Major Project 1 / Task1 to Task3
April 30, 2025 - July 30, 2025
30.04.2025 - 30.07.2025 / Week2 – Week 14
Ryoma Kato / 0365874
Major Project 1 / Bachelor of design (Honours) in Creative Media
MIB
WORK
Task 1
Week 2 - Think purpose and ideas for Major project 1.
First, Lecture explained me about Major project 1. After that I search the internet and get example of topics and some social issues for thinking theme of my Major project class.
Topic idea 1 - SNS dependence and mental health.
Focus on social media issues commonly seen among today's youth, such as the distortion of self-worth caused by the need for approval on social media, self-denial through constant comparison, and smartphone addiction.
Topic idea 2 - On the issue of AI taking away the jobs of designers and animators up to now.
This topic will address the concern that advancements in AI may potentially replace current jobs such as designers and animators. Rather than rejecting AI, the conclusion will emphasize that the creators who survive in the industry will be those who embrace and utilize AI to enhance their design and animation work.
Topic idea 3 - Problem of over tourism.
Address the issue of overtourism by using the example of problems that have arisen in Kyoto, Japan, due to the increase in tourists caused by the weakening of the yen.
I show these three ideas to the lecture and he gives me feedback. He said "Idea 1 is general and lacks uniqueness or appeal as a theme. Idea 2 is not suitable for a Major Project because it's based more on your personal opinion than on a broader social issue. Idea 3 is interesting and fine." I totally agree this feedbacks so I chose topic ides 3 for this class.
Week 3 - Deeper exploration of the theme set in Major Project I
This week, I researched whether overtourism is truly being recognized as a serious issue and explored what kinds of overtourism-related problems are occurring outside of Japan. Through my research, I found that overtourism is indeed a global issue, affecting places like Venice and Barcelona.
In Venice, large numbers of tourists sit on the bridges, making it difficult for local residents to pass through by car or other means. In Barcelona, problems such as noise, public drinking, deteriorating public safety, and invasion of privacy caused by tourists have become major concerns.
Week 4 - Making a presentation slide for Task 1 Presentation.
For this week, I made a slide for task 1 presentation.
This is the slide that I make for Task 1 Presentation.
Summary of Task 1
Proposal
Task 2
Week 5 - Put more detail to the script.
This is the first script that I wrote.
After the Task 1 presentation, lecture show me the example of script and I put more detail to the script.
I don't have much time this week for doing task 1 so only I did this one...
Week 6 - Think about Task 2 more.
For this week, I think about characters. First, I analyzed the script to identify how many characters are required for this animation.
From the first script, this animation have 1 main scene and 3 sub scene. And there need 3
character in main scene (including main character), 3 character in scene 2(including Taro), 2 to 3 character in scene 3 (including Taro) and, 1 character in scene 4 (only Taro).
The detail is below.
Characters:
・Main character - Taro (Police Officer) - Deer
Left image is character image and right image is police image.
・Local - Dog
Local character image is this. I will use this image as a reference to design a character with two legs like a human.
・Tourist A (Who entered private property and was taking photos) - Raccoon
・Maiko - Cat
Left image is character reference and right image is Maiko reference.
・Tourist B (Who take photos of Maiko without permission) - Panda
・Tourist C & D (Seating in front of private house door) - Fennec
I will prepare two characters based on the concept of a fennec fox couple.
Locations:
・Scene 1 - Private area that cant take a photo.
・Scene 2 - Inside the city.
・Scene 3 - In front of the private house.
・Scene 4 - Taro's home vestibule.
Week 7:
After I received feedback from lecture that the animals used for the characters should more clearly represent the countries they come from, so I’ve decided to change some of the characters accordingly.
Tourist C & D, I changed Fennec to Elephant.
This is the reference of character.
Week 8: Gather the things you need to submit project 2.
For this week, I worked on creating the remaining components needed for the Project 2 submission. I need to prepare few more characters, script and character lineup that shows the height differences between the characters.
Those are the character that I made in this week.
I draw panda and elephant. Panda is tourist B and Elephant is Tourist C.
And the character hight sheet is below.
I use this sheet for modeling the character model.
Week 9: Make a Script
For this week, I make a completed script for task 2 submission.
This is the script document.
Week 10: Complete the character and background illustrations for the Task 2 submission.
Characters Illustrations.
Those are completed character image for my Major Project work. Since the Deer, Dog, and Raccoon are the main characters appearing in the animation’s main scenes, I completed their character sheets first. The character sheets for the other three—Cat, Panda, and Elephant—are planned to be completed in Major Project II.
Completed Environment Image.
Those are environment images. First one is scene 1 back ground, Second one is Scene 2's and Third one is for Scene 3. There is a possibility that additional backgrounds will be created in Major Project II, but for now, the animation is planned to be produced using only these three scenes.
Week 11: Start to make a 3D model.
From this week, I started to create 3D model for deer.
