Chispa and 22 move through the memories of their bond, from quiet afternoons to the rush of the dance floor. Each shift in feeling brings a different texture to the screen.
I co-directed Piko 3 with Nicolás Mesa and handled production, art direction, and editorial design. Mixed-media animated short, 6 min 39 s · Colombia, 2026.
Chispa’s sharp orange silhouette and 22’s squared-off violet shapes carry through all four acts. The materials change with the mood, from cyanotype skies to molded plasticine and a cross-stitched title. Depending on the shot, the grass is modeled in 3D in Blender or drawn digitally in 2D, then integrated through compositing.
Character design
Chispa · Final character design
22 · Final character design
Chispa · Expression sheet
22 · Expression sheet
Chispa · Childhood design
22 · Childhood design
Storyboard and color exploration
Visual sequence and color exploration across the four acts.
Materials and techniques
Cyanotype sky with clouds made from soap bubbles and acrylic on paper.
Grass modeled in Blender and composited with the cyanotype sky.
Stars made from crumpled paper above 3D hills.
A digitally drawn crowd and lights layered in compositing.
Scanned red ribbon, a cyanotype X-ray, and plasticine over acrylic.
Cross-stitch embroidery for the closing title.
Graphic pieces
Art direction · Laura Valencia. The poster, stickers, and postcards carry the film’s characters, colors, and textures into print.
Film poster
Design · Laura Valencia and Nicolás Mesa
Stickers
Design · Laura Valencia
Postcards
Shared reverse
Design · Laura Valencia
Editorial design · Piko 3 dossier
I designed and laid out a 53-page dossier bringing together the art direction proposal, character development, and production documentation for Piko 3. The composition combines text, visual spreads, and materials from the short film, preserving its colors, textures, and characters.
Dossier pages
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Cover · Page 1 of the dossierLogline and synopsis · Page 4 of the dossierArt direction proposal · Page 5 of the dossierAct 2 · Childhood · Page 11 of the dossierAct 3 · Dancing · Page 14 of the dossierCharacter development · Page 26 of the dossierExpression sheet · Page 28 of the dossier22’s character profile · Page 33 of the dossierDirector’s statement · Page 44 of the dossierDistribution plan · Page 52 of the dossier
I co-directed the film with Nicolás Mesa and worked across production and art direction. We organized 2D animation, stop motion, and 3D backgrounds into parallel tracks so the team could test how handmade and digital elements came together in compositing.
