Project Report

Project CGI Project Report: Phase 2

Team Members: Ashley Wilson, Liya Yitna, and Lauren Wiginton

Project Report: Lauren Wiginton

Project Goal:
Our project goal for Phase 2 was to create a simple animation illustrating what could be found under a child’s bed. While we understand that none of us have had much experience with animation or the Blender program before this class, we aimed to make the highest quality production we know how. We hoped to create a story that would be entertaining and enjoyable. We aimed to stay true to our storyline and create characters that are simple, yet have their own personalities in their interactions throughout the scene.

Storyline:
The story begins with a scene under a child's bed. There is a cowboy boot, a pull toy, and a tennis ball. The boot approaches the tennis ball and kicks it toward the pull toy. The pull toy hits the ball back. The game gets going between the two toys. Suddenly, the tennis ball is thrown into the cowboy boot. The boot struggles to get the ball out for a while, unsuccessfully. Finally, the pull toy comes up behind the boot and knocks the ball out by tipping the boot over. The story is resolved in the two toys becoming friends.

Work Break Down:
Each team member worked on creating the armature for the character they created in Phase 1. After each member created their character’s armatures, we went about animating. We decided it would be best to have each member do a section of the animation. I took the first phase of the animation, consisting of the introduction camera work and the boot kicking the ball to the pull toy. Ashley created most of the game sequence, the tossing back and forth of the ball between the two toys. Finally, Liya finished up the animation with the ball getting stuck in the boot and the pull toy helping him out. We all helped each other in solving design and production challenges that we came across. In working this way we each felt we contributed a significant portion to the project. In the end, Ashley took over rendering the entire animation to give us the final product.

Lessons Learned:
In making this animation, I personally felt I learned a significant amount by actually making the animation. When I ran across challenges, I looked up solutions on the internet and in the Blender wiki manual. Overall, I found the actual animation process to be a great learning opportunity. The process was overwhelming and tedious to figure out, but I think I learned a great deal from the hands on experience. I also think all the team members learned something from each other, I am glad that we had a team to bounce ideas off of and to answer technical questions. The support of the team was crucial to this animation’s success.