This week, we completed our group Creature Study Presentation. Our topic was Insects & Bugs: Arthropod Locomotion in Animation. We mainly studied how different insects and arthropods move, and divided our research into three types: flying, such as bees and butterflies; walking, such as ants; and crawling or wriggling, such as centipedes and caterpillars.
There were three people in our group, and each of us focused on a different type of movement. I was responsible for flying insects, especially bees and butterflies. Through the research, I found that bees and butterflies create very different feelings in motion, even though they both fly with wings. Bees have compact bodies and small wings compared with their body size, so they need very fast and high-frequency wing beats to stay in the air. Their flight is usually direct, stable, and purposeful. They can move quickly between flowers and also hover before landing. In contrast, butterflies have light, slim bodies and large, flexible wings. Their flight is slower, softer, and more floating. Their wing movement has a larger amplitude, and their body often moves up and down along a wavy path.
Another group member researched ant walking movement. Ants have six legs, strong jointed limbs, and clear body segmentation. Their main gait is the tripod gait, which means three legs support the body while the other three legs move forward. This alternating rhythm helps the ant stay balanced while walking. The leg motion can be divided into four stages: lift, swing forward, touch down, and push back. During walking, the ant’s body also has a slight sway and small adjustments when changing direction.
The third group member focused on centipedes and caterpillars. Centipedes have many repeated body segments, with each segment connected to a pair of legs. Their movement uses a metachronal wave gait, where the legs move one after another and create a wave-like rhythm. The front part of the body moves more to control direction, while the back follows with a delay. Caterpillars move in a different way. Their motion mainly comes from the body rather than the legs. The soft body compresses and stretches, creating a wave that travels from the rear to the front.
Through this group study, we summarised that arthropod motion can be analysed through the body, limbs, coordination, and secondary motion. In reality, insect movement can be very fast, complex, and chaotic, so in animation we need to simplify the timing, enhance rhythm, and exaggerate body motion when necessary to make the movement clearer and more readable.
During the class presentations, I also learned a lot from other groups, such as the movement of birds, bears, and rabbits. Different animals have different body weights, skeleton structures, and movement rhythms. This made me realise that creature animation should be based on observation and analysis, rather than imagination alone.
This week was Project Feedback. My classmate Songyeu Huang and I are planning to work together on an experimental animation project this term. We shared our initial ideas and visual references with Sara.
At this stage, we are interested in creating an animation with a woodcut printmaking or sketch-like texture. The overall visual style may be mainly black, white, and grey, using rough lines, strong contrast, visible textures, and unstable image changes. We want the atmosphere to feel slightly unsettling or horror-like, but not through direct jump scares. Instead, we hope to create a sense of pressure, strangeness, and unease through the visual language.
For the theme, we are currently focusing on human inner emotions, such as anxiety, fear, and pain. We do not want the animation to simply tell a clear traditional story. Instead, we hope it can work more like an externalisation of a psychological state, allowing the audience to experience the emotional changes of the character. For example, the space may become distorted, the character may be duplicated or transformed, and the images may shift like fragments of memory.
We showed Sara some animation references, including Body Echo and Forever. In Body Echo, I was interested in the idea of another self and overlapping spaces, which made me think about how a divided character could represent inner conflict. Forever uses LiDAR scanning and point-cloud visuals to explore memory, data, and death. Its non-traditional visual form also inspired us to think about experimental animation language.
Through this feedback session, I realised that we need to further clarify the core concept of our project. We need to ask: where do the anxiety and fear come from? How can the visual style support the theme? Next, we will continue collecting references, developing the story structure, and testing woodcut, sketch, and black-and-white texture effects.
This week, Ting’s class focused on Creature Animation. The teacher introduced the basic research process for creature animation, including choosing an animal topic, collecting many video references, and observing how the creature looks, walks, blinks, moves, and behaves. We also learned that we do not need to become anatomy experts, but we should understand the basic structures that are useful for animation, such as leg types, body proportions, spine movement, and gait rhythm.
