2001 Swimming turtle
This is my favorite project from my compositing/animation learning during the early 2000s.
Despite everything going on, this is just 2 static images that have been animated and composited. The turtle was a photo that I broke apart and added movement to the legs and head. Then that composition was nested in the larger canvas, and I animated the swimming effect. Beneath that I put the clip art of gravel, and used a filter in After Effects to create the light flare and water effect.
Despite the short duration of it, I'm quite proud of it to this day. I think the gliding before paddling again is just spot on and looks amazingly realistic.