Allison Teo ♡

Showcase Introduction

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mGX3wNItjWaKYHOhf4Owja5SNXO1YQR-XGNtBk5dhPk/edit?usp=sharing

My interests include designing characters and worldbuilding for my personal projects and playing/analyzing video games. Video games in particular really spark my passion for creating, and I always love learning more about the process behind game development.

I will be studying sociology at UCR in the fall. In the future, I hope to expand my love for art into something I can keep with me for life. Not necessarily working in the animation industry, but simply having an artistic interest as a longterm thing is something I’d like to to prioritize. Right now, I think working on visual development for personal work is my biggest passion project. I’m excited to see where it will take me, especially with the skills and lessons I’ve gained from Freestyle.

Zenith Project

1.

For my Zenith project, I created a short 2D animated music video featuring my original characters and story. Making this kind of larger animation project has been a goal of mine for a really long time, and I’m excited that I finally got the chance and resources to do so. I always loved watching animated music videos (or AMV’s) on Youtube when I was first learning to animate, so conceptualizing one from my own imagination was a fun challenge.

The video is based on a collaborative story my friend and I have been working on since we were in 7th grade. I wanted to explore our characters’ first interaction and the dynamic between them. The two of them are both self-assured in their abilities as fighters, so things would definitely get interesting if they were to get into a conflict.

My full process for this project can be seen here.

Character Design

2.

I wanted to showcase some of the character design I’ve worked on throughout this year for Freestyle related work as well as personal projects in my free time. I love all aspects of designing characters, creating compelling ideas for a character’s personality and then communicating all of that personality through shapes, clothes, and colors.

I translated my character Reina (also seen in the Zenith AMV) into the third dimension with the Animation 2 class this year. Making a 3D model meant simplifying and cutting down on parts of the initial design, such as her bat wings, to make it easier to rig for animation.

This was my first time using Maya, Zbrush, and Substance Painter to make a character in 3D, so figuring out each program was a bit of a challenge. My favorite part of this process was definitely sculpting using Zbrush (left) because it allowed for a lot of creativity in the textures and details. I would’ve liked to spend much more time working on my character and cleaning up some messy parts of my body model before I rigged it for animation. I also think it would’ve been interesting if I tried to stylize her features more instead of trying to maintain relatively normal proportions.

Being a student at Freestyle has been a great opportunity for me to push myself and expand upon my skills alongside friends who are equally excited about art. It’s truly such a welcoming and passionate community of individuals that I’m lucky to have had the chance to be a part of. (love u PM animation <3) Even though I have no plans on going into animation after high school as of now, my peers constantly inspire me to keep on growing and improving as much as I can. Just within the span of a year, I’ve learned more than I could’ve possibly imagined before joining Freestyle as a first-year senior.

Thank you for taking the time to view my page!