Little Square Guys (INTERACTIVE)
This was my second time messing around in Rive, an interactive 2D animation software. I wanted to make something a bit more complex than a single animation that triggered with a hover or click, and I landed on making a simple drag-and-drop interaction with cute squares!
On the surface, it's like a very basic toy, but programming everything with Rive's State Machine system was a huge challenge. Pictured below is the initial prototype I made as a test, along with ONE of the many State Machine layers I created for the final file... It couldn't even fit on the screen, haha. I immensely enjoyed working on this, and I know for a fact I'll keep playing around with Rive!
I recommend checking out the file on the Rive Marketplace through the button below! The version you're seeing here has feathering deactivated due to website restrictions, so the shadows are much harsher than they should be.
Click here to play with this file in the Rive Marketplace!On the surface, it's like a very basic toy, but programming everything with Rive's State Machine system was a huge challenge. Pictured below is the initial prototype I made as a test, along with ONE of the many State Machine layers I created for the final file... It couldn't even fit on the screen, haha. I immensely enjoyed working on this, and I know for a fact I'll keep playing around with Rive!
I recommend checking out the file on the Rive Marketplace through the button below! The version you're seeing here has feathering deactivated due to website restrictions, so the shadows are much harsher than they should be.
Expressive Rigged Cat
My first ever time attempting to create slider controls within After Effects, in order to animate a fully rigged character. Instead of drawing out the character in Illustrator and importing the layers into After Effects, I drew the character within After Effects itself, which really sped up my process and allowed me to pull off some funky trim line tricks with the rigging (notice the receding and overlapping head outlines when the cat turns).
I had an absolute blast during the technical rigging process. I loved the feeling of making something that could potentially be used by anyone besides myself. It felt like creating a puppet, with all its complex joints and controls. I'll be looking forward to going back to these rigging techniques if I ever deal with more complex characters in the future!
I had an absolute blast during the technical rigging process. I loved the feeling of making something that could potentially be used by anyone besides myself. It felt like creating a puppet, with all its complex joints and controls. I'll be looking forward to going back to these rigging techniques if I ever deal with more complex characters in the future!
Rhythmic Shapes
A fun little musical video with some basic shapes. The turnaround for this mini-project was insanely short, so I focused all of the little time I had on my favorite aspect of any motion design project: the animation. I used the most basic shapes imaginable, along with a very simplified render style, and instead concentrated my efforts on punchy, entertaining movement that complemented the music. I added a slight pixelated filter in After Effects for an extra touch of digital fun.
Music - "song that plays when you encounter a caterpillar" by Solaris
Music - "song that plays when you encounter a caterpillar" by Solaris
Abstract Cat Self Portrait
A short 3D animated self portrait that depicts me as a heavily abstracted cat plush, sitting on a bean bag and playing on a DS Lite in the dead of night. I wanted to make something that reflected my childhood in a cute and wacky way. This is a small snapshot of several memories that I have with that little gaming handheld.
This was my first time trying to animate a full character in 3D (though thankfully the range of motion is very limited for this video). I also used Adobe Substance Designer for the first time to create the knitted material, following a tutorial for just this kind of texture and trying to add my own details to it. It was really fun to design and animate this cat plush persona of mine!
This was my first time trying to animate a full character in 3D (though thankfully the range of motion is very limited for this video). I also used Adobe Substance Designer for the first time to create the knitted material, following a tutorial for just this kind of texture and trying to add my own details to it. It was really fun to design and animate this cat plush persona of mine!
Morphing Doodles
I animated this on Adobe Fresco with a mostly straight-ahead technique. There was no plan for the timing or the creature designs or anything. I simply wanted to let my stream of consciousness carry the piece until I felt like ending it. It was very fun and relaxing to sort of animate on the spot without thinking about it too much.
Imaginary Machine
My goal was to create an "imaginary machine" made out of collaged photos of random objects, as well as animate this machine doing something. This was my first foray into complex rigging techniques in After Effects (as evidenced by the nightmarish image below), but I quickly got into the groove and was able to animate the whole video in a single day. This project was sort of a soft introduction to the world of rigged character animation for me, and I'd love to do more of it sometime soon!
