A chameleon story

• Main Author: Kamal, Ayesha Fathima
• Other Authors: Davide Benvenuti
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Visual arts and music::Animation; Visual arts and music::Drawing, design and illustration
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141124
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Purpose of the project: This project was done with the aim of creating an animated short film, combining elements of 2D and 3D assets and art styles. Design/Methodology/Approach: The objectives of blending 2D and 3D animation were approached using a lot of experimentation with styles and software. The final art style and workflow of production was a result of creating a world and assets for the environment on a 3D software, Autodesk Maya, and using the template to frame camera shots for the cinematography. The final artwork of the backgrounds were drawn and coloured on a 2D software, Procreate, by tracing over the 3D forms in each rendered shot. To add definition, further shadows and highlights were rendered on the 3D software to add definition to the final 2D Artwork. The final animation was achieved by implementing a 2D rigged cut out style of animation using Toonboom Harmony which employs the use of key-frame animation like 3D software, over conventional 2D frame-by-frame animation. Findings: While working on the project, it was found that this approach made the pre-production stage incredibly complex and had to be executed stage by stage, before we could begin production, i.e, the final animation. However, once pre-production was out of the way, animation process functioned smoothly. Originality/Value: Our animated film has a unique and novel approach in terms of design – It is a 2D rigged animation with a fully illustrative and painterly approach in art style. This kind of workflow is useful for industries and companies that want to make 2D explainer or narrative animated videos, employing a cute, painterly art style! Specialization: Digital Animation Keywords: 2D Digital Animation, Digital Painting