When you open Panda Calendar, a panda ambles leisurely across the top of the calendar. This seemingly simple animation took a fair amount of time to complete.
Today I want to tell the story of that panda.
The Icon Was Drawn by My Wife
The visuals for our app are handled by my wife. When development on Panda Calendar began, I asked her to create "the app icon design" and she drew something right away.
I used that first design directly as the icon — a round, cute, simple panda. Everyone in the family agreed it was cute, and it was settled immediately.
My wife's thinking is simple: "If it's cute, people will download it." It's not an engineer's way of thinking — appearance over function — but it turned out to be exactly right. "I downloaded it because the icon was cute" — I'm sure many people have said that.
"I Want to Make the Panda Walk" — My Own Idea
Once the icon became a panda, the idea of "let's animate the panda inside the calendar too" emerged. That was my own idea.
A friend was building a 3D app, and I just wanted to try it — but in practice it turned out to be quite difficult. Bugs emerged in the areas my friend had explained, like right-handed vs. left-handed coordinate systems, and I got to experience the difficulty firsthand.
"Something's Off About the Movement" — The Feedback
When I showed the first version to my wife, her response was "something's off about the movement."
Frame transitions too fast, movement choppy, walking speed not realistic — she was right, now that I looked. The standard for "looks like it's actually walking" is higher than you'd think.
I adjusted the frame timing, added smoothness to the motion, changed the speed, showed it again and again — "still off," "a bit slower please" — back and forth.
Until I finally got "well, this works I guess" — it took quite a while. Not "how many hours," more like... how many weeks was it...
"Playfulness" Becomes a Reason to Open the App
Making the panda walk has no practical value. It has nothing to do with checking your schedule.
But having a panda there when you open the calendar is somehow soothing. It makes you feel like "let me check today's schedule." A calendar you open out of enjoyment rather than obligation is easier to maintain.
I want to cherish these "maybe unnecessary but nice to have" details. When reviews say "the panda is cute" or "the panda is healing," I feel glad I made it.
Cute Means Everything Will Work Out
My wife still handles the visuals for Panda Calendar overall. Icon updates, stamp design, visual review of new features — only things that pass her "cute" filter get adopted.
As an engineer, I honestly don't really understand "cuteness," but the workflow where "if my wife and son say this is fine, then it's right" has been working smoothly.
Time spent making the panda walk: about 3 weeks. But those 3 weeks were quite enjoyable.
Try Panda Calendar — where a panda strolls across your calendar.
Download Free on Google Play