From Mariupol to Ocean Literacy: Artem Krykhtenko's Journey in Animation and Advocacy for Our Oceans

Hello. My name is Artem Krikhtenko. I am a motion designer, music composer and independent animation artist.

 Before the events that began on February 24, 2022, I lived in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine. In a city by the sea, whose name literally translates as the sea near the field. Among other things, it was an industrial city where there were 2 metallurgical giants (Azovstal and MMK Ilyich) and one large machine-building enterprise, Azovmash. In some years, these enterprises employed up to 100 thousand people in total. City-forming enterprises. However, this also had a downside. Ecology and sea pollution. The air in Mariupol was one of the dirtiest in all of Europe. And the Sea of Azov has changed due to the actions of industrial enterprises. In terms of fish population, the reservoir was six times greater than the Caspian Sea, 40 times (!) the Black Sea, and 160 times (!) the Mediterranean. However, now this is not at all the case, the fish population has decreased tenfold, and most of the fauna has disappeared. For this reason, I understand firsthand the importance of protecting our planet's water resources. Any abundance can be destroyed by unreasonable human behavior. Therefore, I consider it an honor to take part in the activities of the OIN.

Well. The first task was to create an animated intro for the teaser of the event in May.

I had the OIN logo as well as other Mucho Amor illustrations. I wanted to make realistic graphics and then incorporate these illustrations into it. The work began with the development of the concept. At first, I thought of doing an underwater scene. Here are the first developments of this option.

Artem's developments of the video teaser for the event in May, 2024.

However, then the idea came to my mind to show the sea as part of the planet. As a result, I made the water surface bounded by a sphere. This could evoke associations with a “small ocean”, which is what I wanted to achieve. In an ecosystem, everything is so connected that human actions have an impact on the whole world, and therefore the world is smaller, everything matters. It reminded me of the thoughts of an astronaut who, from space, saw not a large earth and large oceans, but a small, fragile planet. I wanted to convey a similar associative series or sensations in my animation. Here's how I implemented it.

The next part is the music. Obviously, the diegetic sound of the sea had to be added. Then the question arose about what instrument and sounds the theme could be performed with. The choice fell on hang drum, it has a soft, relaxed sound. Although the instrument was invented in Switzerland in 2000, it was based on the study of the sound of various metal intonating instruments around the world (especially the Caribbean and Indian regions), which I found interesting, different cultures associated with the sea and the synthesis of their ideas into a new musical instrument.

 ***

This post can be cited as: Artem Krykhtenko "From Mariupol to Ocean Literacy: Artem Krikhtenko's Journey in Animation and Advocacy for Our Oceans", March 26, 2024.