“Mojo Jojo” Video for Bachi
Bachi is a Tallahassee rapper and songwriter who I’ve been acquainted with for several years, and in late 2023 we decided to collaborate on a music video project. His song Mojo Jojo, a love letter to turn-of-the-millennium era cartoons and video games, seemed like the natural choice. As the title suggests, this song allowed me to explore the world and artistic stylings of Craig McCracken’s Powerpuff Girls, while also packing the video full of other nods and references to nostalgic media that Bachi references in the lyrics. The full video was created in Blender, with the main animation loop of Bachi utilizing Grease Pencil animation and the homemade camera rig utilizing geometry nodes to add procedural camera shake. The video also allowed for a fair bit of experimentation with particle systems and 2D/3D compositing methods as well, with Bachi, the foreground hills, the robot, and the background buildings all existing on separate render layers.
The Walk
Below is the sequence of art that led to the conception of the main shot for the video. The first concept sketch created to get a feel for the style and art direction. The video embedded beneath is the first test clip created in Blender using the custom camera rig and the first rudimentary setup for the environment.
The Robot
The Mojo Jojo robot seen on both choruses was modeled after a similar robot used by Mojo Jojo in an early episode of The Powerpuff girls. The robot utilizes basic toon shaders and a simple IK rig. I made the decision early on to swap the glass dome of the original design for a custom head that would be more identifiably Mojo Jojo, seeing as the robot would only appear in the background.
