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First Place Winner: 3D AnimationMichał Gamrat |
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Q: How did you develop the idea for your project?
A: Currently, I’m a third year student of Information Technology at AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, where my focus is in computer graphics, and primarily three dimensional graphics—which I’ve been studying since I was 15. When I was analyzing the contest rules I asked myself, “How can I present a nice 3D animation in 15 seconds?” I figured out that some acrobatics could be a good idea. Then I had to choose a superhero – as I am fond of Batman from the Batman Beyond series, I decided to use him. I supposed that creating a little part of new adventures of this superhero may be great fun and I was right.
A: My first step was to create the environment and a superhero model. To do that I used 3ds Max, where I created models and textured them. Then, I started my adventure with motioning. I have to admit, that before the contest I was fresh with human animation. I’m a pragmatist, so I decided to learn this part of computer graphics for the contest needs. After preparing a superhero model for animation in 3ds Max I exported it to MotionBuilder – this software was completely new for me but, fortunately, I managed to learn it on time.
After creating superhero motion, I exported animation back to 3ds Max. Then, I set up illumination and rendered the whole sequence. To create a final design I used Combustion, where I composed rendered images and added some effects, like motion blur and depth of field.
Q: Please describe any problems you ran into along the way and how you overcame them?
A: The main problem I had to deal with was my knowledge of Motion Builder. I had to learn interface in quite short time—but, luckily, this learning didn’t take too long. The 3D Buzz video-tutorials and a program manual were really useful in solving this problem.
Q: What do you like best about your finished design?
A: Without a doubt – the animation of human character. As I mentioned I was fresh with this stuff, but supported by MotionBuilder I’ve achieved a satisfactory final result.
Q: What do you want to do in the future (as a career), once you have finished school?
A: I would like to work in an animation branch. Bringing this superhero to life was a lot of fun for me and I’d like to join work with pleasure. I think this kind of work is a creative way of spending time.
Pixar Animation Studios would be an ideal place to work because great 3D animation is created there. In addition, I have recently seen a photo tour from Pixar – it looks like really cool place to work.