STONERSSS — Building an Original Animated Universe

Project Type: World Building · Character Development · Creative Direction · AI Animation · Social Storytelling

STONERSSS is an original animated universe I created around six Caribbean friends whose ordinary basement sessions spiral into something much bigger. What starts with weed, food, games and everyday chaos gradually expands into a supernatural reality filled with strange creatures, portals, unexplained rules and eventually a customer-service job from hell.

The Challenge

I didn't want to create a collection of cool-looking AI images. I wanted STONERSSS to feel like a real animated property with its own identity, characters, locations, culture and rules.

That meant developing recognizable character designs and personalities, repeatable environments, recurring props and fictional brands, while maintaining enough visual consistency for the world to work across episodes, animation and social media.

Building the World

Each member of the crew was developed with a distinct silhouette, personality, wardrobe, expressions and recurring details. Their home, basement, neighborhood, stores and surrounding city were then designed as recognizable locations rather than disposable backgrounds.

Small details became part of the storytelling—posters on walls, food packaging, signs, television broadcasts, strange messages and objects that reappear throughout the world.

As the story expands, familiar locations begin colliding with supernatural elements, allowing the universe to become increasingly strange without losing its original identity.

Social Storytelling

STONERSSS also exists beyond traditional episodes.

I developed social content from the perspective of the characters themselves, allowing Instagram Stories, posts, fake broadcasts, messages and environmental clues to continue the narrative between larger pieces of content.

Instead of simply promoting the world, the social accounts become part of the world.

My Role

Creator & Creative Director — Von

Concept Development · World Building · Character Development · Visual Development · Story Development · Social Content Direction · AI-Assisted Production · Animation Direction

The Result

STONERSSS grew from a simple basement concept into an expandable original IP with a recognizable cast, recurring environments, fictional brands, supernatural lore and a visual system designed to support animation, social storytelling and future episodes.