Project 1
During Week 8 and Week 9, I mainly focused on preparing and presenting my Project 1 formative assessment. In Week 8, I created a PowerPoint presentation to explain my current project idea, research direction and visual tests. In Week 9, I presented my work to the class.
For this Project 1, my main focus is on creating a stylized look through 2D–3D hybrid techniques. I want to explore how different animation styles can be combined in one project, including 3D animation, stop-motion paper-cut style, 2D visual effects, and comic-style visuals. This project is still in development, but I used this presentation to show my current direction and the visual possibilities I want to test.
My research included films such as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I was interested in how the film combines different visual styles, such as 3D animation, comic style, pop-art elements and creative transitions. This helped me think about how different styles can exist in the same animation without feeling too disconnected.
In my project, I created a basic story idea about a girl who enjoys fantasy and adventure. She often imagines herself travelling through different parallel universes. In each universe, she could become a different person, such as an FBI agent or a doctor. This setting allows me to connect different imagined worlds together, and each world can have its own visual style.
For the visual direction, I also looked at Turning Red as a reference for stylized 3D character design. I may use a similar approach for the character proportions and base style, but I want to adjust it further to fit my own project. Another important direction is a 3D paper-cut-like stop-motion style. I am interested in creating a visual feeling that looks flat and handmade, but still keeps some 3D depth, lighting and space.
I also considered using layer rendering in the final production. This would allow me to adjust atmosphere, lighting and special effects more freely in Nuke. It may also help me combine 3D elements with 2D visual effects in a more flexible way.
Presentation Reflection
The presentation also helped me think about what I need to test next. I need to continue developing the world-building and storyline, and I also need to do more visual tests to see whether the 2D–3D hybrid style can work well. Overall, Week 8 and Week 9 helped me prepare my Project 1 direction and gave me a clearer starting point for further development.