This page is dedicated to the three freestyle projects that I dedicated the most time and effort into (with a few bonus things at the end). These are also the projects I lost the most sleep over, but I loved working on them, so it was fine. Though Freestyle focused on Digital Media, English, and Animation, each of these projects are from Animation because it’s where I put the vast majority of my Freestyle hours. Without further adieu, here they are!
Documentary Project
The documentary project was the largest 2D animated project I did junior year. It was about a family friend’s journey through her aplastic anemia diagnosis. This project was so much fun to work on. I went with a more sketchy style to fit better with a lot of the transitions. I had a really good time creating all of the different drawings and figuring out how to transfer one to the other. There were several scenes that I had to cut out that I wish made it into the final documentary, but it was for the best and I am super happy with how it turned out.
Senior Narrative Project
The senior narrative project was probably my favorite narrative project I have done at Freestyle. It really showed me that I could do 3D animation and it would look good. I loved putting the shots together, and I learned a lot about modeling and texturing in this project. We went for a very painted look, taking inspiration from Breath of the Wild and Journey. We kept the animation pretty simple because we weren’t super comfortable with Maya rigging yet. Looking back on it now, there are several things that I wish I had done differently just by virtue of having more experience, but I still love to look at this project because it was such a milestone in my 3D animation.
Zenith Project
My zenith project was the last animation project that we did in Freestyle. This project was definitely one that I lost a lot of sleep over, but I am so happy with the end results. I took what I had learned about lighting in the Senior Narrative Project and quadrupled it. I also learned about how to use Hypershade and UV unwrapping. Each of the scenes was meant to represent a different lighting scenario, and I loved working with atmosphere and colors to make each one stand out in its own way. This was probably the best modeling work I have ever done in Freestyle. I was so happy with how it turned out and how much I learned through the project.
Reel
The last thing here is my Freestyle Reel, which consists of a lot of my favorite projects from my time at Freestyle. While working on this, I felt almost nostalgic as I looked over all the work I have done over the past two years. Seeing my growth as an artist and as an animator makes me so happy and I am so grateful for everything that Freestyle has given to me.