I have never work with senior before, so simulated work is a very new experience for me actually. When I heard that I was arranged to a CGI group I felt a bit happy but more than anxious. CGI is my pathway and I indeed want to learn more skills from it and do more practice. However I was bit unconfident and worried that what I do won’t meet the requirements of my senior.

Until we met at M207 my thought gradually relaxed. The senior is called Jing Gao who is nice. She was also very patient and prepared well. She told us about her project which is named Pigeon Dating. The story follows two pigeon friends in London: Mike, a hopeless romantic searching for love, and Charlie, a sharp-tongued cynic who mocks him. Through repeated failures, Mike gradually realizes his true feelings and unexpectedly falls in love with Charlie.

She also showed us her animatic and drawing style she like. I think this story is full of absurd humor and also fit my style. Besides that, she wanted to do a new attempt for the graduate film: Combine real scene, 3d props and 2d animation together. That is also a new experience for me so I’m really delight to make effort for her.

Working Process

After our discussion, Jing arranged me, Luming and Yiman do the character design of Mike and Charlie. And required us send them into our Whatsapp group. Jing provided us moodboard, character setting and style reference.

^{Moodboard that Jing provided}

^{Character style that Jing provided}

In order to have better understand and analysis of character I did some research and found relative animation characters which may have same personality.

^{Moodboard I made for Mike}

^{Moodboard I made for Charlie}

Additionally, according to the character design tutorial with Bianca I know the shape language is a really good tool it could facilitate me quickly capture the silhouette structure. The personality of Mike is suitable for rectangle and circle to express. And also can added some heart shape element due to his romantic. The shapes I mainly want to choose for Charlie are triangle and rectangle due to his sharp personality. I also make him body to be half hairy and half hairless which could highlight his feature.
Here are the characters I designed below. To be honest I quite satisfy them especially these two I circled. When I send them to Jing, I’m happy she did the same choice as me. She finally chooses the characters I designed and did some change according to her own style.

^{Character design of Mike}

^{Character design of Charlie}

The next task she gave us is to help her search some free 3d props models online. In her film she needs me to find model of phone (used for dating) and torn cardboard box (One of the dating partners’ homes). I searched many different types model and integrate them together with my analysis to let Jing to be easier to choose.

^{Reference examples of phone}

^{Reference examples of torn cardboard box}

She finally chose a cartoony style phone model. However, we encountered difficulties in finding a cardboard box model. The model I found did not have what she wanted. So, she decided to choose a basic cardboard box and then let me modify it.

^{This is the original model of cardboard box}

^{I rotate the box and open it}

When I sent the screen shot to Jing, she thought the back of box was too neat and wanted me add more wrinkles make the overall looking more unified and shabbier.

This is effect picture I modified after

The final step is to add the texture to check the overall effect.

Besides that, I also provide her some other free rubbish heap model in case she needs.

Reflection

Overall, I mainly responsible for the character design and modeling which were recognized by her, so my efforts were not in vain. When I encounter some problem of model making such as grease pencil, she would be patient and provide me some useful tutorials. I think the biggest charm of simulation work is that it is not a simple group assignment, but a foundation for us to enter the industry later. The senior in the second year plays the role of a very experienced project leader and guide. Under her guidance, we agreed on the deadline for the completion of each task. If there are any problems, we can communicate in the group at any time. Only with clear division of labor and mutual coordination can we ensure progress. This made me understand the importance of team communication and time management. The experience of the senior gave me a deeper understanding of the process of making 3D animation in blender, and her imagination also gave me the courage to explore and show my own style. In addition, I also learned how to adjust and optimize my work based on feedback. This collaboration has improved my professional skills and given me a deeper understanding of team creation.