WARNER BROS. ID
Logo Animation Challenge
CHALLENGE
Create a 5-7 second animation for a 3D version of the Warner Bros. logo into the movie it introduces. That will be used for trailers in the theater, online, and on TV.
Theatrical Release design for a 2.40:1 aspect ratio for the theater.
16:9 HD format for home streaming.
AUDIENCE
Each movie will have its target demographic.
Kids and Family
Client
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an American film and entertainment company headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California.
Warner Bros. Pictures partners with the world’s most inspiring storytellers to create extraordinary entertainment on every screen for the global audience. The studio has been at the forefront of the motion picture industry since its inception and continues to be a leading creative force.
Producing and distributing a wide-ranging slate of some 18-22 films each year.
Warner Bros. is also well known for its iconic logo and its variations that incorporates unique additions, updates, and matching the tone for specific movies and features.
THE CAT IN THE HAT
Animation, Adventure, Comedy, (2026)
Based on the 1957 Dr. Seuss book of the same name, it is an upcoming 2026 American 3D computer-animated musical film, produced by Warner’s animation division, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, with DNEG Animation providing animation for the film, in collaboration with Dr. Seuss Enterprises.
Film Synopsis: A clever cat brings chaos and mischief to the home of two young children.
Written & Directed by Erica Rivinoja & Alessandro Carloni. Starring Bill Hader as The Cat in the Hat, along with Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, and Paula Pell. It is scheduled to be released on March 6, 2026.
IDEATION & Reference
Upon selecting this project brief and the film, I decided to collaborate with my friend who is an awesome 3D artist, Dmitri Restituyo. Dmitri has awesome skills working in 3D Motion Graphics for both modeling and animation, and we agreed to work together on this project. Checkout Dmitri’s website and his case study on this project at Dmitri.Digital
Much of our initial ideas were solely based on the Dr. Seuss book and some of the film’s early concept art. We both agreed that we should borrow some elements of the film and the source material while staying true to the art style. Something unique and different that the other animated Seuss films haven’t quite done before, bringing the illustrations of Dr. Seuss to life on the page.
Since the new film is an animated adaptation, the look and animation were inspired by referencing two modern-day Dr. Seuss animated film adaptations such as Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! (2008) by Blue Sky Studios and the latest, Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018) by Illumination. Although the new film will be 3D computer animated, it’s unsure based on the film’s series of concept art whether the final film will be a stylized animation or traditional 3D like the animated Grinch film.
Proposed Directions
CONCEPT 1: FROM PAGE TO SCREEN
This concept shows the 2D illustration translating into 3D, capturing the spirit and art style homage to Dr. Seuss and the book before starting in 3D. Not only that but is inspired by the film’s concept art showcasing all the wacky imaginary things happening with the Cat, coming from other worlds. Featuring the hat falling through a portal frame into a new place, with the logo popping out of the hat.
CONCEPT 1 STORYBOARD
I created both the 2D and 3D style frames for our first concept, the 2D art from Procreate, and the 3D portion created and rendered in Cinema 4D with Redshift. The 2D style frame replicates Dr. Seuss’ illustration style in the books and the 3D style frame shows a new version of the hat transitioning from 2D to 3D with the WB logo.
The inspiration came from a animated segment from the beginning of the film, Horton Hears a Who! (2008). Other inspirations include the book’s art and color palette and one of the film’s concept arts. I thought this would work perfectly
CONCEPT 2: GAME OF BALANCING FUN
This concept pays a direct homage to an iconic moment earlier in the book when the Cat plays a game with the fish by balancing himself with the fish on a ball while holding objects with his limbs. This time incorporating the WB logo balancing on the Cat’s hat on top of a few objects, with other balancing items in the background. Capturing the fun and whimsy essence of the story.
CONCEPT 2 STORYBOARD
Dmitri did the style frames in full 3D in Blender. While I modeled the WB logo, the Hat, the fish, the books, and the cup; Dmitri modeled the cake and the umbrella props for this. After I finished my models I sent my models to him so he can set it up in Blender.
This is inspired by a scene in the book when the Cat is balancing objects on a ball with his limbs, all in 3D.
Ultimately, it was decided to combine both concepts and fully utilize art style of the Dr. Seuss book.
REVISED STORYBOARD
After the decision was made to combine our two directions, I realized it was necessary to revise our storyboard to reflect on the new idea.
