The Making of the
Los Pinguinos Grand Reopening Commercial

The goal of this project was to create a fun, fast-paced animated commercial that captured the welcoming and celebratory energy of Los Pinguinos’ grand reopening. Because the commercial was limited to only 10 seconds, every shot had to communicate personality, humor, and information as quickly and clearly as possible. I wanted the penguin mascot to feel instantly memorable to kids and families, using exaggerated movement, bright colors, and playful comedy to create a character audiences could immediately connect with.

The Mascot:

  • Needs a strong silhouette

  • Family-friendly appeal

  • The sombrero and tacos created an instantly recognizable visual identity

  • Inspiration from classic animated food commercials and mascot animation

The Colors:

  • Warm reds/yellows for food and celebration

  • Black-and-white penguin body keeps the design readable

Design Goal:

  • Cute

  • Recognizable

  • Easy to animate

  • Expressive in seconds

Writing the Commercial

  • Since the commercial is only 10 seconds, every shot needed to communicate quickly

  • The comedy comes from timing:

    • Penguin overshooting

    • Nearly dropping taco

    • Recovery pose

  • The reopening needed to feel energetic and celebratory immediately

Storyboarding Process

  • Additional scene was added to make the commercial longer.

  • This allowed more character driven movement from the penguin.

Animation Process

Block animation began before going in for clean-ups and coloring.

The hat, taco tray, and taco were separate 2D assets later placed in the animation.

  • Hat bounce

  • Taco wobble

The Final Commercial

Will be available June 1st, 2026.

What Did I Learn?

Working within such a short runtime challenged me to communicate the mascot’s personality as quickly and clearly as possible while still keeping the commercial fun and readable.
I focused on balancing strong visual comedy with simple staging so each moment could land instantly with the audience. Creating an appealing mascot animation through exaggerated movement, timing, and expression was one of the most rewarding parts of the project, and the process of bringing the character to life ended up being my favorite part overall.