Creating Bandits alongside a team of a ten thoughtful, creative, and talented students was easily the highlight of my time at UC Berkeley. The fast-paced, comical short linked above was directed by Stephanie Cai and managed by Ali Yassin. The short served as our capstone to Berkeley course CNM 190 or Advanced Digital Animation in 2015.
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My contributions to the short included character modelling, rigging, and effects.
My primary responsibility was to provide materials and textures for the short. This was my second time working on an animated short and first time using Pixar's Renderman for Maya and physically-based materials systems. The animation's visual design and story were inspired by classic Tom and Jerry cartoons. Environments were warm and soft in appearance to increase the contrast for the grey raccoons and the shiny toy scooter.
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The project was managed through a git repository to control version history and allow for more effective collaboration between group members.
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In addition to Renderman, I became acquainted with using Tractor to manage a render farm. It was a valuable learning process as it enabled students in the introductory class to use those resources while I oversaw the servers and their renders.
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What is CNM 190?
Instructed by professors Dan Garcia and James O'Brien, CNM 190 is a year long course where students write and select stories to animate in 3D. Every two years, approximately 20 applicants are accepted and divided into two teams. Instruction primarily took the form of critique from the professors and guests from related industries. As a result, the process of developing new skills was self-driven. Many of these guests were alumni of the course and now work in animation or game development.
Takeaways
This project's scope and timeline were excellent exercises for carrying out the 3D pipeline with a specialized team. Responding to and adapting to feedback on a regular basis bolstered not only 3D skills but also skills related to communication and presentation. The short was my first real foray into shading and inspired me to learn more about effective practices and procedures.
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