PAAVO PANDA IS DIY PROJECT
CHARACTER DESING
I have spent more than a year in designing and implementing the paavo panda project.
All parts of the project I have made myself, from character designing to modeling. I first wrote a story script. Based on the script, started to create motion animation and color scheme and lights. The sound world formed almost by itself to support the story, and created that dramatic aspect that i was looking for.
Character design and physical appearance
"BOB" / PAAVO PANDA
Here is example of morphing facial expressions and planning the appearance of the surface in the initial phase.
... and here's the final visual appearance
of the character after testing various surfaces and lighting design.
ENVIRONMENT
In the designing stage I wanted the surroundings to raise a new kind of notion of space and leave feeling of vastness for the viewer's own imagination from where exactly the ice floe hovers and the story itself.
Here are a few "pointers"
or things that should be taken into account during the animation design phase
Character movement design
TAKE INTO ACCOUNT FOLLOWING:
- Physical features of the character (structure)
- The effect of the environment on the character's movements (in the example, Paavo skates on the surface of an ice floe)
- Animation technique of choice
- Animation software properties
Material design and the lights
Character illumination as part of the design process
Does the light come from the surroundings or does your character reflect or illuminate the light
?
Storyboard is the most important and economically profitable step in animation design.
It's not worth skipping, so plan before you start animating.
STORYBOARD
This is a finalized storyboard where I present the project and the story. The original storyboard was sketched as pencil drawings. I re-illustrated the storyboard as a visual effect for the website and for potential employers as a work sample.