Student Portfolio Corlobé Hélizabeth

Hi!

After two years at the animation school ESMA in France, I'm going to present to you one of the big projects that I had the pleasure of working on, "Microcosmos."

The Castaneis Decipi

The first step was to do research before doing anything. In fact, we want our insect to be realistic, so we have to gather information about real insects.

We were able to go to a museum, where we meticulously observed different types of insects and made a lot of sketches of them. Thanks to these visits to the museum, we were able to better understand the different anatomies of insects, how they work, and thus inspire ourselves.

Below are some of the sketches that I made.

Based on these sketches, we experimented by drawing to find an idea for our imaginary insect.

This period of research took place during the fall, so when I went outside, I came across chestnuts, and I thought at that time what an incredible texture it could be for an insect. The shell is smooth and glossy, which is slightly reduced with irregular lines. And the colors! They are so beautiful, with shades of brown and a lot of blue reflections that are very interesting.

This idea never left my head. After different tests of possible forms for my insect, I began to have a more precise idea. I wanted to create an insect with a pretty round shape and the color and texture of a chestnut. Of course, I did a lot of research to see if I could find an insect that followed this idea. And I found it! I discovered the Curculio glandium. It's a very funny creature with big eyes, a trunk, and a little head tucked into its shell, creating the impression of a pretty shy and cute insect.

Furthermore, the Curculio glandium lays its eggs in acorns, which, when they hatch, devour the acorn. This is the perfect reproduction system for my insect, but mine will use, you guessed it, chestnuts!

And of course, with the creation of the shape and the character of the insect, I had to give it a name. So, I quickly found its Latin name: the Castaneis Decipi. Castaneis means chestnuts, and Decipi means trunk.

So, when the idea was very clear, I modeled the insect using the software Maya. Then, I created the shading using the software Adobe Substance 3D Painter.

     I wanted him to inhabit a forest during autumn, as it felt logical to me. Additionally, I aimed to create an environment using only two colors to highlight the insect.

    At first, I planned for the insect to walk on top of moss, then be startled by the shadow of a bird, and finally, seek refuge under a mushroom. However, due to time constraints, this scene proved to be too complex in the time limit to make coherent. Therefore, I opted to simplify it and have the insect just walk on the moss.

    I conducted extensive research once again to ensure realism. I gathered visual documentation of various forests, different types of moss and mushrooms, and studied their colors and textures. Additionally, I collected pictures of insects to observe how photographers highlighted them and how the camera lens affected the appearance of the photos.

Simultaneously, I worked on the rigging and the animation of the insect. 

And here is the result, from occlusion to compositing.

And now, the video of the result, with sound effects:

Thank you for taking the time to read through and enjoy this detailed documentation of the creation process.

My Linkedin :   https://www.linkedin.com/in/h%C3%A9lizabeth-corlob%C3%A9-27212b274/