This week, we will work as a group on a Creature Study. Our group plans to research the movement of insects. There are three people in our group, and our rough division of work is: one person will study crawling insects with legs, one person will study wriggling insects or larvae, and one person will study flying insects. This allows us to compare different types of insect movement, including crawling, wriggling, and flying.
Through this class, I realised that creature animation should not be based only on imagination. It needs careful observation and research. Next, we will continue collecting insect movement references and analyse their gait, body weight, wing movement, and body deformation to prepare for the creature locomotion animation.
This week’s session was about VP / nDisplay. Sara introduced the basic concept of Virtual Production and the nDisplaysystem in Unreal Engine, which is commonly used for large-scale screen displays and multi-screen visual output. Through this class, I finally understood how many of the naked-eye 3D displays in commercial streets are created.
The key idea behind naked-eye 3D is not that the image is truly three-dimensional, but that it uses perspective from a specific viewing angle to create the illusion that an object is coming out of the screen or that the space is extending inward. To create this effect, artists usually need to build a virtual scene based on the real screen’s size, position, and viewing angle. Then, 3D content and camera settings are designed in Unreal Engine. The image must be adjusted according to the main viewing position of the audience, so that the screen edges, building corners, and virtual objects align correctly from that angle.
The basic workflow can be divided into several steps. First, the screen size, ratio, and viewing position need to be measured. Then, a matching virtual space is built in UE5. After that, 3D models, animation, and materials are created. Next, a suitable virtual camera angle is set up to match the real perspective of the screen. Finally, the image is output to the large screen through nDisplay or a similar system, followed by on-site testing and adjustment.
This lesson gave me a more direct understanding of virtual production. In the past, I only thought naked-eye 3D was a cool visual effect. Now I understand that it combines 3D modelling, animation, camera perspective, real-time rendering, and screen output technology. It also showed me that Unreal Engine can be used not only for games and animation, but also for commercial displays, public art, and immersive visual experiences.
This week, Ting’s workshop was Breathing Animation. We needed to use the monster rig provided by the teacher to create a simple breathing animation. Although this exercise seemed basic, it still required attention to many details, such as the rise and fall of the chest, the shift of body weight, and the natural rhythm of breathing. Through this exercise, I realised that even though breathing animation has very small movements, it can make a character feel more alive.
At the same time, Ting also gave me feedback on my Assignment: Dialogue Shot. She thought that my character’s facial expressions were not lively enough, and that the facial changes could be more natural and layered. She also reminded me that the camera framing could be more selective. If the body does not have much animation, it does not need to be fully shown in the shot. The camera can focus more on the character’s face and the key performance area, so the audience can pay more attention to the character’s emotional expression.
This week’s session was Intro to VCam. Sara introduced the basic concept and usage of the virtual camera. VCam refers to Virtual Camera, which allows us to control the virtual camera in Unreal Engine 5 through a phone or tablet, simulating the way a real camera is used in filming.
Compared with directly setting camera keyframes in the software, VCam feels more intuitive and closer to real shooting. By moving and rotating a handheld device, we can control the camera’s position, angle, and movement, such as dolly-in, dolly-out, panning, or creating a natural handheld camera feeling. This gave me a new understanding of Unreal Engine 5’s real-time creative functions.
I felt very happy in this class because I learned a UE5 feature that I was not very familiar with before. It not only makes the process of shooting virtual scenes more flexible, but also shows me how digital creation and real cinematography can be more directly connected. VCam is not only a technical tool; it can also help creators explore camera language, spatial relationships, and ways of viewing more freely.
This week, Ting’s class focused on Facial Animation III: Dialogue Shot – Lip Sync. The teacher explained the basic workflow of dialogue animation, including Blocking, Blocking Plus, and Polishing. I learned that when creating a dialogue shot, we should first set the key poses and facial expressions, then add body movement, mouth shapes, and timing, and finally refine the details.
In the Lip Sync section, I learned that mouth animation should not simply match every word, but should respond to the sounds. The teacher emphasized finding the accents in the sentence first, then animating the jaw opening, adding the main phonemes, and polishing the final mouth shapes. Different sounds require different mouth corners and lip shapes, so lip sync needs to work closely with the rhythm of the audio.
