First (f)Animation
This animation was sparked by me finally finishing A Court of Silver Flames, the latest in Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR series. I’ve always loved the dynamic between Nesta and Cassian, and I’ve long felt that it mirrors the energy between Kat and Patrick from 10 Things I Hate About You. I identify, fondly, with both Nesta’s and Kat’s dry wit masking their tenderness, so syncing Kat and Patrick’s dialogue with how I imagine Nesta and Cassian’s body language felt like a fun creative challenge. I’ve wanted to try hand-drawn animation for years, and discovering Procreate Dreams gave me the perfect excuse.
Idea & Preparation
For this piece, I focused heavily on facial expressions and body language. I didn’t have many references, so I often found myself making the faces I was drawing - Nesta’s frowns and Cassian’s smiles were absolutely reflected on my own face in real time. I pushed myself to exaggerate expressions far more than I usually do in my illustration work to maximize the storytelling. Before animating, I mapped out the emotional beats I wanted to hit and created a set of fifteen rough storyboards capturing the general flow and timing of the scene.
Those storyboards became my keyframes after a round of cleanup and refinement. Once I had the main poses established, I relied a lot on intuition for the in-between frames. The pencil-test stage ended up being my favorite part of the entire process. Establishing the pacing, pushing expressions, and creating goofy in-betweens felt energizing and creatively freeing. Storyboarding took about one to two hours, but the full animation (from roughs to final render) grew into a far bigger undertaking than I anticipated.
Storyboards
My first attempt at hand-drawn animation
Key frames
Creating the Final
The process as a whole was equal parts rewarding and demanding. Consistent linework was the hardest technical challenge, and staying motivated over such a long timeline was its own hurdle. The project stretched from April 2025 to December 2025 and ultimately totaled over 200 hand-drawn frames at 12 FPS. I estimate the entire process took at least 500 hours of work. The final animation feels a bit stiffer to me than the pencil test, which makes sense - I get the most joy from the rough animation stage, while the inking, coloring, and shading phases felt more mechanical. Even so, the character expressions turned out exactly how I’d hoped; they feel alive in a way that makes the whole effort worth it.
I’m excited to keep animating, especially now that I understand my preferences and strengths more clearly. Going forward, I plan to give myself more freedom and less refinement so I can lean into the problem-solving and emotional expressiveness that I love most. I’m already working on another idea inspired by an alternate-universe interpretation of ACOTAR characters, and I can’t wait to explore new styles and approaches as I continue learning.
Tools Used
iPad Pro (3rd generation)
Procreate Dreams
6B brush for sketching
Syrup brush for inking and coloring
12 FPS timeline
Credits & Attributions
Characters and World: All characters, settings, and related intellectual property belong to Sarah J. Maas. This project is an unofficial fanwork created for non-commercial, transformative purposes.
Audio: Soundtrack clip from “10 Things I Hate About You” (1999) - used for fanwork/educational demonstration. All rights belong to their respective copyright holders.
Art, Animation, and Editing: Created by me, Sara Wasserboehr.