First I create the model. After that, I first created the model. After that, I colored it in the Image Editor and worked on the model’s colors, clothing, and facial expressions.
After completing the model creation and texturing, I moved on to creating the bones to animate the model. The bones were created by calling the “Basic Human (Meta)” preset in Blender.
Week 12: Make Model 2
This week, I edit the Dog (Local A) and Raccoon (Tourist A) model.
For the creation of the Dog model, I first built the 3D model, and then painted the textures, adding details such as the face and body patterns.
After completing the modeling and texturing, I also imported the bones from a preset, edited them to fit the model, and set them up so the model could be animated.
And also, this is the model of Raccoon. I make a 3D model and texture also. For some reason, I was unable to apply the bones to this model, which meant I could not animate it, so I am currently investigating the cause.
Week 13: Make facial expressions and poses.
This week, I make a facial expressions and some poses.
From top to bottom, these are the textures for the Angry, Normal, and Nervous expressions.
And those are dog's facial expression texture. From top to bottom, these are texture for the Angry, Normal and sad expression.
After creating the above expressions, I proceeded to make the poses.
From top to bottom, these Deer pose images show the Angry, Nervous, and Normal poses.
In the Angry pose, the arms are bent forward to convey a sense of anger.
In the Nervous pose, the head is slightly tilted downward, and both arms are spread slightly to the sides to express nervousness.
For the Dog posing, I created Angry, Normal, and Sad poses from top to bottom.
In the Angry pose, both arms are spread wide to the sides to make the body appear larger, expressing a sense of anger.
In the Sad pose, the head is tilted lower than in the Deer’s Nervous pose, conveying a deeper sense of gloom.
Week 14: Final Requirement
This week, I prepared everything required for the final submission.
First, I prepared the slide for presentation.
This is the presentation slide that I make.
For the next step, I created a sketch video for the animation that will be completed in Major Project II.
Those are images of editing screen. In this video, I created a simple preview showing the flow toward completion. The final version will be fully completed in Blender. The characters move from side to side to indicate the moments when they are speaking, making it easier to understand the timing of their dialogue. In the finished version, I plan to include 3D character movements, various facial expressions, speech bubbles with dialogue, sound effects, and voice recordings.
After making a video, I prepare presentation document.
This is the document that I write.
At the end of this Major Project I, I record the presentation and submit.
This is the video of my recorded presentation.
FEEDBACK
Week 2: No feed back. This week is my first week of taking class.
Week 3: You should not only focus on Japan, but also pay more attention to what's happening in other countries.
Week 4: Be careful not to make the animation seem like it's blaming the tourists. Also, I received an explanation from the lecturer about what is required for Task 1.
Week 5: Put more detail to the script. Write more information to the Product Specification like this animation is 2D or 3D, Duration, Format etc...
Week 6: I didn’t have any specific progress to share with the lecturer, so there’s nothing in particular.
Week 7: Put more character detail and reference.
Week 8: You should create more visual contrast between the characters. The current character designs all have similar shapes when simplified into basic forms, which makes them look too alike. Try using different shapes such as tall ovals or rectangles for each character — this will make your animation stronger and more visually appealing.
Week 9: The script is generally fine. However, the style is different, so please use Studio Binder or similar to format the script correctly.
Week 10: Be careful not to make the animation seem like it's blaming the tourists. Also, I received an explanation from the lecturer about what is required for Task 1.
Week 11: I forgot to write... and I forgot what the lecture said...
Week 12:
When creating models in Blender, it is recommended to add at least three loop cuts at each joint—elbows, shoulders, wrists, knees, and ankles. This makes it easier to bend the joints.
Week 13: In response to my question about the bones not merging properly with the model, the lecturer advised me to try changing the order of combining them, which allowed me to fix the issue.
Week 14: During the final submission check, I received instructions about submitting pose variations and what needs to be included in the presentation materials. It seems that the presentation must contain all the information from Major Project I.
REFLECTION
In Major Project I, I was able to fully use the knowledge I had learned in various classes as well as additional knowledge I researched myself to create different elements. For example, when creating the models for Deer, Dog, and Racoon, making the models themselves was not very difficult because I had learned 3D modeling in previous classes. However, tasks such as painting textures, adding and applying bones, and changing model expressions were not covered in class. I had to research online and ask the lecturer for help, and through this I was able to complete them.
Besides modeling, I also faced challenges when writing the script. At first, I did not know that scripts have a specific format, so I kept writing story-like text instead. I asked the lecturer many questions and may have caused some trouble. Eventually, I learned how to write a proper script in the correct format.
During the character sheet creation stage, I struggled with drawing and sometimes took shortcuts, which later caused me frustration when creating the models.
Even though I caused some trouble for the lecturer, in the end I was able to prepare all the materials required for Major Project I. Over the 14 weeks of this project, I improved many of my skills. I will continue preparing the necessary models and materials for Major Project II and work hard to achieve even better results.
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