One of the classes I am taking in my last semester at ITP is called Advanced Animation Studio. Which basically means, make badass stuff with After Effects (hopefully). Nevertheless, we’ve just been assigned our midterm projects which is to create a 30sec short; no small feat for those us who are just learning AE but fortunately we get to this in stages.

Our first assignment for this task was to create “style frames” and describe our narrative. Style frames, from what I understood in class, are images used to convey the aesthetic, and basic “look” of our short.

Here are purposed style frames:

Overview of setting the short is based in.

Close up of a potential character.

The plot (as it is right now) is based on the myth that polar bears during a hunt will cover their nose to avoid detection. There are two character’s, “penguin” and “polar bear” and they’ll bump into each other in the arctic wilderness. “Penguin” is confused and scared but then is struck with a stoke of genius and turns on a light.

The short’s look will involve paper materials and origami shapes. All of the assets will either be modeled in 3D or drawn in 2D. However, I will need to create each of the origami assets physically first to see how I will model/draw them.

Here is a glimpse on the process so far:

Penguin origami instructions.

Penguin origami completed.

Early penguin models in Cinema 4D.

Next, I have to model the polar bear but all the instructions I have found so far have not been very helpfully. Who knew it would be that difficult to fold an origami polar bear?