3D animation exposes dangers of soil erosion

Words: Alex Williamson

It's fair to say that most of us take soil for granted. But this intentive 3D animated documentary created by Uli Henrik Streckenbach focuses attention on the dirt that sustains us in dramatic fashion.

The clean and precise animated short takes you on a journey of how soil is created, how we are losing it, why we need soil and how we can safeguard it. And the animation doesn't just illustrate the commentary; it brings it to life with some imaginative approaches to visualising what might otherwise seem a dry and technical analysis.

Attention-grabbing

Few animators use their talents to help environmental groups and even fewer create such a slick product that draws and holds the viewer’s attention for the entire film. Streckenbach is commited to the cause, though, and recently won prizes for an animation on overfishing. For more information on the subject, visit Global Soil Week.

Design, modelling and animation duties on the short were shared with Ronny Schmidt while Maik Lochmann did the character rigging and Andrea Abendroth took care of the scarecrow.

• Alex Williamson is an art and design student in London, who blogs about design, art and illustration. Follow him on Twitter.

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Have you seen any inventive animated shorts? Let us know in the comment box below!