MAJOR PROJECT 2 - FINAL COMPILATION & REFLECTION
5.2.2026 - 29.3.2026 (Week 1 - Week 8)
Thanaphorn Daensaad / 0350930
Major Project 2 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Final Compilation & Reflection
Thanaphorn Daensaad / 0350930
Major Project 2 / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Final Compilation & Reflection
List
Project
Feedback
Reflection
Major Project 2
This module is a continuation from the previous module Major Project 1 which is where we execute what had proposed. Our group decided to stay as a team and move forward together.
Assessment breakdown
Since we chose to continue as a group, we decided on making the animation 3D. We started off with modelling the characters, environment and props needed for each scenes. In our first consultation, we discussed our final outcome and project timeline with Mr Kamal. We planned to finished the modelling by the 1st week and rigging to show on the 2nd week. Therefore, we all divided the tasks as we have 4 characters, 4 environments and some props. My task is to model and rig one character which is the Grim reaper then followed by modelling and setting the environment for backyard, Hell and neighborhood.
Phase 1: Assets, Characters & Environment
Modelling & Rigging
1. Grim Reaper Modelling & Simple RigFirst, I started modelling the skeleton which ended up looking low poly. I redid the skeleton as it does not fit the overall style with the characters.
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Grim Reaper v1 (low poly look)
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Grim Reaper v2 (fitted style)
I ended up not having the hands as the rig for the hands wasn't going well due to the time constraint to move on to the next phase.
2. Yun Character Rigging
First method with Rigifiy
I worked on rigging one of our main characters, Yun. I started on watching a tutorial on how to rig with Rigify. However, I was facing issues on working on the rig to bind to the skin. Then, I went through more tutorials which did not fix my issue plus I was not able to generate the rig.
Yun Rigify
Second method with ARP method
Due to the time constraint, I deleted the armature and redo the process but instead using AutoRig-Pro. After matching the bones to the meshes, I generated the rig then binded the rig to the model.
Setting Environment & Lighting
1. Neighbourhood
I set a moody lighting for the interior of the home associated with a blueish sky with a white lighting to highlight some parts of the house.
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House lighting setup
I added some grass using geometry nodes. This allows the grass to move in a particular direction then back to normal so it looks like the world is alive with wind.
Geometry nodes setup
Final setup with the lighting
2. Backyard
Tree Animation
I got the tree growth down but when it comes to making the laterns to grow like the leaves on the tree, it works but not the way I wanted it to. The lantern was supposed to appear on a specific area like the end of the branches but it did nto read it and ended up reading most of the points on the branches.
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Geometry nodes setup
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Final tree look v1
In the end, I chose to manually place the lanterns where I wanted them to be and set them all with a boolean modifier in difference mode. This allows the lantern to dissapear when the invisible block is on top of it, working like a layer above it for me to move. So, I keyed the movement of the invisible block to downwards to make a reveal animation. Finally, I keyed the light to appear after the lanterns were revealed.
Final tree look v2
I added the tree that I've animated beforehand with the lighting keyed to appear.
Final setup with the lighting
3. Hell
I made a simple room to allow the lighting bounce on the sides but not too much so I could see alittle reflection emission.
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Setup with the character
Stylised fire with lighting emission
I made a trail and used array to duplicate them in random heights. I followed a tutorial but it did not came out the way it should be due to the latest blender update so there were a few changes in terms of having the nodes I needed.
Final setup with fire trail v1
I found a different guide that got the outcome I wanted but I made some changes to the color and color ramp which ends up being a fuller look. However, I could not get it to have a fade to zero on the sides.
Final setup with fire trail v2
Lantern chinese characters
1. Writing the chinese characters
I figured out the way to write chinese characters in Blender which is by writing in the text editor then converting it into an object. However, a chinese font is needed so I used Ping Fang font which allows Blender to read the chinese character as it would just appear as a ? icon.
Chinese character on lantern setup
2. Figuring out the writing animation
Initially, I considered using the reveal animation method. However, this approach turned out to be time-consuming because the reveal effect displays the entire character at once rather than animating it stroke by stroke. To achieve a proper stroke-by-stroke animation, each stroke would need to have its own reveal modifier applied separately and animated along different axes, since the strokes appear in different directions.
