Project article · Hand-drawn explainer videos · Scientific illustration
Ten Illustrated Explainer Films: From Script to Screen
A series of short, hand-drawn films explaining cultivation, laboratory analysis, product composition, sustainability and business processes through original illustration and animation.
Created in 2021 for Hawlik Gesundheitsprodukte GmbH. I developed the visual approach, storyboards and illustrations, produced and animated the ten films, and translated and narrated the English versions.
Project overview · 2021
One illustration system across ten films
Each film had a separate subject, but the series needed a consistent drawing style and a clear visual structure. The ten-page PDF documents the illustrated scenes, technical explanations and production scope.
The assignment
Making technical information visual
The supplied scripts covered different stages of medicinal mushroom cultivation and processing, as well as analytical testing, traceability, product formats and a commercial partner program. My task was to interpret that information as sequences of images a general audience could follow.
I worked through the scripts scene by scene, identifying where a character, diagram, comparison or visual metaphor would communicate the subject most clearly. The storyboards then provided the structure for illustration, animation and narration.
Illustration Style · Visual Development
Clean Line Illustration with Selective Color
For this series of ten hand-drawn explainer films, I developed a consistent illustration style based on clear black linework, open white space and carefully selected areas of watercolor-style color.
The illustrations needed to explain a wide range of subjects, from cultivation and laboratory analysis to product composition, quality control and sustainability. Characters, diagrams, objects and visual metaphors were designed to make technical information easier to follow without unnecessary visual detail.
Color was used selectively to direct attention, distinguish important elements and maintain a recognizable visual language across the entire series. The artwork was developed for animation, with illustrations, transitions and visual sequences coordinated with the narration.
Explore More Illustration Styles
This is one of several drawing approaches I use for illustrated films. My main explainer-video pages present additional styles, project examples and information about my production process.
English — Hand-Drawn Explainer Videos
Deutsch — Handgezeichnete Erklärvideos
Français — Vidéos explicatives dessinées
Ten films, one visual identity
Ten illustrated title frames show how a consistent drawing style, restrained color and recurring mint-colored graphics connect different subjects across the series. View full-size image.
Selected films · Watch the illustration in motion
Three Examples from the Series
These selected films show the line-based illustration and pacing used throughout the project. The drawings, diagrams and transitions were developed to support the spoken explanation.
Selected Film 01
Selected Film 02
Selected Film 03
Illustration and visual storytelling
Clean linework with selective color
The films use clear black outlines, white space and occasional soft watercolor-style color. Color draws attention to particular objects or processes; supporting figures and elements often remain as simple line drawings. A recurring mint-colored title treatment ties the series together.
Depending on the subject, the artwork moves between landscapes, expressive figures, scientific diagrams, laboratory scenes, product comparisons and visual explanations of processes that would be difficult to show with photographs alone.
Illustrating product composition and invisible processes
These hand-drawn scientific and product illustrations use comparisons, simple diagrams and selective color to explain powder, extract, molecular structures and material composition. View full-size image.
Scenes and subjects
From cultivation to laboratory testing
Three films deal with cultivation, origin and growing conditions. Others explain ingredients, laboratory analysis, residue monitoring and how batches are checked and traced. I illustrated instruments, inspection procedures and comparisons between powder and extract, including the underlying scientific structures.
The series also includes stories about growers and specialist knowledge, sustainability measures, and a partner program. The business material required a different set of images—handshakes, checklists and customer-service scenes—while retaining the same visual language.
Production scope
From storyboard to finished animation
I developed scene concepts and storyboards, drew the original illustrations, and handled the complete animation and film production. The work included scientific and process illustration, agricultural and laboratory scenes, product imagery, visual metaphors and a consistent system of title frames.
For the English-language films, I also translated the supplied scripts and recorded the narration myself, keeping the wording, pictures and timing together through the finished production.
Related Illustration and Explainer-Video Work
Hand-Drawn Explainer Videos · Commissioned Illustration · Editorial & Educational Illustration · Mycotrition — Six Explainer Films · Case Studies
Für deutschsprachige Projekte: Handgezeichnete Erklärvideos.
Have a subject that needs explaining?
I create original hand-drawn explainer videos and illustrated learning films for technical, scientific, educational and business communication. A brief outline of your subject and intended audience is enough to begin a conversation.
Project artwork · Illustration gallery
Illustrations from the Ten-Film Series
A closer look at the hand-drawn scenes, diagrams and visual explanations developed for the films, from cultivation and laboratory analysis to product illustration and business communication.
