / 03

Surface Detail

Awaken Akira / Surface Detail — study 3 — 03 / Surface Detail

Awaken Akira / Surface Detail — study 4 — 04 / Surface Detail

Awaken Akira / 04

Design Process

Awaken Akira / Design Process — study 3 — 03 / Design Process

Awaken Akira / Design Process — study 4 — 04 / Design Process

Moving image / Silent loop

Further studies

Awaken Akira / 05

Selected Frames

Awaken Akira / Selected Frames — study 3 — 03 / Selected Frames

Project notes & credits ＋

We used practical photography to capture Tetsuo's body transformation.

We shot over 17 hours of 120 fps 4k footage for the incredible fluid dynamics.

Endless amounts of hours were poured into Awaken Akira, and it took us a full year of working intermittently in our spare time to create the tribute. We did our best to replicate the original art and honor the masterful work of Otomo.

Design + Production + Direction - Ash Thorp Design + Production + Direction - Zaoeyo Score - PilotPriest Character Modeler - Raf Grassetti Photography - The Joelsons

We would like to personally thank every man and woman on the creative team that brought Akira to life, and especially, Master Otomo for the years of continuous inspiration.

Please also visit - awakenakira.com