From world-renowned animation studio HouseSpecial and Director Kirk Kelley comes "Armor del Amor" – this seemingly benign nature documentary focuses on the armadillo mating rituals and explores the dark underbelly of modern mammalian dating with a subtle commentary on the frustration of modern love. Director: KIRK KELLEY Executive Producers: LOURRI HAMMACK, KIRK KELLEY, ALVARO CUBILLAS Producer: KARLY RICHTER Editor: CAM WILLIAMS Director of Photography: ERIC EDWARDS VFX Supervisor: REX CARTER Art Director: GEE STAUGHTON Line Producer: ELLIOT FREEMAN 1st Asst Camera: NOEL ADAMS Grips: CLAY CONNALLY, JAKE HAUSWIRTH Wind Whisperer: CLAY CONNALLY Stage DP: JOHN NOLAN Prop Fabricators: KATIE MELLO, MARGARET MEYER Set Fabricator: ROBERT MELCHIOR Art | Stage Dept Manager: ERICA JOHNSON CG TD | VFX Artist: KARL RICHTER Animators: BEAVAN BLOCKER, GREG KYLE Modeling Artists: JOSH TONNESEN, KENDRA PHILLIPS Texture Artist: NIKIE MONTELEONE Lighting Artist: MATT RESLIER Rigging Artist: TERENCE JACOBSON, JOHN LALLY VFX Artist: WALTER BEHRNES Compositor: JOHN CORBETT Texture Artist Intern: TYLER BAY Lighting Artist Intern: JOHNNY NAM Title Designer: STEPHEN BODIN Storyboard Artists: AARON SORENSON, TOM PRICE Graphics Artist: ALAN COOK Graphics Intern: OLGA SOKAL Production Assistants: EMMA VAN HALSEMA, ALEX WEBSTER Editorial Assistant: DINO COONS Assistant Editor Intern: RYCHELLE BEDALOV-VALDE Music Composed & Performed: DAVE DEPPER Narrator: EDMUND STONE Sound Design | Mix: LANCE LIMBOCKER Camera Package: KOERNER CAMERA Dead Armadillo On The Side Of The Road | Tad Denson A Short Stuff Production By ©2018 HOUSE SPECIAL, LLC

an animated pseudo-doc investigating the world of armadillo mating

From world-renowned animation studio HouseSpecial and Director Kirk Kelley comes Armor del Amor – a kind of nature ‘documentary’ that follows the mating rituals of Dasypus novemcinctus to discover the dark underbelly of modern mammalian dating.

The narrative follows a nine-banded female armadillo as she emerges from her burrow and into the lonely Texas landscape. Our researchers captured footage of this modern animal’s efforts to find a potential mate until finally, after a few missed opportunities, a match is made.

Read more >>

News: HouseSpecial Tops Quarterly VFX & Animation Chart With "Armor del Amor" - Shoot Magazine

Awards:

Austin Comedy Short Film Festival - Austin, TX - Won Best Animated Comedy Film
Overmountain Animation Festival - East Tennessee State University - Won Best of Professional Award 2018

Concept Art

Creating an armadillo that looked and moved realistically was the main goal and challenge. They are funny little creatures with very distinctive movements that switch rapidly between languorous to twitchy.

Armadillo Variations

Behind-the-scenes Live Shoot

The biggest challenge was finding a location in Oregon that looked enough like Texas to work for the film. We landed in Dufur, Oregon, which is near the eastern Columbia River Gorge.