3D Character Design Analysis.

Panda Panther.

Since its birth in 2007, panda panther has been revolutionising animation and techniques of design because of their ability to develop characters via their design and movement.

Panda Panther are currently based in New York City, and handle a wide range of commercial customers and animation projects which use some of the latest 3D technologies and techniques. These technologies range from some projects being entirely made out of CG effects, to others being developed from simple sketches, sculpted into 3D specimens, then photographed and scanned into a digital 3D world.

Skylanders Menace; Spyro’s Adventure and Kellogg’s Corn Pops.

These two animations are quite similar when it comes to the style of the animation;

There is a very organic feel to them even though they are fiction, but are set in or based on natural surroundings similar to a forest, maintain region. In the case of Skylanders Menace; Spyro’s Adventure,” the sets have been drawn and sketched with great detail, then made into miniature sets which are then filmed and put into a CG computer programme. This adds definition to them and allows the animators to change morph and add any special effects to them, which includes making them float in clouds, or grow like natural plants.

In the case of “Kellogg’s Corn Pops,” there is also a dragon, just like “Spyro,” that has been detailed heavily with the help of close up studies of reptiles, concentrating on scales, shine and slender movements. These characters have been developed and sculpted in a 3D based computer software (very similar to that of Cinema 4D or 3DS MAX. it is also very plausible that the characters were animated in that same programme, where animators have the ability to morph and change the characters emotions and body language as well as film the entire animation in the process.

There are a number of ways that the animations can receive lighting. The first would be easiest to do in a software programme (much like Cinema 4D/3DS MAX,) where lighting effects can be created.

 Another one of these techniques used is through the simple process of creating spotlights, using lamps with a specific circumference of the shade and direct light to a specific object or scene (If there is a small circumference,) and lighting a vast amount of the scene, if not all of it at once, by using a large/no circumference on the shade of the light. This technique would make the scene look more natural because of the light imitating the sun. And putting coloured assotate over the bulb would set the mood of the animation.

David O’Reilly;

Please Say Something.

Please Say Something is the 2009, 10 minute short by David O’Reilly. This animation seems so different from most others because it does not contain the smooth edges and soft running features that most animations try to achieve. The style of the animation is that of a futuristic tom and jerry; 3D animation in it’s most raw form with no textures, blurs, reflections or filters, which gives the illusion of an old school pixelated game.

The colours used in the animation are cold set of colours, giving the feel of metallic and industry to it. At certain points throughout the animation there are flashes of bright colour which would signify a change in state of some kind.

The animation was created on computer software, however it was stripped down to the simplest form without it looking like an abstract minimalist. There are little to no curves in the entire animation which makes it look a lot more contemporary and futuristic, and I think this opens up more opportunity for the text and noises of the animation to make more of an impact.

The concept of this animation, I feel, is to show a modern day “Cat and Mouse,” cartoon, but instead of showing the old fashioned outsmarting, chasing and making amends, this animation has taken on the subject of domestic abuse, a much more recent subject to be discussed. I felt as though this would connect with an extremely large amount of people of all ages. The use of text in this animation also has it’s own concept in the animation, which is to almost separate the characters and what they are saying. In a very confusing way, the cute, pixelated creatures use curses and idioms, giving the animation an obvious audience of adults.

The External World.

The style of the animation is very much like “Please Say Something,” in the sense that it is very much game-like. The composition and layout of the animation is very sporadic and colourful, giving the feel for the entire content of the animation, as it in itself does not make much sense. There are a range of colours, all being rather contrasting to each other and being almost neon in their shades. I fell this illuminative style shows the bright, bubbly and humorous side of the animation.

As with most of O’Reilly’s work, this animation is 3D. This is shown by the animation being made on computer software. I feel that the animation isn’t as bare and raw as “Please Say Something,” as it is not giving out as such a strong message. The characters are well shaped, some being anatomically correct, and others being rather insane and morphed creatures likely to be in the nightmares of a child. Speak is used in this animation rather than text, and I feel that it works better with the style of the animation because of the range of characters, as creating simple noises for each individual speaker may be hard to distinguish. 

The Concept of the animation, I feel, was to express, mock and possibly glorify the pop artist culture, by using all these small clippings of animation. For instance the child who comes into the art gallery shouting and banging on the drum, is later turned into a piece of art himself, which I think stems out into the world of abstract art, where almost anything can be made “beautiful,” and accepted as something much more meaningful than it actually is.Symbolism is constant throughout this animation, and there are moments obviously created to shock the audience, for instance when the teacher is writing on the blackboard and she turns to reveal Adolf Hitler on a cross trainer, is where her face should be. This shows that nothing can be considered as taboo in this culture. Themes such as racism, the Holocaust and sexual perversion are all displayed nonchalantly as though they aren’t even remotely controversial, which I think is symbolising much of O’Reilly’s cynicism.

Studio A.K.A

Varmints;

The style of this animation is almost like a documentary and animation combined. It is a 3D world of created creatures of a dog like species. The layout of the animation is that of a grimy, dirty city, with a lot of greys, blacks and browns to mimic the dark and dank areas of the city, as well as the general feelings and mood throughout the film. There are moments of light and sunshine in the film, and I feel again, that it corresponds to the happenings and feelings throughout the film, and all of the colours are very earthy and natural which I think co-insides with the message behind the film.

The characters are very well constructed. The fur on the bodies of the Varmints can be seen almost individually and they move in a very realistic way, as opposed to some animations that look as though the character has received a static shock. The movements throughout the animation looks very natural, especially with the trees and plants that have a constant sway due to the breeze,  although as the animation is obviously not meant to be believable, it does look as though it could be filmed with real life creatures and scenery.

The concept of the animation is not at all metaphoric, but very clever. The use of small, cute characters appeals to a large amount of viewers and will touch the hearts of women and children in particular. They are clever and very expressive with their facial features and gestures, as they do not speak, and the music added with these aspects makes the animation very effective. The use of animals also will relate to the act of trying to conserve the plant not just for vegetation or wildlife, but for the human population as well, and seeing the struggle that the little fellow goes through would send a very direct message to the viewers.

JoJo in the Stars;

The style of JoJo in the Stars is that of a horror/thriller animation. The use of cute little robots, in such a dark and quite frightening scenario gives the impression that a slightly older audience would prefer this animation. The black and white animation uses a lot of shadows and white lights to either frighten or comfort the audience, depending on the situation, work exceedingly well and work to enhance any of the characters’ features.

The animation is again 3D, using mostly rounded or square shapes to represent the characters. There isn’t a vast amount of detail on most of the characters, however the light and shadow enhance the shine and glare on the robots’ bodies and faces, making them seem much more realistic because of this. The robots don’t have any specific emotion on their faces, as their mouths are kept the same throughout the film. Their eyes, however, show the majority of their emotion as they can move, squint and grow to show different emotions.

The concept of JoJo in the Stars, I think, is to tell a kind of Romeo and Juliet styled love story. Again, as with “Varmints,” the use of small cute characters works well with this kind of story as it doesn’t make it as menacing as it should be.  The story is very relatable to  a lot of the audience, particularly teenage girls if stereotypes were to be included, because of the topic of forbidden love, usually with someone famous and well known, which is also what happens in this animation as well.