This week’s workshop was Overlap. We needed to use the provided sea monster file to animate it swimming, showing good follow through and overlap on its body and fins. This exercise helped me understand that different body parts should not move at exactly the same time. Instead, they need delay and drag, which makes the animation feel more natural.
This week, Sara introduced the direction of the A&E Unit, the project requirements, and the main creative focus for this term. I understood that this unit places more emphasis on research, experimentation, and critical thinking, rather than simply producing a traditional animation piece.
The two briefs provided by Sara were both very inspiring to me. The first brief, “Fragments of the Real / The Artificial,” focuses on photogrammetry, urban space, fragments of reality, and the relationship between physical environments and digital worlds. It suggests that absence, distortion, and fragmentation are not necessarily limitations, but can become conditions for generating new narratives. This made me realise that animation does not always need to pursue completeness or realism. Instead, it can use broken structures, deformation, repetition, and unstable visual language to express emotion and lived experience.
The second brief, “Expanded Animation / Context and Practice,” presents animation as a system for constructing, simulating, and questioning worlds. It encourages us to develop projects from our own research interests and to experiment with non-linear animation, real-time environments, installation, or hybrid media forms. This connects closely with the direction I want to explore next.
I plan to continue investigating stylised animation and create an experimental animated work, rather than focusing only on conventional storytelling or character performance. I hope to develop a stronger visual style through black, white and grey tones, textures, lines, fragmented scenes, and unreal spaces, in order to express a psychological state or a wider social feeling.
In Week 10, Ting introduced two important assignments: the Dialogue Shot assignment and The Professional Artist Interview assignment.
For the Dialogue Shot assignment, we need to combine what we have learned so far, including story, reference, camera, acting, and facial animation, to create a half-body dialogue animation. This assignment requires us to use one of the provided audios and the Yu Long rig. The shot should be no longer than 11 seconds, and only one character’s face should be shown. Ting also emphasized that the focus of this assignment is not complex body mechanics, but facial animation and lip sync. Therefore, the shot can be a close-up or medium shot, allowing the audience to clearly see the character’s facial expressions, eye movement, and mouth shapes.
Ting also introduced The Professional Artist Interview assignment. For this task, we need to interview a professional artist currently working in the industry and learn about their career path, daily work, technical expectations, and portfolio advice. Ting reminded us to stay polite and professional when contacting and interviewing industry professionals. For example, we should reach out through LinkedIn or professional email, clearly introduce who we are and explain the purpose of the interview, while also respecting their time. After the interview, we should also send a thank-you email.
Logline: An unemployed girl accidentally enters an inner world like a “icy forest”, fleeing in fear, shame, and collapse. Eventually, she follows the butterflies formed from her tears to find a new exit – even if the exit remains reality.
Character Design
Girl (20+): Recently unemployed, has suffered from long-term self-denial, anxiety and insomnia.
Internal arc: Fear → Collapse → Being guided → Facing reality directly
Artistic style
This film is planned to adopt a 3D visual style with the texture of digital painting, and to construct the emotional space of the ice and snow forest with low-saturation cool tones. The scenes emphasize the sense of brushwork, the sense of volume, and the interplay of light and shadow with ambiguity, making the trees, snow, and shadows present a state between reality and illusion. The overall atmosphere is restrained, desolate, and full of poetic charm, serving the psychological changes of the characters as they are lost, depressed, and undergoing self-repair.
Technical reference and testing
Through studying the workflow of Arcane, I found that it builds on 3D scenes and, under a fixed camera view, uses projection mapping, material control, and lighting consistency to create an effect close to 2D illustration and hand-painted collage. This inspired me to focus on making key shots visually convincing, rather than pursuing complete realism and consistency from every angle.
First, build the three-dimensional scene
Determine the final viewing angle
Generate UVs from the camera perspective
Attach the two-dimensional image or design draft to the model
Adjust the picture in the fixed shot
Use lighting and materials to unify the style
Storyboard
This sequence progresses from a close-up to wider shots. The first frame is a close-up of the girl’s feet, filmed from a low angle with a tracking shot, emphasizing her footsteps and the tension. The second frame is a medium long shot, with the camera following from the rear-side angle, showing the girl moving through the forest while her shadow suggests that something ghost-like is chasing her. The third frame cuts to a long shot, reinforcing the character’s smallness within the space. The fourth frame is an extreme long shot, fully revealing the monstrous tree and the oppressive atmosphere of the environment. Overall, the sequence gradually builds suspense through the progression of shot size and camera movement.
