Seiya's Blog

Author: Seiya Ito

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Week 4: – 17/10/2025 – Maya – Juice Box Acting

In this project, I created the juice box acting in the following the plan and storyboard.
This image is a plan for figure out the time and space each movement of juice box. Also, I focused on the story, which is fascinated with viewer.
But looking back the submitted the animation, it was boring and not well to convey my story to viewers. After the class, I asked the teacher “why the animation is not funny so much”. And then, during the conversation, I realised that the reaction and variations in tempo have a strong relationship to express the emotion and attract with viewers into my animation. So next time, I will be eager to explore the reaction and tempo more carefully, also, I would like to create the more fascinated one. 

<Plan for Time & Space>

<Storyboard>

Blocking

This is the blocking for my juice box animation. The story begins with a juice box dropping onto a hill. Then, one of the juice boxes wakes up and realizes that another one can’t move. He tries to climb the hill again, but it’s difficult for him. Finally, he decides to use a unique method — flying by using the straw.

<Submitted the first version as a juice box acting animation>

Categories
Maya

Week 4: Ball and Tail and Emotional Pose

This is a plan for my ball and tail animation. In particular, I drew images to show the timing, spacing, and movement. During this task, I focused on understanding how the tail should move. Looking back, I thought the ball and tail looked similar to a squirrel. This animal is characterized by light weight and quick movement, so I tried to incorporate those features into my motion.

However, through my teacher’s feedback, I realized that the tail movement looked a bit unnatural compared to a real animal. In particular, the motion lacked the flexibility and suppleness, which made it seem less realistic.

Furthermore, after watching the tips video on Discord, I realized that I need to use the Graph Editor more effectively. I also believe that even if I think my motion looks good, it might not good work from other perspectives. Therefore, I will consider objective feedback regularly.

<Plan for Time & Space & Movement>

<The first version Ball & Tail motion>

<Fixed Ball & Tail Motion>

This week, I tried to create poses using a complex body model. As a result, I struggled to adjust each bone and understand the functions properly. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about body expression, because these characters don’t have facial features, so it’s essential to show emotion only through body gestures.

In addition to this, I learned about IK and FK bones. However, I still can’t use them appropriately, so I would like to continue learning through self-study.

When creating a pose, first keep in mind the Golden Poses. It’s especially important to check whether the silhouette properly conveys the situation and emotion. Also, rather than simply creating a realistic pose, keeping in mind C- and S-shapes will make the pose more appealing and dynamic.

It’s also essential to consider the center of gravity. The center of gravity is a key element in creating realism, and in my case, when a pose looks somewhat unnatural, it’s often because I’ve neglected to pay attention to the center of gravity.

Categories
Design for Animation

Week 3: Film Theory and Narrative Structure

This week, I learned about story structure and film theory. Among them, I really interested in the content was the bar graph showing the rise and fall of a story from beginning to end. According to this graph, the story’s peak of excitement reached just before the end, O thought it looks like climbing up and down a mountain. Thanks to this graph, I could figure out it and visually graph helped me deepen my recognition.

Also, I surprised that the starting and ending heights are the same. I had always assumed that a story begins the most quiet and gradually builds up towards the ending. but in fact is a bit of different.

Additionally, I understood that, as shown in this diagram, the three elements are interrelated.

Categories
Unreal Engine

Week 4: Research & Influence

I got the idea for my work from three elements: a traditional Japanese shrine, a cave, and a big tree. Each of them has a special meaning for me. The shrine represents the connection between people and nature. The cave shows the power of time and the beauty that comes from many small coincidences. The big tree symbolizes life, growth, and strength.

By combining these elements, I wanted to create a beautiful and peaceful scene that draws the viewer into the world of the animation. My goal is to make people feel calm and inspired, as if they are standing inside a quiet place in nature.

Japanese Shrine

I decided to add the combination a Japanese traditional culture into this work, like Shrine. Because I thought that the staff allows the viewer immerse the wonderful atmosphere. In particular, I was inspired from the – Fushimi Inari Taisha. This is because that I felt the wonderful atmosphere when I visited there. A shrine is a place where Japanese people worship Kami, the gods from ancient times.

Cave

I have been to the various types of cave in Japan. And I thought that the cave enable visitor to attract with beautiful scenery. Also, based on these images, it is possible to high-light the one spot due to lighting and dark space. Furthermore, a cave is formed over a long time period of time though countless natural coincidences. I found that this process closely related to my work, as both reflect how chance encounters can create unexpected and meaningful forms.

Big Tree

The big tree is inspired from Castle in the Sky made by Ghibli which is my favorite animation company. The big tree is strongly related with Japanese culture. For instance, since a long time ago, people pray to like this big tree because people believed god dwell in the big tree and watch over. Based on this fact, I thought it can express the wonderful atmosphere to utilize these elements.

Based on this mind map, I decided to create an animation with a non-human main character and to keep the story simple.
This is because I want to focus more on environment creation and on learning the knowledge and skills of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5), rather than spending too much time on a complex storyline.

In this project, my main goal is to create an immersive and realistic environment using UE5.
By keeping the character and story simple, I can put more attention into the visual atmosphere, background design, and world building, so that the audience can enjoy the space itself.

