The Project
Idea
Based on the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII commercial Coca Cola Heist I have made some still images and a turntable, using various assets, I have created in 3ds Max. I have made some grass, a coke bottle coveres in condensation, and a fully rigged character, the main protagonist from the commercial - the ladybug.
I am trying to match the style and the colorgrading of the commercial, to show that I know my way around compositing. In this case I use Adobe After Effects CS6. In addition, my project will show, that I can partake in creating assets - both static and rigged, as well as animating characters. In my rigging process, I also use some MaxScript, both to automate some of my tasks, but also to drive some controllers with expressions.
For the environment, I have been using backplates, that I have create in Photoshop CS6. The backplates will be composed from various images found via google. The lighting was done with downloaded 360 spherical HDRI as skylights, and the with some added light, to give the proper feel.
Targeting
With this project I am targeting advertising agencies, as well as any company looking for freelancers, to make short animations or stills. I like to get my hands on as many parts of the pipeline as possible, why I find myself best suited for advertising. I will not exclude myself from working at a large VFX House - it will most certainly be a valued experience.
The Protagonist
As mentioned, the protagonist of the Coca Cola Heist commercial is a ladybug, who is orchestrating the theft of a Coca Cola, from a young guy basking in the sun. I have chosen to model, texture, rig and animate this character, to show the basic skills I've gained over the course of this year.
Turntable
Using the protagonist from my stills, and the rig i created, I was able to conceive the turntable shown below. The ladybug is animated, in a looping idle animation, using all the rigged parts - here among the head, antennae, maxilary palps, legs, elytra and wings.
The Rig
Most of the rigging went smooth. But the wings were a bit tricky, since they had to be able to fold together under the elytra. After a couple of days, and naming an endless amount of bones, helpers, IK-chains and a whole bunch of controllers,
I finally achieved the amount of control I desired. The video below demonstrates the wing rig. I Created a seperate controller for the video, for better illustration. When animating I have all my controllers as spinners in an Attribute Holder modifier, attached to the main controller.
Author
My name is Kevin Gøhler, and I'm a student at 3D College Denmark. I aspire to become a great Animator and/or Compositor.
I have a curious mind, and I live to learn.
I like to get my hands on all the different aspects of the pipeline, from creating assets to animating and post production. That being said, I also realise, that I need to focus on a specific task, to be my main area of expertise - and for me, that area will be animation, and perhaps also rigging. I hope however, that by attaining an apprenticeship at a small to medium sized advertising agency, that I can get some hands on experience in as many fields as possible, whilst also advancing my skills as an animator.
