It’s time for another Motion Collabs animation project!
Presenting…

Collab 22: Year of the Horse

新年快乐!

Happy Lunar New Year. We’re celebrating the Year of the Horse through a tactile, collage, texture-first animation. This will be all about experimenting with different textures, colors, paint strokes and collage elements without being a literal cut-and-paste collage. Channel the energy and spirit of a majestic horse galloping through the fields with your animation.

Your mission: Create a 10 second animation that captures the spirit of a horse using real textures, handcrafted marks, and intentional color choices. Bring the tactile world into your digital canvas.

You can either work alone or work with someone else on the collab! If you’re open to having a partner, we’ll create a thread for people to coordinate.

Duos should still sign up individually through the normal sign up process for crediting purposes.

Key Requirements

  • Must include at least ONE handmade physical element, created by you. Examples: a drawing on paper, a painting, ink texture, fabric scrap, paper tear, rubbing, scribble, a photo you shot, etc.

  • Horse imagery (literal or abstract)

  • Piece must feel tactile —rough edges, visible material, imperfections, layered textures

  • You must be active and reachable on our Discord server during the duration of the collab so you don’t miss any key announcements

Moodboard

Timeline:

  • Sign ups begin: January 13, 2026

  • Sign up deadline: January 19, 2026

  • Collab begins: January 20, 2026

  • Final submissions: February 17, 2026 (EOD)

  • Release date: February 18, 2026

Specs:

  • Format: 1080 x 1350 (4:5)

  • Frame Rate: 24 fps

  • Length: 10 seconds

  • File Type: Quicktime Pro Res 422 (.mov)

  • Audio: must include a music track or SFX effects

  • Naming Convention: YourName_YourSocialMediaHandle_YearoftheHorse.mov
    example:     JaneDoe_janebirds_YearoftheHorse.mov

We understand that life can sometimes get in the way of completing a video. If you need to step away for any reason, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement to take over your section.

Ready to create? Join here!

FAQ

Want to join the collab but unsure how it works? Watch the below video!

  1. Read the brief

  2. Join our Discord server where all sign ups and communications occur

  3. Sign up in #sign-ups. Please only sign up if you’re confident you can turn in something by the deadline.

  4. Once you’re successfully signed up, you will be assigned the Current Collab role on Discord. To check, click on your username and it will show up in your roles section. This may take a few minutes to show up. Contact a Collab Overlord about any issues.

  5. You will then gain permission to the #current-collab chat where you can talk with the other collab participants and share your videos for feedback and critique. We heavily encourage everyone to be active on Discord while the collabs are happening to make sure you don’t miss any important announcements. It’s also fun to join the collab chat!

  6. Please keep all questions within Discord and avoid direct messaging the Collab Overlords. Chances are, someone else has the same question and can benefit from seeing the answer publicly.

Remember — you don’t need be a pro to join a collab - they’re open to anyone regardless of experience.