The Flow movie is a ground breaking Blender-made film that redefines indie animation. Let's see how it was made and what we can learn from it.
Some animated films do more than tell a story; they feel like a dream! Flow is one of those films. The soft, flowing motion, the painted aesthetic, and the way everything moves so smoothly make it special. We love it when animation tries something different, and the Flow movie does that by mixing simple designs with movement that genuinely feels alive.
And the best part? You don’t need fancy software or a massive studio budget to explore this style. Blender has all the tools to experiment with the techniques that make the Flow movie so unique. So, let’s look at what makes Flow’s animation style distinctive and show you how you can recreate some of its magic using Blender.
What is Flow (2024)?
Storytelling without words
Flow isn’t just another animated film—it’s a visual experience! With no dialogue and a dreamlike style, Flow proves that you don’t need spoken words to tell a powerful story. Every emotion and moment is conveyed purely through movement, color, and atmosphere.
Latvia’s first Oscar winner
This film made history by becoming Latvia’s first-ever Oscar winner, taking home Best Animated Short. That’s huge! It proves that bold, artistic animation can captivate audiences and break new ground.
Brought to life with Blender
Here’s a fact we love about the film: Flow was created using Blender! With painterly visuals and fluid animation, the movie was made using open-source software that artists use daily. It shows that Blender is beyond being a hobbyist application and can create award-winning cinematic experiences.
A stunning achievement on a small budget
What blows our mind about Flow is that it was made with just $4 million, while most big animated films have budgets in the tens or even hundreds of millions. Despite this, it stands alongside major productions, proving that creativity matters more than money.
Flow movie explained
Flow pulled me in right away with its unique way of storytelling. No dialogue, no character names, just pure visual language. We follow Cat, a solitary creature trying to survive a massive flood. At first, they want nothing to do with the other animals, but survival forces them to join a Labrador, a Capybara, a Lemur, and a Secretarybird.
“The bird is the only character that the cat looks up to and respects. We chose a secretarybird from South Africa in this role because of their majestic and authoritative presence.”
The setup hints at Noah’s Ark, but it never feels like a religious story; it’s more like a journey about trust and survival. What we love most is how the animation feels both detailed and raw. It’s beautiful, emotional, and completely mesmerizing.
How did they make the Flow movie?
A bold vision with a small team
One of the things we love about Flow is that it feels like a massive cinematic experience, but it was created by a small team with a limited budget.
Director Gints Zilbalodis had an unmistakable vision for a story told entirely through movement and atmosphere. So, there was no storyboarding. Instead, he built a 3D world first and let the animation and camera work evolve naturally to tell the story. This approach gave Flow its organic, almost “found footage” feel, making us feel like we’re witnessing real moments rather than staged animation.
Blender at the heart of the production
The fact that Flow was completely created in Blender is incredible. Isn’t it wonderful to see an open-source production at work at this level? It just proves that you don’t need fancy and expensive software to make great things.
The team had the flexibility to experiment with shots and lighting using Blender’s real-time rendering and animation tools. The film’s mix of highly detailed 3D animation and impressionistic, painterly visuals is a testament to what Blender can do in the hands of skilled artists.
Blender add-ons and techniques
To bring Flow’s world to life, the team combined Blender add-ons and clever techniques, balancing detailed environments with an organic, handheld feel.
From scattering vegetation to simulating fluid dynamics and creating natural camera motion, these tools played a key role in shaping the film’s unique style:
- GeoScatter: Used to distribute plants and environmental elements efficiently
- Bagapie Vegetation & Rain Generators: Added layers of natural detail, enhancing the film’s immersive world.
- Cell Fluids & FLIP Fluid: Combined to create large-scale waves and detailed water motion.
- Animation Layers: These add handheld, shaky camera movements for a more natural look.
- VirtuCamera: Tested for live camera motion, but keyframing was ultimately preferred for better control.
- EEVEE: Enabled fast real-time rendering, allowing for quick previews and efficient iteration on lighting and shading.
How the team brought Flow to life with animatics
Instead of traditional storyboarding, the Flow team used animatics to plan out the film’s sequences. This allowed them to focus on movement and pacing early in production, shaping the story through animation rather than static drawings.
