The Main Title sequence for ‘Raised by Wolves’; a science fiction drama series created by Aaron Guzikowski.

Director – and executive producer – Ridley Scott commissioned AKA to create the main titles for this 10-episode series for HBO Max, which centres on two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.

Watch the trailers for Season One and Season Two.

Working from the brief set by Ridley Scott, AKA director Steven Small designed intricately hand-rendered shots depicting the destruction of our planet and all remaining life departing to find refuge elsewhere in the solar system. Along with a team of animators, Small drew references from a wide array of source materials, using a combination of 3D, rotoscoping, and simple artwork to create these captivating sequences portraying chaos and destruction.

Dir Steve Small says of the project:

“It’s not every day you are invited to work on a project in a genre with the person who created some of the most resonant and powerful examples of the genre itself. Collaborating with Ridley Scott on the title sequence of ‘Raised By Wolves’ offered a rare glimpse into his creative process. He draws, storyboards, thinks like a painter and has an unsettlingly good eye. Aaron Guzikowski’s darkly compelling story contains a powerful pioneering spirit that carries humanity’s flawed past into a fragile dream of the future. We wanted to create something that felt both broken but hopeful to reflect these contrasting themes.”

For the second season, we were asked to extend the Main Title sequence to reflect the story development. Writer and creator Aaron Guzikowski summarised a few concepts to outline where the show was going, and with our minds suitably bent, we designed and created the additional imagery to accompany this next chapter. We again used Maya, Houdini, and After Effects to generate much of the reference for these new scenes and then set to work, digitally hand-painting and adding further animation frame by frame. Fittingly, the technology employed does not obscure the hand-rendered nature of the work we crafted.

Voted one of ART OF THE TITLE’S  Top 10 Title sequences of 2020

Nominated for Outstanding Main Title Design at the 2021 Emmys

Read the Motionographer interview with Director Steve Small