Pursuing your personal creative style while working at the production studio may not always be easy. Yet, with the right decisions made, diversity of skills can really blossom. So one day, during the rainy autumn of 2019, Stepdraw animation team (still with the hearts full of summerish memories) came up with the idea to bring those colors back and set themselves a creative challenge. 

While brainstorming on the first topic for such project - well, we couldn’t agree on anything more appealing yet versatile than … food. Quickly, all the participants chose their topics, techniques - and got to work.
Thus, Creative Lunch Break was born.

We shared 9 different episodes of this mini-series every other Thursday on Stepdraw's Instagram profile. While showcasing our teams’ favorite dishes and highlighting individual creative skills, we discovered a lot, learned a lot, and, most importantly, had a really great time!  

Finally, we would like to share a menu of this project and tell you more about each episode! 

#1 Poké Bowl by Ignas

The first animation for this project is a 3D Poké Bowl shot made by our animator Ignas Kairelis. Inspired by this tasty and beautiful Hawaiian dish, he decided to present it in a festive glass instead of a regular bowl.

Therefore, this little twist allowed to take on various 3D textures, and perhaps, will inspire you to experiment with your own bowl servings presentation!

#2 Spicy Ramen by Gintaras

Mini-series continues with cartoonish Spicy Ramen shot by our animator Gintaras Jacunskas. This time, the creative path was chosen because of his love for some good ramen noodles.

Gintaras also decided to add a fragrant touch of Asia. How? With some edgy details, like super hot sauce and a pot of fire. Ultimately spicy result!

#3 Salad Man by Artūras

Here comes the Salad Man! An outstanding simulated 3D animation with real textures of vegetables and super-heroic narrative created by our videographer and VFX artist Artūras Sėlenis.

Obviously, he was inspired to take this creative approach by Lithuanian festive cuisine traditions. Specifically - by Balta mišrainė (eng. Olivier salad). It’s a common dish during Christmas or Easter periods, so Artūras decided to take this inspiration from here and elevate it to the next level - create a brand new superhero!

#4 Fresh Lemon Spritz by Otilija

Sweet & sour — that’s the rich taste of Lemon Spritz, created by our designer and animator Otilija Morozaitė.

It was inspired by her adventures in Southern Italy, where everything is all about lemons. For this reason, she shows how this refreshing drink is made using a simplistic 2D approach with noise textures for depth and lighting. Definitely fresh!

#5 Farfalle Pasta by Otilija

The one that got away! The mini-adventures of Farfalle Pasta, also created by Otilija, using a variety of techniques: 3D, 2D vector graphics, and frame-by-frame animation.

Notably, every pot of simmering farfalle pasta always spills out. Otilija was intrigued by that - why does it happen? Maybe the pasta just wants to break free?!

#6 Mexican Taco by Vaida

The 6th animation for the Creative Lunch Break series is all about Mexican flavors. Created by our illustrator Vaida Stasiukaitytė with the help of animators Ignas Kairelis and Valdas Gintautas.

For one thing we are sure, Vaida loves spontaneous road trips! And they usually start or end up in Warsaw. This city is also home to Vaida’s favorite Mexican restaurant, Gringo bar, to which she keeps coming back for the amazing tacos. So they were the main inspiration for this 2D vector shot, filled with patterns, gradients, color tones, and line art to create depth and 3D-feeling.

#7 Sweet Kaleidoscope by Alikas 

Super Sweet Kaleidoscope shot created by our illustrator Aliaga Mirguseinov and animated by Ignas.

Alikas loves illustrating cute things with contrasting color palettes and patterns freehandedly. So after a bit of experimentation and creative search, he decided to combine candies and kaleidoscope elements, and here it is! This sweet illusion has it all!

#8 Pineapple Pizza by Gintaras

Mixing up the ingredients for this fantastic pizza - the second shot created by our animator Gintaras.

The idea of this animation was born all of a sudden while eating lunch pizzas with fellow Stepdraw co-workers. Then, while searching for a more engaging creative approach, Gintaras decided to use After Effects stop motion implementation with a real felt texture!

#9 Fancy Ice Cream by Ignas

The final piece for Creative Lunch Break mini-series - the second 3D shot made by animator Ignas.

Ice cream is one of Ignas' favorite desserts, so he decided to make a fancy approach to this sweet indulgence. Soft, luxurious and golden! Would you like a bite?

Special thanks:

Project coordinators: Jorigė Kuzmaitė, Dovilė Macijauskaitė
Project identity designer: Otilija Morozaitė
Sound designers: Karolis Grabys, Juozapas Liaugaudas