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Projects
Under Her Strawberry
As an avid painter, the concept for 'Under Her Strawberry' came to me pretty quickly. I've almost drunk my own paint water numerous times. With this idea in particular, I wanted to explore the concept of my character being transported into her own painting. This allowed me to utilize my 2D background skills, as I created two matte paintings, one of which was inspired by the style of one of my favourite artists, Eyvind Earle.
Additionally, as we had a few weeks to produce this film from scratch, I decided to opt for a 2D hand-animated dress rather than an NCloth simulation. Not only was it time efficient, but it added to the storybook, fantastical feeling that I was going for. The only downside to this approach was that my animation had to be on stepped rather than in spline, so that I could animate the dress accurately. In the end, I animated my character in spline and then baked it in on twos before changing it back to stepped.
In the end, I'm really pleased with how 'Under Her Strawberry' turned out. I especially enjoy the juxtaposition of the 2D and 3D animation and how it plays to my strengths as a 2D background artist and CG animator.
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Bait and Switch - Animation Jam
The film 'Bait & Switch' was produced by my class for our program's Animation Jam. We had a week to come up with an idea, develop it, model, texture, and rig it, as well as animate and composite it. I was responsible for the environment designs, part of the storyboards, and was on the animation team.
As someone who loves winter, it was a joy for me to explore icy environments and design a little ice fishing hut for our character. My team and I also decided that we could use matte paintings to our advantage to create an establishing shot for the film. The parallax effect was done by separating the elements of the painting into layers and then using the camera in After Effects and Z-Depth.
I believe the most challenging part of this project was animating our fisherman. His short legs and big belly made it difficult to find appealing poses. Nonetheless, it was a fun challenge, and I had a blast working alongside my classmates on this project.
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À la mode - Capstone Film
'À la mode' is a film set in Paris, France. Geneviève, our protagonist, is running away from a thunderstorm and accidentally finds herself in a charming, quaint boutique.
This film has undergone various changes in story and design. Initially, I had planned to combine the 3D boutique that I modeled with a few 2D elements, such as plants, decor, and even some of the garments. However, I found that restricted me quite a bit, especially regarding camera moves, so I opted to keep the environment completely 3D. Although I was pleased with my model, I felt like it was still lacking the element of magic that I was going for. It felt a bit sterile and not as lived-in as I'd hoped. It was then that I made the decision to go back to my 2D background roots. In order to challenge myself, I decided to insert my flat background elements into Maya and manipulate and model them into a 2.5D style. As a result, I could be more adventurous with the camera and still retain some of the 3D feel.
The process of making this film was full of ups and downs, but it gave me the opportunity to grow as an artist and director. Not only did I have to adapt and come up with solutions for my backgrounds situation, but I also used new software and learned and implemented new rigging techniques.
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