For the environment design, I plan to combine three main elements.
These are a Japanese traditional shrine, a mysterious giant tree, and a cave with a magical and mysterious atmosphere.
By combining these elements into one environment, I aim to create a world that feels both realistic and fantasy like, provide a strong impression on the viewer.

Categories
Uncategorised

Week 3: – 10/10/2025 – Maya – Golden Pose 2

This is a Golden Pose for week 2 assignment. This pose character has a big body compared to first one. So I thought it is difficult to make a pose clearly, especially, this character has a big body, and small legs. So I needed to fix the reference pose into this character pose. For that, I did the analysis to draw the C or S shape carefully by using a piece of Pixar Animation Incredible.

Categories
Maya

Week 3: Juice Box

This is a sketch plan for Juice box animation. Especially, I wrote two graphs here like Full of Juice box and Empty Juice box. In terms of this sketch plan, I focused on the timing and space to express each material and weigh. Also, through this plan, I realised that heavy version is more smaller space each frame than light version. Furthermore, movement is also different between heavy one and light one. For example, heavy one is just bounce small only once. On the other hand, light one is three times bounce and movement is also big.

First making falling a juice box from a table in perspective view
First making falling a juice box from a table in side view
Light Juice box
Heavy Juice box

Juice Box Animation

In this project, I created the juice box acting in the following the plan and storyboard.
This image is a plan for figure out the time and space each movement of juice box. Also, I focused on the story, which is fascinated with viewer.
But looking back the submitted the animation, it was boring and not well to convey my story to viewers. After the class, I asked the teacher “why the animation is not funny so much”. And then, during the conversation, I realised that the reaction and variations in tempo have a strong relationship to express the emotion and attract with viewers into my animation. So next time, I will be eager to explore the reaction and tempo more carefully, also, I would like to create the more fascinated one. 

<Plan for Time & Space>

<Storyboard>

Blocking

This is the blocking for my juice box animation. The story begins with a juice box dropping onto a hill. Then, one of the juice boxes wakes up and realizes that another one can’t move. He tries to climb the hill again, but it’s difficult for him. Finally, he decides to use a unique method — flying by using the straw.

<Submitted the first version as a juice box acting animation>

Final Version

Kiwi Animation – Brief Description and Impressions

The kiwi animation features a small, cute bird as the main character. The animation focuses on the bird’s simple movements, such as walking, pecking the ground, and fluttering its tiny wings. The motions are exaggerated just enough to make the character look lively and expressive, while still keeping a natural and believable feel.

Watching this animation, I was impressed by how much personality the animators were able to give to such a simple character. I learned how small details, like the timing of a step or a slight tilt of the head, can make a big difference in making an animated character feel alive and charming. It also reminded me that even simple creatures can tell a story effectively through careful observation and timing.

Categories
Design for Animation

Week 2: Skip the class

There is no class this day because the teacher cannot arrive to LCC with transportation problem.
So, in this week, I focus on other subject, especially, I would like to visit the LCC library to get a new information like Maya character animation, how to struct the storyboard, etc.

Categories
Unreal Engine

Week 3: Project Idea and Planning for Submission

Project Idea / Purpose & Aims

I plan to create a work using Unreal Engine 5 that focuses on realistic environments and a simple narrative structure.

Basically, I will make a model assets by myself in Blender and then set them up in UE5. In order to concentrate on acquiring fundamental knowledge of UE5, I intend to keep the animation itself relatively simple rather than overly complex.

Based on the foundational skills I have acquired in this course, I would like to challenge myself with more complex and expressive animation projects in the future.

The main character will be a small creature or a non-human being. In addition, I would like to combine an animation motion that I studied using Maya in the 3D Computer Animation Fundamental course.

Animation Production Timeline Planning

Step 1: Planning & Research

  • Thinking story ideas and deciding on the concept
  • Creating a mind map
  • Researching reference works (backgrounds, worldbuilding, visual tone)
  • Making a simple story structure
  • Reviewing Unreal Engine 5 and previous student projects

Goal & Purpose:
Establish a clear direction before starting production.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 2: Pre-production

  • Character design (rough sketches)
  • Background and worldbuilding concept sketches
  • Creating a storyboard
  • Searching required assets

Goal & Purpose:
Clearly define what will be created and how far the project will go.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 3: Modeling (Blender)

  • Character modeling
  • Modeling props and architectural elements
  • Adjusting scale for Unreal Engine 5

Goal & Purpose:
Prepare all models and try to export the data from Blender into UE5.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 4: Texturing & Materials

  • Creating textures in Substance 3D Painter
  • Adjusting base colors and surface details
  • Exporting textures for UE5 (Base Color, Normal, Roughness, ORM, etc.)

Goal & Purpose:
To make material and texture.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 5: UE5 Setup & World Building

  • Importing models and assets into UE5
  • Using assets from Bridge and Fab
  • Blocking out the environment and camera positions
  • Testing lighting setups
  • Building the main scene

Goal & Purpose:
Create a world where the final result can be clearly visualized.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 6: Animation & Camera

  • Creating character animations in Maya or Blender
  • Importing animations into UE5
  • Refining camera movements
  • Adding simple motions and visual direction

Goal & Purpose:
Creating motion by using Maya or Blender.

