Animation - Luise-Viktoria Zimmermann

Luise-Viktoria Zimmermann - Animation Reel 

I am responsible for all the animation in this reel. The rigs were provided to me by GCSpectrum and by Santiago Calle on Gumroad. The models are from different artists on Turbosquid and CGTraider.

I like the first shot "Library" the best because all the subtle movements and the almost casual movements add so much to its character and effect. It almost looks like it was filmed and not animated.

The second shot "Mother" shows two character extremes. One person in high status who is very extroverted and one in low status who is very shy. Animating both was a challenge that I really enjoyed and improved my skills as an animator.

The third shot "Dude" has helped me make my animations less extreme and stop trying to fill every second of the shot with big movements and it has shown me that small hand gestures can also emphasize what is being said trough the animation.

The fourth shot "leopard" has challenged me again and has made me question my skills that I have collected with bipeds. It was more difficult to give the animal a personality without deviating from the realistic animation style, yet I think you can see its curious nature through its behavior without it using words or big facial expressions.

For the fifth shot "Book throw" I was inspired by my reading experience. Who wouldn't sometimes want to throw the book through the area when a character does something totally stupid again and then you have to read on quickly because it's too exciting?

For my sixth shot "combat action", i looked at the shaolin monks and used them and their movements as a model. 

Library - Progression Shot 

My inspiration for this shot was a group of students I noticed in the library. They were eagerly explaining some things to others or sneakily staring at others as if no one would notice they liked this one guy.

After I left, my only thought was, "I need to animate this and capture the obvious sneaky look." Animating that was so much fun that I kept laughing because I still had the scene in my head.

After blocking, I changed the timing a bit (with the help of my mentor) and after splining, I made a few final changes that added the final touch.

I was responsible for the animation, lighting and composing. (And the paper ball). The rig "Dana" was provided by CGSpectrum. The environment objects are from different artists on TurboSquid and CGTraider. 

Leopard - Progression Shot

This is my first four-legged "personality" animation. I searched for hours for the perfect reference video until I stumbled across this cute leopard baby.

In consultation with my mentor, we took artistic liberty and made the shot a little faster and added the turtle as well as some subtile movements.

Four-legged animals are my personal challenge and I had to rethink a lot until I got the motion sequences correct.

I am responsible for the animation of the turtle and leopard, as well as the lighting, composition, modeling of the large tree trunks, ground and water. The leopard rig was provided by CGSpectrum. The turtle and the rest of the models are again from different artists on Turbosquid and CGTraider.

Mother - Progression Shot 

This is my first two person dialogue. I had a lot of fun getting into the two very different characters.

The girl is very shy and insecure, in contrast to the mother, who is very extroverted and perhaps tries a bit too hard to be the cool mom.

It's probably noticeable that I had to make the most and biggest changes to the mother. She is less like me, so it was more challenging for me to animate her movements expansively and without fear of contact.

My mentor helped me with acting techniques to get comfortable with the high status character in my scene and to keep improving the shot.

I am responsible for the animation of the girl and the mother, as well as the lighting and the composition. The Dana Rig was provided by CGSpectrum. The girl rig was provided by Santiago Calle on Gumroad. the models are from different artists on Turbosquid and CGTraider.

Cycles

Here are a few cycles I made.

The two walkcycles were made with the Sam rig, and I adjusted the hair and clothes on the old man, so that his personality can shine even better in this scene and it doesn't look like he's just playing an old man.

I am responsible for all the animations in this video.

The rigs were provided to me by CGSpectrum.