Introduction
According to Google, the word “Zenith” means “the time at which something is most powerful or successful”. For our Zenith Project, we were then asked to produce something that shows our power and successes with the skills we learned at Freestyle.
For my project, I decided to make the 3D model I made, Chaad, to do a KPOP dance cover of the song “I Can’t Stop Me” by TWICE. I chose to make this for my project because Chaad and KPOP are both the love of my life. I thought it would be interesting to put them together. Once I had the idea of making the project, I knew I would enjoy it.
This project was a challenge for me because I had to experience with a technology I never experienced with, which was the motion capture suit. I also had to produce a somewhat long animation within a couple weeks. You will know why an about 2 minutes long animation is considered LONG to make in my presentation.
Process
Presentation
Final Production
Reflection
For my Zenith Project, I chose to make the 3D model I created, Chaad, do a KPOP dance cover of the song “I Can’t Stop Me” by TWICE. I chose to make this project because Chaad and KPOP both have a special place in my heart. Chaad is the very first 3D model I made and I have been listening to KPOP since elementary school. I then thought it would be interesting to put them together.
I specifically studied how KPOP music shows set up their stages and how they edit the videos to emulate everything as much as possible for my project. And if you are a KPOP fan, you can tell that I’ve done a pretty good job on that honestly. One thing I would change about my project is the texture of Chaad. When you watch the video, you can see his skin looks very bumpy and crusty. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that until I started rendering. But I also was short on time and I only had one way to render out my animation.
Despite having limited time, I also encountered some challenges. I was having a major problem with rendering. The software I was using, Maya, was not working really well. I could spend maybe only 1 or 2 days on rendering, but I ended up spending 4 days instead because I had to figure out what was happening. And the render even stopped mid-way when I went back home. So, my schedule basically got messed up and I was stressing out a lot. Luckily, my teacher, Mr. Cho, helped me out and I was still able to turn in my project on time. Therefore, through this project, I learned to solve problems under time pressure and anxiety as well.
After finishing this project, I definitely improved a lot on my animation skills. I was able to produce a somewhat long animation all by myself in just a few weeks, and I am pretty proud of that. Luckily I learned all the skills this semester, so I could implement them on my project sufficiently. These skills are extremely helpful for me in the future since I am planning to study 3D animation and work as a 3D animator in the future as well. I am so grateful to Freestyle for giving me this unique opportunity of experimenting with many skills that maybe not a lot of people are able to experience.
I think this Zenith project is indeed one of my favorite and most successful projects I have worked on at Freestyle. I really put a lot of effort into this project because I knew it was my last project at Freestyle, so I tried to make it as perfect as possible. This project was very special to me because I got to create whatever I wanted to create with all the skills I have learned at Freestyle. I will never forget how Freestyle was the first program that helped me start my path of becoming an animator. I hope when I grow up and look back, I can see how much I have improved and how far I’ve been walking on the path.