Author: Chiara Maranto

Final Major Project As I reach the end of my 3D animation project, I can’t help but feel proud of how far I’ve come. This experience has been a transformative journey that has greatly improved my animation skills and deepened my passion for bringing characters to life. It’s been challenging, rewarding, and an incredible learning opportunity. Throughout this project, I’ve discovered just how much I enjoy animating characters. Creating movement, expression, and personality through animation feels like breathing life into a story. I’m excited to pursue this path in my future career, and my ultimate dream is to work on …

15. FMP and Behind the scenes Read more »

Sound Design and Music Once I completed the video editing and assembled all the rendered shots, it was time to focus on one of the most important aspects of the short film: sound. Sound design and music have the power to enhance the storytelling and immerse the audience in the world I’ve created. For the music, I chose a track that balances a thrilling and creepy tone. I wanted it to set the mood for the eerie yet playful atmosphere of the animation. The music builds in a crescendo toward the end, creating a sense of anticipation and drama that …

14. Music, Sound Effects and Lighting Read more »

Title: Crafting the Sky and Lighting for My Animated Short One of the most important aspects of creating the atmosphere for my short film was designing the sky and lighting. I wanted a night scene with a bright half-moon that stood out and illuminated the environment. To achieve this, I modeled the moon and placed its center at the center of the scene, allowing me to easily rotate it to match the camera angles and composition of each shot. The stars were created using a particle system. This method allowed me to distribute countless small points across the sky, giving …

13. Sky and Lighting Read more »

Cinematic Choices: Animating the Cameras When it came to animating the cameras for my short film, I focused on enhancing the storytelling and maintaining a professional visual structure. A key part of this was respecting the rule of thirds, which helped me compose balanced and visually appealing shots. Placing the subject along these imaginary lines allowed me to draw the viewer’s attention while keeping the scenes dynamic. I also paid close attention to the subject of each scene. The camera movements were designed to emphasize the main action or character, ensuring that their role in the story was clear. For …

12. Camera Animations Read more »

Bringing Motion to Objects: Animating the Car, UFO, and Tree Animating the objects in my project was an engaging process, as each one had unique challenges and creative possibilities. I focused on animating the car, UFO, and tree to bring the scenes to life. For the car, I started by using an empty axis and a curve to define its path. The car was attached to the axis, which followed the curve smoothly. I also added a dynamic stopping scene where the car rotated slightly on its front wheels, giving the animation a more realistic and dramatic feel. To enhance …

11. Objects Animations Read more »

Animating the Monster: Challenges and Techniques As the main character of my short film, the humanoid monster required the most detailed animation work. I animated him in four key scenes, each with unique challenges and opportunities to refine my skills. The first scene shows the monster shopping in the grocery store. To animate this, I had to constrain his hand to the shopping cart at first and later to a cereal box. This added complexity, as I had to manage the constraints while maintaining natural movement. I created my own references for the actions, then worked in blocking to set …

10. Monster Animations Read more »

Animating the Grim Reaper Animating the Grim Reaper was a central part of my project, as his movements convey both his eerie persona and his role in the story. He appears in two key scenes, each requiring careful planning and execution. In the first scene, the Grim Reaper discovers his next target—the monster—by looking at a computer screen. The animation focuses on subtle gestures, like his head tilt, to communicate his realisation. I started by blocking the animation and establishing key poses to ensure the sequence was clear and effective. Once the blocking phase was solid, I transitioned to spline …

9. Grim Reaper Animations Read more »

Animating the Black Cat: Walk and Grooming Scenes The black cat plays a small but significant role in my animation, and animating it presented a rewarding challenge. The cat appears in two scenes, each requiring a distinct approach to bring its movements to life authentically. For the first scene, the cat walks down the street. To achieve a natural gait, I worked directly in spline, skipping the blocking stage to focus on fluid motion from the start. I studied several reference videos of cats walking, paying close attention to the subtle shifts in their shoulders and hips as they move. …

8. Cat Animations Read more »

Crafting the Characters and Props for My Animation Selecting and preparing the characters for my 3D animation was a crucial step in bringing the story to life. Each character and object plays a distinct role in the narrative, so I took care to ensure they fit both the visual style and the tone of the project. For the Grim Reaper, I began with the Skull Chaser rig, drawn to its bold and striking design. However, to better align it with my vision, I made several adjustments. I changed its colour from red to blue to give it a more unique and unexpected …

7. Choosing Characters Read more »

Creating the Grim Reaper’s Home Office For the Grim Reaper’s house in my animation, I kept the design simple yet purposeful, ensuring it reflected the character’s personality and set up subtle hints for the story. Inside the house, I focused on creating a desk setup with a computer screen and some stationery. The computer screen plays a key role, as it will display the video of the monster shopping—tying this scene back to earlier moments in the animation. The room itself is styled like a typical home interior, but with a slightly darker tone to match the nighttime setting. Originally, …

6. Environment – Grim Reaper’s House Read more »