Elemental Mind - 3D animation

I think it's time this place got a little taste of my 3D work, don't you?

Just went through the process of being accepted by DeniantART Film so I could post my animations n' what not. Hope this'll be the beginning of a lot more motion picture from me. This past semester, I gained a renewed love for video art especially.

But this here is an example of my 3D animation. Autodesk Maya and Adobe After Effects were the main softwares used in this project. Completion took a little over a month, not including the time it took to model the objects in the scene.

Just finished a blog entry that went over this past semester's animation assignments, and this is one project I really wanted to share on DA. Here's the description I posted in the blog:

The pond is the unknown from which we develop. Dark, mysterious, and foreboding. Within, we are undefined. There are aspirations which arise in our desire to grow and break away from that darkness, and some of them don't flourish. But certain aspects we carry do take flight, and end up defining who we are. Those are the bubbles that rise and become stars. Stars have been symbolic in my life for a long time as representations of how we should strive to be - lights in the dark, shining brightly amidst the overwhelming darkness/odds against us. There's a lullaby I wrote toward the beginning of my college career - the first part reads as follows:

When you lie awake, gazing at the stars
Tell me what you see, my dear, they show you who you are.
In the dark of night, behold the shining light
Summoning the glow of dawn despite the rising odds.

And that's where the music in the animation is from. I actually started fooling with Garage Band on my MacBook Pro, and found out how to create a simple tune. It doesn't follow a beat, I regret to say, but I was in a bit too much of a hurry to figure out how to make it perfect. I still like it! And professor said it fit well.

So, everything in the piece is made by me, and represents something extremely important which is why I like it so much. Luckily, the creation process went a bit more smoothly than usual. I actually freaked out at how well it was going ... it was a little scary, I thought something devastating was about to happen as per my luck. xD
I used Adobe After Effects for the objects inside the bubbles. Using effects and filters, I gave the illusion of them being inside the 3D bubbles while they're actually on top. The speech audio was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro.

The first bubble holds round, colored lights, representing the watercolor paint palette I was holding when the audio was recorded (I was 2 years old - 1992). The bubble is symbolic of my artistic side that's been with me since the beginning.

The second bubble portrays a bright light already like a star while the Lord's Prayer is read. This represents my spirituality which is literally what has lit my path ahead.

The third bubble contains purple smoke. While I'm singing the song "Stand My Ground" by Within Temptation, my favorite band, the purple smoke is a tribute to my favorite singer, Amy Lee, who often appears on a stage themed in purple these days. This bubble symbolizes my inspiration.

The fourth bubble entraps a feather, which, if you know me, of COURSE represents angelic influence. :] The line being spoken is meant to be Uni's."Sailor Universe...is what I'm called. And I am not bound by the borders of worlds...or dimensions." This is symbolic of so much more than it seems. Yes, Universe can travel across worlds and dimensions, but that's how I also feel about my artwork and worldview. Limitless. The bubble symbolizes enlightenment.

The final bubble holds a burning fire as I lead Air Force cadets in reciting the Airman's Creed (audio retrieved from this video by a classmate). Officer training was the toughest challenge I've endured to this point in conjunction with college, but I persevered. Determination is a prominent trait I carry, and that's what this bubble symbolizes.

The bubbles as a whole are also a significant, cohesive factor in my work as I've been known to use spherical shapes in other projects to denote importance.