![Hopper Prod[421].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e83617_8c169df6a4b041ce8eeb66e063588d91~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_235,h_169,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Hopper%20Prod%5B421%5D.png)
In my Animaiton 190 class, I was task to recreate a scene from a movie. We started by choosing a movie, I choose “The Dark Knight” I choose the scene where Batman and Detective Gordon was integrating the Joker. I chose this scene because for my senior project I was modeling the tumbler from the movie with the Batcave. I spend a the first two weeks of the semester doing the story bord and studying the movement of the characters for the animations, then the scene/ environment, lighting, etc. After done studying the scene, I started the animatic,
Here’s a video I’ve put together. This is what I’m going to use for the animation project — no room for error, just precision
Below is the animatic I created.
It lays out exactly what I’ll be rebuilding in Maya — every character’s move, every moment I’ll bring to life. No guesswork. Just the plan.
Once I locked down the three shots, now it’s time to build the animatic—breaking down every frame, every move
The class kicked off by modeling our main characters.
Our assignment: design them as puppets—think Muppet style. No fluff, just raw form and function.
Below is the photo of my base puppet model. Ready to bring it to life.
The class finished shaping our characters—modeling, texturing, every detail forged in darkness. But the true battle was UV mapping. It’s a ruthless game—mapping shadows in a world that never waits. One wrong move, and the illusion shatters.
I stood my ground, knowing this was the crucible that would decide if these characters rise or fall when the light hits.
This week, I dove headfirst into the Puppets—facing UVs for the first time, no room for mistakes.
In Survey of Animation 190, I’m locked in, relearning every weapon in Maya’s arsenal: modeling techniques, hidden tricks, UV mapping, texturing, and the unforgiving depths of Hypershade. The hardest trial awaits—rigging these puppets, then forcing life into their cold frames.
This isn’t just learning—it’s a fight. And I’m ready to win.
I put the characters on hold. Now, the real challenge: building the scene—the world they inhabit.
For two weeks, I’ve been consumed by texture and lighting—two forces that can either breathe life into the environment or leave it cold and lifeless.
Every detail matters. Every shadow tells a story. This is where the world takes shape.
Rigging
This was the moment everything changed.
Rigging my three characters wasn’t just a technical step—it was a test. My first time, and it wasn’t someone else’s model. These were mine. Built from nothing. Every edge, every contour, shaped by my hands.
Now I had to make them move. Give them control. Structure. Purpose.
Rigging isn't just about joints and controllers. It’s about wiring the soul into the machine—giving motion to something that’s never lived.
One wrong move, and it all falls apart. But get it right… and they come alive.
Animation Begins
This week, it all starts to come together. After weeks of building, shaping, rigging—now it’s time to bring it all to life. We began with block animation—locking characters into key poses, defining their intent, their weight, their purpose. Every frame is a choice. Every movement, a decision. From there, it shifts into puppet-style animation—controlled, deliberate, precise. No more theory. No more planning.
This is where the illusion becomes real.
Week 8 wasn’t about forward leaps. It was a pause—a moment in the shadows for those still locked in the fight with modeling, texturing, and animation.
Some battled longer in the dark, wrestling with their craft, searching for clarity.
This was the calm before the next wave, a time to regroup, refocus, and prepare for what’s coming.
In the silence, the real work begins.
Composition
Bringing it all together—the scene, the animations, the audio.
Every piece converges in the shadows, weaving a story where silence and sound collide.
This is the moment where chaos finds order, and the vision comes alive
Final Review
My senior project wasn’t just a task—it was a battlefield.
I fused it with the animation project, merging two fights into one relentless war. Every frame, every detail, forged in sweat and determination.
This is the endgame—the moment where everything hangs in the balance, and only the strongest vision survives the darkness.