My Wife the Monster (MWtM)

My Wife the Monster is a pilot episode, with a web-series and comic in the works by Studio Ursa. This wholesome, comedic series is a love letter to relationships, communication, and the beauty in both sharing and growing your life with the person you love.

Though very different, our characters commit to growing together - navigating communication breakdowns, personality clashes, and the everyday absurdities of dating. Beneath the humor is a deeply personal story about partnership, vulnerability, and the work it takes to truly understand someone. Inspired by the creators’ own relationship, the show uses the “monster” metaphor to explore how love challenges us to understand those different than ourselves.

Services Rendered

Concept Development
Script Writing
Storyboards
Backgrounds
Animation
Color
Sound

An animated scene showing two characters in a close embrace, with one character touching the other's face. One character has purple skin, yellow eyes, and glasses, while the other has a darker skin tone, wearing a hat and uniform with yellow accents, in a room with background shelves and plants.

The visual development of My Wife the Monster draws from the creators’ everyday life, grounding the story in authentic experiences and relationships. The characters were designed to be charming, animatable, and intentionally contrasting in both form and personality. The “wife” presented a unique challenge - we wanted to strike a balance between something human and monster, without it being too over the top.

As the first episode in the series, the pilot served as a space to experiment with color, line, and animation style. With the entire short animated by a single artist, the approach focused on tackling complex visuals with thoughtful, efficient design choices.

Visual Development

CHARACTER DESIGNS

A series of digital illustrations of a purple-skinned female character with yellow eyes, long brown hair, and large yellow earrings in various poses and expressions. In some images, she is accompanied by a bearded male character with glasses, wearing a green shirt and brown pants, in different body positions.
A series of digital illustrations of a purple-skinned female character with yellow eyes, long brown hair, and large yellow earrings in various poses and expressions. In some images, she is accompanied by a bearded male character with glasses, wearing a green shirt and brown pants, in different body positions.

BACKGROUNDS

Sunlight on a white front door with a brass doorknob, flanked by potted plants, with stairs and black railings leading up to it.
A gold doorknob and deadbolt lock on a closed window or door, with a blurred background of a porch and greenery outside.
A room on fire with intense orange flames and smoke, seen through a partially open door with light streaming in from outside.
Dark hallway with glowing blue light on the floor leading to a closed door.
Dimly lit bedroom with a desk holding a computer monitor and laptop, potted plants on a shelf, a dresser with framed photos, and artwork on the walls, foggy atmosphere.
A cozy bedroom with a bed in the foreground, a wooden dresser with a computer monitor and laptop, a wardrobe, and a wall-mounted shelf with potted plants. There are framed pictures on the wall and a shelving unit with additional plants on the left.

ANIMATION PROCESS

CREDITS

Directed by
Jake Hollander

Written by
Jake & Marjorie Hollander

Animation
Jake Hollander

Backgrounds
Janna Bock-Powers, Jake & Marjorie Hollander