Character modelling, rigging, and animation for UNTAME by Science Centre Singapore.
October - November 2021
A contact from Science Centre Singapore commissioned me to create 3D models and an animation for their upcoming event, UNTAME: After Dark.
This video was intended for mobile viewing on TikTok and Instagram, as a means for advertising the event.
2D illustrations of the characters were provided to me. As was the narrative behind the event's "story", from which I helped plan the narrative of this animation...
An evil AI scatters the STEMlings' pixels across the physical realm in the form of white and rare golden seeds. But as four of the STEMlings are being scattered, one slips through the cracks. This fifth STEMling stands in for the audience's perspective, as we watch them set off on their journey to hunt down the seeds and save their friends.
I had a lot of creative control over this project. I modelled, textured, rigged, animated, edited, and worked sound design over the course of three weeks.
Early development
Very early, very rough mockup to visualise first shot.
Rigid body physics simulation with early character models.
Photoshopping first early style frame.
Early on I toyed with a cel shaded look, but ultimately decided I wanted more real-world texturing and lighting.
My general rule of thumb was: stylized cartoonish models with realistic textures - Glossy reflections, subsurface scattering, height displacement maps for fabrics, surface imperfections, etc…
I felt this worked well narrative-wise as well, a sort of digital characters meets real world look.