How we built Bluey’s World

Summary

We finally ended up back in each other’s orbits in 2017 working on a few different projects at Ludo Studio, a Brisbane production company that had started producing some 2D shows. All the while bubbling away in the background was this little show called Bluey that Ludo and Joe were trying to get funding for. Somewhere amongst all this, Joe sent me the pilot he’d made, asking whether I’d be interested in hopping on board as art director. Against all odds, I would be getting to do what I’d always dreamed of. And at 23, as far as I know, I was about to become Australia’s youngest lead art director for an animated show.Joe kicked off the project with a singular and solidified vision for the show’s art direction. He wanted Bluey’s visuals to be beautiful, and show off our hometown of Brisbane, which we both cared so much about. To be honest it was an easy brief, because every other day in Brisbane the weather was so unbelievably good, the everyday scenery so breathtaking, you never wanted to leave. For locals, it was the little secret we kept to ourselves: that Brisbane was the best city in the world. But in starting work on Bluey, we were really about to blow the lid on that.The initial design phases of Bluey involved tapping into this beauty, as well as employing many fundamental animation design principles. Here, I’ve put together a step-by-step process of how it was done.