Glassfish market

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  Glassfish Market by Ercole Zaccaria

Inspiration

The project takes inspiration from vintage 2D animated cartoons, with their expressive lines, limited palettes, and dreamlike surrealism. This aesthetic serves as the foundation for a story that feels simple on the surface yet deeply symbolic underneath.

What it does

The film follows a small glass-like fish character in a continuous one-shot sequence as it travels across a vast desert. What appears to be an absurd or fantastical journey becomes a metaphorical reflection on displacement, survival, and the invisible struggles many migrants face.

How we built it

Midjourney to generate the visual style and character design Kling and Hailuo to animate the scenes and create fluid movement through the desert landscape The goal was to preserve the charm of vintage 2D cartoons while delivering a symbolic, contemporary message.

Challenges we ran into

The main difficulty was maintaining stylistic consistency and character coherence across all frames, especially within a continuous movement through changing environments.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Winner at the NYC GenArt Hackathon — Hailuo, Oink (Best Narrative).

What we learned

The project reveals how a simple animated journey can become a social commentary, exploring the long, uncertain path migrants must endure — told through the delicate perspective of a fragile little fish.

What's next for Glassfish market

cartoon

Built With

• elevenlab
• hailuo
• kling
• midjourney
• suno