Pimpaka Lertjittikun
Deep Sleep
UNIVERSITY PROJECT
2021 ( 1.5 months )
This is the final assignment for the 3D Animations class, in which we can make any kind of 3D animation. This is the perfect opportunity for me to try testing the animation pipeline in Blender.
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Summited Video
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS / TOOLS
The overall pipeline for my animations consisted of Storyboard> Color Keys/Concept Arts > Blocking > Animations > Texturing > Composition. Even though Maya is used to teaching in class, I don't feel like it'd be an easy job doing simple 3D animations in it and I'm already comfortable using Blender. Since production time is short, I'll prioritize the efficient method of approaching any part of the production as possible such as using 2D pixelated frame-by-frame explosion and Kaijuu because I would avoid simulating explosion and animate Kaijuu movement.
Tools
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Substance Painter
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Texturing
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Premiere Pro
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Edit and compose the final rendered
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Blender
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Animation
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Character Sculpting and Rigging
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Environment model and scene assembling
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Composition
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Mixamo
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Character Rig
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STORYBOARD
This is the pitching part, the story has to be simple and concluded in 9 storyboard frame. I pitched 3 stories and the Kaijuu one was the most makable one. Then I proceed with the typical animation pre-production pipeline, making color-key, concept art, animatic storyboard and animation blocking. By following these steps, I can ensure that the final render animation will look as much as I envisioned it would be.
Concept art
animatic storyboard with sound
camera shot render test
animation blocking, I've used free character model from Mixamo
SCENE ASSETS
For sprites animation, I've made frame-by-frame and imported it in Blender as a spritesheets, so I can animate later with the flipbook technique using shader nodes.
For my main protagonist, I just followed normal character sculpting for animation procedure and rigged it in Mixamo, which I later added some adjustments in Blender to make it properly animate.
Character is low-poly sculpt because we'll barely see his face
I modeled the room scene and some models I downloaded from Sketchfab. Blankets and clothes were simulated and sculpted. The texturing part was done in Substance Painter since it's easy to just drag and drop built-in material. And then I assembled everything together by prioritizing the camera's viewport.
I last minute rigged the pillow and blanket, since my PC refuse to simulate clothes in animation.
Shaded
Wireframe
Scene placement from viewport
COMPOSITION
In this shot, I wanted to focus on the back, where the explosions are, and the front where the clock is. I've positioned back explosion and the clock in rule of third and I used a common technique where I rendered multiple passes and then adjusted later in composition.
Example composition node that I've try to create mists
Many iterations of renders to look for a final look
My Conclusion :
Reflecting on what I've done, I've really had fun. I've always been interested in animations since I've watched lots of both anime and Western animations. So, I kind of make a guess about all these production pipelines by past experiences, class lectures, and Youtube tutorials. The most fun part was sculpting, texturing the room scene, and compositing the final look. The only downside is at that time ( and still now ) my graphic card wasn't good enough when rendering the low-resolution shot is already painfully slow. So it's not quite fun, I'd probably enjoy it more if I respec my PC. Also, Blender has done an amazing job that I could never ask for in Maya since I've accomplished most of the productions in it. In normal cases, the process would be more complicated and it would take more time. I just wish classes were teaching Blender instead of Maya, so I could relate more to the production process.
