Moon | Major Animation

 

Moon is a 5 minute animated short that focuses on a trio of characters and their everyday lives sustaining the forest they live within. The story is driven by fantasy themes and cultural anthropology, creating an ethereal character relationship where one cannot live without the other. Spirits named Yin and Yang represent cosmic duality. Gin is neither human nor spirit, but an in-between entity that drives the story as our protagonist. Yin, Yang and Gin spend their days maintaining their cabin, leaving offerings for spirits and upholding an authoritative role over all the kami spirit inhabitants of the forest. And as the sun sets, Gin lifts the moon into the night sky…

I’m very pleased with my final animation, which has sustained ideas from premise project and turned them into a compelling little universe. Being able to turn a thought into polished 3D short has inspired me to continue similar projects in my spare time.

I’m most fond of the landscapes showcased in Moon, which are compelling with the addition of lighting that changes from day to dusk. These environmental strengths come from continuous research, even this far into a project. Research led me to using aiatmoshpere to create light rays that drastically elevate a composition. I therefore see lighting as a strength to my final animation, as well as landscapes.

I think animation could be improved, for example, walk cycles show inexperience. I think the films animation in general requires more attention to ‘in-betweens’ and secondary movement. It’s this detail that would remove the stiffness shown in my final film. I think this issue stems from using simple rigs, and I’ve learnt that a comprehensive rig is needed for the most basic animation to be effective.