Massive Collaborative Animation Projects is a set of multi-university wide student 3D animation projects ran by professors Miho Aoki of University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and Dr. William J. Joel. The objective is to create a full 3D animated short film for submission to SIGGRAPH. Miho Aoki was my animation professor for two semesters, and invited me to join the project during my senior year of university. I worked as an animator and modeler on their first short film project, titled Blue Moon.
After a fight with her older sister, a young girl decides to sneak out and investigate a spooky abandoned house in her neighborhood at nighttime. Inside the house, she encounters paranormal activities and meets a ghost who teaches her about the importance of family.
When joining the project, I was given four completed scenes to set dress and add details to, including a street and the main character's bedroom. Two of the scenes that I contributed the most work towards on a geometry level were the entryway and the attic. I added organic details using cloth simulations and Maya Bullet to create rubble and natural looking decay. For the attic scene I made the antique fireplace grate, open book models, and spiderwebs.
Connecting with fellow students and giving feedback on each other's work helped me grow as an artist. I enjoyed watching everyone's presentations each week, showing all parts of the pipeline working in organized tandem towards the finish line. A huge thank you to my professor Miho Aoki, who also gave me the opportunity to present about working on this at SIGGRAPH 2021.
Unofficial final composite of Entryway layout
AO + topo of Entryway
Staircase Angle Leading Up to Attic
Unofficial final composite of Attic layout
AO + topo of Attic