This sequence is driven by emotion. The first frame is a close-up, shot at eye level, emphasizing the girl’s rapid breathing and frightened expression. The second frame cuts to a side medium close-up, with the camera following her quick turn, allowing the movement to drive the shot. The third frame is a close-up of the scattered papers, using a rotational camera movement and an upward motion path to create a sudden sense of impact. The fourth frame cuts to a long shot / empty shot, where the papers transform into birds during the transition and fly into the snowy forest, completing the shift from reality to psychological space. Overall, the sequence progresses through close-up – turn – rotation – long shot, reinforcing the sense of panic and the surreal transition.
This sequence uses continuous movement to create a spatial transition from the city to the forest. The first frame is a long shot from a slightly high angle, showing the character running through the narrow gaps of the city. The second frame remains a long shot, with the camera tracking smoothly alongside her, while the buildings gradually transform into tree trunks, completing the scene transition. The third frame cuts to a close-up of the feet, filmed from a low angle with a tracking shot, reinforcing the rhythm of the run and the continuity of the transition. The fourth frame returns to a long shot, with the camera continuing to follow the character into the real forest, creating a smooth shift from urban oppression to the unknown snowy woods. Overall, the spatial transformation is achieved through a unified direction of movement and the progression of shot sizes.
This sequence shifts from an emotional close-up into an imagistic shot. The first frame is a close-up at eye level, emphasizing the girl’s fragile emotions after becoming lost and the moment her tears begin to fall. The second frame cuts to an extreme close-up of a teardrop, with a blank background, as the camera follows the tear falling and slows the rhythm of the scene. The third frame is an extreme close-up of the lake surface, capturing the tear hitting the water and the ripples spreading outward, creating an emotional pause. The fourth frame cuts to a close shot, where a butterfly emerges from the water and rises into the air, with the camera slightly tilting upward to complete the visual transformation from sadness to guidance. Overall, the sequence uses a progression of close-ups and a slower camera rhythm to strengthen the poetic and hopeful tone.
This sequence uses a following shot to complete the process of being guided, walking out of the forest, and reaching the exit. The first group begins with a close-up of the reflection on the water, then the camera slowly tilts up to reveal the girl herself and her footsteps, completing the transition from reflection to reality. It then continues with medium close-up to medium shot follow shots, showing the girl moving forward under the butterfly’s guidance. The pacing of the camera slows down, emphasizing her shift from panic to a guided state. The second group continues with a rear tracking shot in medium shot to long shot, following the girl as she walks through the forest while the space gradually opens up. Finally, it cuts to a long shot of the edge of the forest, where a subway train passes horizontally across the frame, creating a strong intrusion of reality and revealing the forest’s exit. Overall, the sequence is mainly structured through tilting up, following, pushing forward, and horizontal movement, while keeping the character’s direction of motion consistent to reinforce continuity and the sense of arrival.
This sequence closes the film with the oppressive feeling of real space. It begins with a long shot of the platform / subway door, showing the girl walking toward the train and preparing to re-enter the reality of job hunting. It then shifts to a medium close-up and a close-up of her hands, focusing on the résumé in her arms and her anxious expression. Inside the carriage, the scene uses a medium tracking shot and a slightly shaky camera to convey crowding, imbalance, and psychological pressure. The flow of people and the swaying of the train create a constant sense of oppression. At the moment of the sudden brake, the shot cuts to a close-up of the résumé pages scattering, using the abrupt action to disrupt the brief sense of order the character had managed to hold onto. Finally, a medium shot / long shot after the doors open reveals the girl standing there in a disheveled state, lingering on the moment when reality has not truly changed. Overall, the sequence progresses through entering – crowding – losing control – pause, and the open ending preserves the uncertainty of the girl’s future: the exit has appeared, but the road ahead is still undefined.