2. Character transformation
Final Submission
Feedback
Reflection
Setup look to simplify the process
I also could not find any add-ons that could speed up or simplify this process. Although the build modifier was another possible solution, it would have required retopologizing the character and spending additional time learning how the modifier works. Due to time constraints, I ultimately changed the scene to show the back of Liang while he is writing instead.
Phase 2: Animating & Camera Movements
1. Seed Animation
I animated the physics of the seed to fall and have a little spin while it's in mid air. This is to add more interesting scene shot. I made a plane to have a passive type rigid body while the seed has an active type rigid body which allows the physics to happen.
Seed animation
In theory, the effect could be achieved in Blender by separating the characters into two different collections: one for the Ghost and one for Yun. These collections would function like layers, allowing the animator to control their visibility during the transformation. By adjusting the alpha values in the materials, one character could gradually fade out while the other fades in, creating a layered transformation effect between the two forms.
However, this method did not work as intended during the process. As a result, the alpha values had to be animated individually on the materials instead. With more time in the future, the transformation could be improved by refining the layering approach and finding a more efficient way to manage the visibility and blending of the characters.
Character transformation animation
3. Animating characters and camera
This is the breakdown I have for the animated scenes so I could name them by scenes. I combined a few into the same file to cut down the time for the scene due to the time limit we have for the overall animation as we were facing issues with the time limit.
Final Submission
1. Project Exploration
Project Management Doc Link:
Gann Chart & Shot List Link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10Sj15RgXjRWD-BfHTc4z0T5_xR_3QeTD10g8k6eSyuo/edit?usp=sharing
2. Project Execution
Google Drive Link:
3. Presentation Slides
Link:
4. Final Animation & Art Bible
Final Animation Link:
Art Bible Link:
Special thanks to Mr Kamal and a bunch of my supportive friends (to survive together and not quit)
Feedback
Week 1
- Plan properly before starting the modelling and animation process to ensure a clear workflow and efficient task distribution.
- List all required characters, props and environments needed for the project to avoid missing assets during production.
- Organise the production timeline using a Gantt chart to manage deadlines, monitor progress and ensure the project stays on schedule.
- Prepare a detailed shot list based on the storyboard to guide the animation process and maintain consistency in visual storytelling.
- Assign specific modelling roles among team members to ensure balanced workload and efficient production flow.
- Complete the entire modelling phase within one week to allow sufficient time for subsequent stages, including texturing, rigging, animation, lighting, rendering, compositing and editing, ensuring smooth project progression.
Week 2
- The flame can use it as a light source for the background then add effects of fire for the path during the editing phase.
- Skeleton head doesn’t have to be its own character as it only appears for one scene. The skeleton can be used to animate using the parent constraint.
- Separate the jaw and parent the head to the jaw to allow the jaw to follow the head but the jaw can move individually.
Week 3
- Make sure the parts other than the head are in a separate collection before generating the rig.
Week 4
- Overall is okay as seen in Cycles render.
- The tree animation can be slower
Week 5
- Mr Kamal guided me to understand the particle system better.
- Use the particle method instead of the spiral method.
- Keep tweaking the physics and play around.
- Next time, this kind of effects can be done in softwares that are focused on doing 3D effects to get a very specific outcome, altho blender also works.
Week 6
- Continue working on the animation
- Reduce the speed of grass moving
Week 7
- Hell scene - put light at both side of the door
- Refine fire trail effects
- Transformation part - make the light more natural with some fading on the sides as it looks rough
Reflection
Honestly, these 7 weeks has been hellish. This module has made me came to a realisation that I have the existing basic skills I have was not enough as I would have to learn blender nodes for certain outcomes. Thankfully, there were helpful tutorials online that I was able to combine together to form what I needed.
There were some trials and errors during the rigging process that lead me into almost giving up as there were problems with Rigify that we all faced. I learned new techniques like animating the alpha and emission. I tried combining some of the scenes together into one file as some has the same flow output.
Working on the blender nodes was painful but it was quite a fun process to learn as I like the challenge and the proud feeling that I feel when I got the final outcome that I want from it. In the future, I would like to improve the outcome of my animation and possibly redo this as a personal challenge of mine as I believe I could have done more and better. I would also want to learn the industry based workflow and adapt to it so I would be more prepared in the future.
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