Our final project for Animation Basics was to create a talent show performance through a character of our creation. Since it was our first 3D project, we were advised one great piece of advice: Simplicity. To avoid possible walk cycles, complicated animations, and other hiccups that could stunt our progress it was advised that we kept our characters as simple as possible. For my approach, I was inspired by simple mascot characters from the likes of Sanrio, wanting to create a character with a readable design and strong shape language.

I decided on the design of a magical bunny, sticking with color scheme 3. I wanted her to resemble a toy from my childhood that I've always been attached to. I gave the character a wand, and while I was not quite sure as how I'd utilize this prop in the final project, I knew I wanted my character to have magical abilities. As a child, I liked to imagine that my toys did have magic powers, so this was a sort of realization for that idea!

This project was my first real introduction to 3D modeling and I initially struggled with bringing my 2D design into 3D. However, with the help of my professor, I approached the modeling by blocking out the main shapes (face, ears, dress) and then combining them into a single geo. This way, modeling became much less of a challenge and my character greatly resembled my references.

In this project, we were recommended to use blend shapes for all of our character movements. Rigging was a relatively new concept, and with only a few weeks to complete the project it was recommended we stick to the Maya Shape Editor. However, since my character had limbs, I thought blend shapes might become limiting for what I wanted to accomplish. So, with the help of the Animation Tools professor, I created a simple rig for my character. This way, her limbs and body were easily controllable. I still did utilize blend shapes for expression, ear, and dress movements, but the practice of creating a simple rig and weight painting were invaluable to me for future coursework.