This portfolio contains links to the work I created for the 3D short group project Plenty OF fish.
Link to Final animation
Below are Links to other Blog Posts that show my work and research leading up to this final animated short. All other Animated Narratives Blog posts are under the category Animated Narratives.
Week 3-Animated short assignment
Week 4 – Animation/Character Model
Week 5 – Animation, Animatic and Pre Viz
Week 6 – Intro to Rig / Puffer Fish Rig and UV
Week 7 – Animation Practice
Week 8 – lighting
Reflection
Below is a link to my One drive containing my final Pufferfish model Rig
Final Puffer Fish Model Rigged
Below is my process for animating shot 4.
Instead of a blank expression, I had the pufferfish begin her action mid exhale to make her feel alive. I thought about what 12 principles of animation I could utilise. The staging of the shot places the pufferfish in the centre of the screen so all attention is directed to her. Her flippers move in an arc motion for dynamism. I wanted to use all the controls on the character to bring her to life. Exaggeration builds anticipation with every breath as she inhales longer each time before expanding to her full potential. In my first attempts animating this shot her eyes were left stagnant on each side but having them rotate in and out adds more personality and comedy to the action. I animated the camera to turn at a Dutch angle when the pufferfish expands. This puts the audience in an unnatural perspective reflecting the pufferfish’s disorientation.
Shot 4 animation test and Final
https://youtu.be/0CgoSlUV4Gg
I used the 3 point lighting set-up to illuminate the scene. Originally I used 3 area lights but struggled with Rim Lighting. A lecture advised me to use a directional light for a greater halo effect separating the character from the background.
The frames were rendered as TIFs with no background. I used after effects to add the 2D background.
Link to the final shot I animated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CgoSlUV4Gg
I was tasked with the final edit of the short.
We decided early on to use 1930s style music to help set the tone for the story. I had to cut short sections of my teammate’s shots to fit the film within the assignment restrictions and make editing smoother.
I made the last-minute decision to add sound effects of swords clashing giving the swordfish fight more impact. My teammate Mark Smith found the music for the short and I sourced all other sound effects from https://freesound.org/
I also lent my own voice to the pufferfish as she panics and expands.