——————————————————————————————————————

Step 7: Polish & Rendering

  • Final lighting adjustments
  • Refining camera composition
  • Rendering using Movie Render Queue
  • Final checks and submission

Goal & Purpose:
Polish the project to as a final project.

Categories
Maya

Week 2: Pendulum

This week, I worked on creating a pendulum animation. In this motion, the pendulum speeds up as it reaches both ends, and overlapping action also occurs. It is difficult to reproduce this correctly without fully understanding the movement, so I studied it carefully using The Animation Survival Kit.

Additionally, through feedback from my teacher, I learned that adjusting the small movement just before the pendulum stops makes the animation look more realistic and natural.

This is a Pendulum motion before I receive the feedback from teacher. I focused on the gravity and speed in this project.

First making Pendulum motion
Polished Pendulum motion

For a Pendulum motion, I realised that ease out and ease in is significant important to make realistic motion like pendulum. And ease out and in means both ends are the slowest on the other hand, in the middle is the fastest in pendulum motion.

Squash and Stretch

  • Shows the flexibility, weight, and volume of objects or characters.

Timing and Motion

  • Controls the speed and spacing of movements to show weight, emotion, or energy.

Anticipation

  • A small action before a main action that helps the audience understand what will happen.

Staging

  • Arranging the scene and actions so the focus is clear and easy to read.

Follow-Through and Overlapping Action

  • Extra movements after the main action, or parts moving at different times, to make it more natural.

Straight Ahead and Pose-to-Pose Action

  • Two animation methods: draw frame by frame (straight ahead) or create key poses first (pose-to-pose).

Slow In and Slow Out

  • Start and end movements slowly for a natural feeling and to show weight.

Arcs

  • Most movements follow curved paths to look smooth and realistic.

Exaggeration

  • Make movements or expressions stronger or bigger to make them clear and interesting.

Secondary Action

  • Small supporting actions that add personality or emphasize the main action.

Solid Drawing

  • Draw with correct structure, volume, and proportion to make the animation believable.

Appeal

  • Give characters or actions charm and personality to engage the audience.
Categories
Unreal Engine

Week 2: At the beginning of the project

I explored UE5 and reviewed previous students’ works. Then, I tried building a world in UE5 by myself and noticed its unique advantages over other 3D software like Maya, Blender, and Cinema 4D. The large library of assets through Quixel Bridge and Fab, along with fast rendering, makes UE5 especially powerful. I hope to use these features to create beautiful and realistic worlds in the future.

Quixel Bridge: Quixel Megascans | High-quality 3D assets for games, film, and beyond – Quixel
Fab: Unreal Engine Marketplace is now Fab – UE Marketplace

I realised each Points (Strength / Weakness)

Strengths (Good Points)

  1. Fast rendering – UE5 allows real-time rendering, which makes the workflow very efficient.
  2. Extensive asset library – High-quality assets can be easily imported from Quixel Bridge and Fab.
  3. High-quality real-time graphics – Lighting and environment realism are excellent.
  4. Blueprints for visual scripting – Interactive behaviors and mechanics can be created without coding.
  5. Large community and tutorials – There are many learning resources, making it easier to find help when needed.

Weaknesses (Challenges / Limitations)

  1. High system requirements – Using detailed assets and high-quality rendering requires a powerful PC.
  2. Complex interface – The UI and many functions can be overwhelming for beginners and different compared to other software like Maya, Blender etc.
  3. Necessary to make material in UE5 – The material has to make in using UE5 because the system is different between UE5 and Blender and Maya and so on. So, I am not able to use Blender node and complex texture details in Blender. However, it might be possible to transfer the data in Substance 3D Painter. Therefore, basically, making original materials requires additional knowledge.
  4. Difficult to transfer data or change save location – Basically, I need to save the data in One Drive or same laptop when I do something.

What to expect from UE5

Through my works, I hope to create artworks that allow many viewers enjoy and at the same time, provide new insights and learning new experiences. To achieve this goal, I would like to produce a variety of animations, primary for children. For example, I get inspiration from Disney, Pixar, Illumination, and Tonko house. In particular, Tonko house has received Annie award in recent years is so fascinated for me because this artwork is so warmly and story is also impressive.

Additionally, I believe that one of the most effective way to reduce waste of time like rendering by using UE5. And this is the point I’m most looking forward to. However, I have limited experience with UE5 and my knowledge and skills are still developing. Through this class, I hope to gain a solid understanding of UE5 and, through further practice, improve my ability to use it effectively in future projects.

Tonko House

Dam Keeper: The Dam Keeper Graphic Novels — Tonko House
Acorns: Acorns — Tonko House
Oni: ONI: Thunder God’s Tale — Tonko House

Disney / Pixar

Finding Nemo: Finding Nemo — Pixar Animation Studios
Monsters University: Monster’s University — Pixar Animation Studios
Coco: Coco — Pixar Animation Studios