Team members: Benjamin Yang, Yujia Wan, Joanna Liang, Daniel Castro .
Helpless Ocean
“Helpless Ocean” was an academic group project in which we had to create a 3D animation to show a story using Maya. We chose to make a story about a penguin that because of global warming the iceberg in which it was living melted. Then the penguin meets a whale in search of a new iceberg but the iceberg they find has sunk. With the help of a mermaid with garbage in her body, they could lift the iceberg and the penguin could get a new home.
We decided to divide the production of the characters and environment with the team so everyone contributes. My contribution to this project was the creation and animation of the penguin.
Initial Sketches
Started the ideation of the penguin and other characters with simple sketches to get an idea of what we wanted the penguin to look like.
3D Model
After the initial sketches, I modeled different versions of the penguin to see which one suited the story’s theme and style.
I decided to go with the penguin without the scarf as it would be the easiest to animate because there are fewer elements to animate.
UV mapping
Applied color and texture to the penguin model to make the character suit the style. I made two versions to see which one is better. The penguin on the right is the one in the final cut. This was the most challenging part because when I was animating the penguin the texture would not stick to the skin, I solved this issue by making the character’s movement less dramatic.
Rigging and Animation
Animated different character’s actions including walking and jumping achieving fluid and realistic movements.