Part 1

Part 2

Project Description

This is a CMU collaborative project partnership established between Carnegie Mellon University and West Liberty University. It was initiated to facilitate a puppet making workshop geared towards engaging 4th to 5th graders from local elementary schools in Nothern Panhandle, WV. To enhance the workshop experience, a specialized tool for crafting puppet designs using Unity3D was conceptualized and transformed into a user-friendly WebGL application accessible on school-provided Chromebooks. The comprehensive project encompassed elements of 3D animation, 2D animation, an interactive puppet design interface, and educational tutorial materials. Highlighted on my portfolio are my contributions to the Environment Art, Texture, and 3D Animation development for this particular initiative.

Role

Model - Texture - Environment - Lighting Rigging - Animation - Video Editing

Blender - Substance Painter - Unity3D

Client

Lou Karas Faculty of West Liberty University

Team

Eva Chang - Producer Jasmine Chen - Programmer Lawrence Luo - 3D Artist Randi Ouyang - 2D Artist Samantha Trimboli - Producer Sarah Wille - Programmer

Ruth Comley - Instructor
Aaron Dorelien - Sound

About us, About project

Concept - Initial Attempts

Our 2D Artist, Randi, showcased exceptional skills in creating a meticulous frame-by-frame 2D concept and color script. Collaborating closely within our team, I took charge of translating the narrative design of the animation into a captivating 3D representation using Blender. Detail was fully textured using Blender and Substance Painter, bringing the concept to life in final product.

Stylized Painting Animation Accomplished by Low Sample Rendering and Lighting in Blender

My initial render attempts utilized a low sample setting, resulting in a stylized outcome where the blur texture harmoniously interacted with both facial and environmental lighting. Moving forward, I intend to further dive into this render setting to experiment with diverse stylistic possibilities within Blender.

Character - Rigging & Modelling

The rigging for this character is designed to create a robotic-like movement that complements the wooden puppet's mechanical charm. This straightforward approach to rigging utilizes Inverse Kinematics (IKs) specifically on the elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. By anchoring the end point IKs to determine positions, the entire arm and leg movements can be controlled effectively within the specified parameters.

Blender Character Modeling and Basic Rigging Showcase

Substance Painter Character Texture and UVs Showcase

Character - Texture & UV

Crafting a wooden toy soldier involves layering paints onto a solid wood base to achieve a realistically hand painted finish. This process is enhanced through the utilization of the height of the material brushes, which allows for the addition of lifelike details to the soldier's apparels, replicating the 2D artist's original concept. More details are shown in rendered photo below.

Environment Texture - Lighting - Important Features

Sunlight for overall brightness, spotlight/point light for actual light resource, area light for face illumination

Lighting Map in Blender Viewport Showcase

There are some transparent glossy glass material achieved by Blender Shader. Using mix shader to adjust the blueness, color, and transparency of the material.

Concepts from 2D artist Randi. I recreate 4 little paper box cat using Blender and Substance Painter, and incorporate them in part 2 animation.