Design Elements
COLOR
Maintaining the book’s signature colors: red, white, blue, and peach was important to recreate the art style of Dr. Seuss in the Cat in the Hat book.
TYPOGRAPHY
The font we used is “DrSeuss- Light and ExtraBold” because it fits and emphasizes the design approach giving it that whimsical and Seuss vibe, and is commonly used in many Dr. Seuss media. This font is only used for the byline, “A Warner Bros. Discovery Company” under the logo to fit the style.
STYLE & TEXTURES
As part of the requirement to make a 3D animation, and the biggest question on our mind was ‘How do you bring a Dr. Seuss illustration from the book to life on screen today?’ So me and Dmitri thought it would be cool if we could do all the animation in 3D, and add Toon Shade materials on top to make look just like the book. That allows us to stay true to the art and do something new and fresh.
Dmitri took first tested the toon shade material and style in Blender to see how it’ll do, although it worked good it wasn’t quite there yet. We both decide to try the toon shader material in Cinema 4D with Redshift.
When I took over the setup in Cinema 4D using our models to add the toon-shade material, outline, and texture with Redshift worked well. We stuck with that and went on from there.
We believed we could add animated 2D elements on top of the 3D animation in Photoshop or composite it in After Effects.
Modeling Process
The way we modeled the 3D objects and props is we splitted the process and which objects to model based on our strengths. I modeled the Warner Bros. Logo, the Hat, the Fish, the book, and Dmitri modeled the cake and the umbrella props perfectly capture the shapes of it in the book.
WARNER BROS. LOGO MODEL
I started modeling the Warner Bros. logo in advance, solely based on their current logo, and Devastudios who animated the real Warner Bros. Pictures logo and referenced how they did it. I found a vector version of the logo and took it into Adobe Illustrator to separate the letters, the shield, and the text from the banner of the logo. Then I imported the vector file of the logo into Cinema 4D as a spline. Recreating the logo, I extruded it and used the deformers on the logo to closely reference the current logo animation.
COLOR TEST
As we were modeling we always referenced the book to keep the integrity of it and the film, Horton Hears a Who! (2008). The film has some easter eggs and references to other Seuss works including The Cat in the Hat which features a fish, stacking objects, etc.
Animation Process
Most of the animation deals with the rotation of balancing objects and the logo, nothing complex. Dmitri and I both animated parts of the logo based on our strengths. Dmitri did the main setup animation of the balancing books, cake with the logo tipping, and the umbrella with the fish bowl. I did simple cloud movements and took care of any polishing animations (if needed). The most complex animation I tackled with was the Cat’s hat and the fish, the easiest way to animate these two was instead of doing a traditional bone rig I choose instead to use C4D’s deformers which allows for a easier way to rig a mesh model to simply animate something that allows for expressive movements.
Animation Breakdown
Music & SFX
Since this is a Dr. Seuss film adaptation, the music should capture the whimsical and fun tone of the book.
These tracks were put together once again in collaboration with Kelly Warner, the on-site audio and sound designer for the motion design department. I had our rough animation and Kelly add sound effects and music to it.
Animation Passes
FIRST PASS:
We followed through the storyboard to get it all set to make the idea work. The feedback we got was a good first pass, but needs the 2D cross-hatching, and line work in the toon shade material to replicate/capture the Dr. Seuss art style. I thought of bringing some clouds in the background as part of the WB logo in the Seuss art style.
SECOND PASS:
The feedback we got was that this pass was coming along really well, though there’s still a need for improvements. Mostly the animation, as we needed to look back on the two animated Seuss films as REF for the animation for the balancing objects and hat. The UV map line texture needs work and needs for the logo. Clouds needed to move faster. Finally, we needed to add the 2D line animation for the water in the fishbowl, the falling hat, and the candles.
THIRD PASS:
For our feedback, we were nearly in the finishing stages and all that was left was polishing. We absolutely nailed the render quality and the look of the Dr. Seuss art. However some of the animation needs more expressive momentum for both the hat and the camera. Finally adding motion blur would make it feel real with the motions instead of being so flat. Referencing the animated segment from the beginning of the film, Horton Hears a Who!
FINAL ANIMATION
16:9 HD format for Home Streaming
24:1 aspect ratio for Theater Release