Animation: Yawning Baby Panda
View animation here: https://youtu.be/Q8XMSRfWQHE
Concept and Objectives:
I have created an animation showing a baby panda yawning and rubbing its eyes. The idea came to me during the brainstorming process. I knew I wanted to create an animation of an animal doing something that would inspire the reaction in people to say, "oooh that is so cute!" That was my main objective. The next step would be to choose and animal and decide on the style.
Sketches and Storyboard:
After finding the style of panda I liked, I started experimenting with the expression of the panda and the placement of its eyes. It all came together in my storyboard, showing the movements of the panda. I really liked the eyes of the panda closer to the top of the head, since it added more of an animated look. The next step was creating the vector elements for the project.
Vector Graphics:
This was the original design of the panda. Through the process, I found I had challenges importing the image into After Effects and getting the image to do what I wanted. I created the open mouth of the panda using a mask in Adobe After Effects. I received critique from my peers and a fellow colleague that I needed to make the arms bigger, which I incorporated. It helped the design by making the transition from the arm down to the arm rubbing the panda's eye much smoother and less exaggerated.
Vector Final:
This is the final vector for this project. You can see the panda's eyes are more symmetrical than before and the arms are larger. It fulfills my objective of creating something that inspires cuteness because it has elements that make us think it is cute. It's small eyes, huge yawn, and subtle eye rub makes us feel as though we are watching a cartoon of an adorable baby panda.
Final Product:
You can view the final animation on Youtube by following this link:
https://youtu.be/Q8XMSRfWQHE