This approach made perfect sense since the Flow movie is all about visual storytelling without dialogue. It allowed the team to experiment with how the characters and environment interacted in real time.
Animation process in Blender
Using Blender ’s flexible animation tools, the team could quickly test and refine their scenes. Here’s how they approached it:
- Blocking out scenes in 3D: Instead of drawing frames, they built simple versions of each shot directly in Blender.
- Testing movement and timing: Early animation versions helped define the flow (pun intended) of each sequence.
- Adjusting camera angles dynamically: By working in 3D, they could tweak perspectives and refine the handheld style motion on the fly.
How to create a Flow-inspired scene in Blender
One of the most exciting things about Flow is that you can explore its unique style in Blender, even if you’re just starting out. You can achieve a similar look with just a few key techniques by focusing on composition, lighting, and atmospheric effects. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get started:
1. Create a composition
Before diving into materials and lighting, start with a strong composition. Block out your environment with simple shapes, keeping it minimal like Flow. A well-planned layout will make the rest of the process much smoother.
- Import your 3D objects into the scene (this can include your character, some buildings, and other props).
- Arrange objects to create an engaging environment.
- Position your camera at an engaging angle to create depth and movement.
If you want to build a Flow-inspired scene but don’t have time to model everything from scratch, Envato has a vast library of ready-made 3D assets, including characters, animals, buildings, and props. Download what you need, import it into Blender, and start crafting your scene! Here are some to get you started:
2. Create a toon shader
A big part of the look of the Flow movie is its soft, painterly shading. A toon shader can achieve a similar effect.
- Open Shader Editor in Blender.
- Add a Shader to RGB node and connect it to a Color Ramp, which is then connected to the Material Output.
- Adjust the color ramp to create some toon-like shadows and effects. Change the interpolation to Constant to create some toon-like edges for the shading.
- If the model already has a texture, you can merge it by adding a Mix node and changing the blending mode to Multiply.
- Then, connect the texture to A and the toon shader to B. Adjust the factor to give more weight to the texture or the toon shader.
Remember to refer back to your viewport to see how the shader affects the look of your scene.
3. Add lighting
Soft, diffused lighting is key to achieving Flow’s atmospheric style.
- Start by adding a Sun Light, then tweak the Color, Strength, and Angle to set the overall mood and direction of the lighting in your scene.
- While you’re doing this, pay attention to where the shadows fall. They add depth and make the scene more interesting.
- Next, add some Area lights, again adjusting the Position, Power, and Size to create areas of interest in the scene (for example, the main character).
A great way to light your scene is by using the three-point lighting setup, which helps create depth and balance. Here’s how it works:
- Key light: The primary light source that defines the subject’s shape and highlights.
- Fill light: A softer light that reduces harsh shadows and adds subtle details.
- Back light (rim light): A light placed behind the subject creates separation from the background and adds depth.
4. Create fog
Adding a layer of subtle fog will enhance your scene’s depth, atmosphere, and overall mood, making it feel more immersive and cinematic.
- Add a Cube object and resize it so it fills your scene.
- Create a new material for it and change the shader from Principled BSDF to Principled Volume.
- Then, connect it to the Volume input.
- From there, adjust the Emission Strength, Density, and Color until you achieve your desired look.
5. Render
Once your scene is set, it’s time to render and bring your Flow-inspired scene to life! This is where all your hard work comes together, transforming your composition, lighting, and effects into a fully realized cinematic shot.
Where next for Blender animation?
Flow is more than a beautifully crafted animated film—it’s a breakthrough for independent animation and a huge milestone for Blender.
Seeing an independent film, made entirely in open-source software, win an Oscar and stand alongside massive studio productions is incredible. It shows you don’t need a Hollywood budget or expensive tools to create something remarkable.
If Flow can achieve this, we’re excited to see what the next major Blender movie will accomplish. This is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to see how far Blender-powered animation will go next.
For more movie-infused assets, try Envato AI tools, or look at our recent Oscars: lessons for creatives post, learn all about the intricacies of StageCraft, or get started with our free (four-hour long!) Blender for Beginners course?
