Major Project 2 / Reflection on Major Project I and Summary of Major Project 2
February 02, 2026 - Mach 29, 2026
02.02.2025 – 29.03.2026 / Week1 – Week7
Ryoma Kato / 0365874
Major Project 2 / Bachelor of design (Honours) in Creative Media
Major Project I Reflection
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.
Major Project 2
Progress
Week 1 - Making Model
This week, I made character's model. I made Deer police officer the name "Taro" (Main character) and dog 3D model.
(Blender Deer Model)
(Blender Dog Model)
Week 2 -Making Model 2
I made other character's model in this week, like Raccoon, Cat, Panda and Elephant.
(Blender Character All Models)
Week 3 - Set up Bones
I set up the bones this week so that the character can move. To set up the bones, I moved each character model I had created into a separate Blender file, where I made minor adjustments to the bone template to adapt it to the model. It was a bit challenging because the bones sometimes wouldn’t apply depending on the order in which I selected the model and the bones, and bugs would occasionally occur.
(Blender Putting Bone)
Week 4 - Adjusting the range of motion of the bone
This week, I adjusted the range of influence that bones have on the model when they move. I used Weight Paint to adjust the range of influence each bone has on the model, ensuring that only the areas corresponding to the bones move appropriately. Here too, bugs occurred depending on the order in which the model and bones were selected, and the process of painting the influence range in Weight Paint was very tedious.
(Blender Weight Paint 1)
(Blender Weight Paint 2)
(Blender Weight Paint 3)
Week 5 - Creating a Environment
This week, I created three backgrounds to be used in the animation. I created 3D models in Blender, using the environment illustrations I created for Major Project I as a reference.
(Blender Environment Scene 1)
(Blender Environment Scene 2)
(Blender Environment Scene 3)
Week 6 - Animation
In Week 6, I animated the model by manipulating the rig to bring it to life. I also edited the background models because simply recreating the illustration as-is didn’t provide enough detail—I needed to add more elements. During this week, I was able to complete Scenes 1 through 2.
(Blender Environment Scene 2-2)
(Blender Animation Scene 2)
(Blender Animation Scene 3)
Week 7 - Complete Animation and Presentation
This week, we finalized the animation and prepared presentation materials for the Final Presentation on March 19. For the animation, we created Scene 3, exported Scenes 1 through 3, rendered the video using After Effects, and created the dialogue. For the presentation, we organized the work we had done on the project and incorporated it into slides to ensure it met the university’s requirements.
(After Effect Screen 1)
(After Effect Screen 2)
(Slide Editing screen)
(Presentation Slide)
Week 8 - Animation revisions
Based on the feedback received during the lecture following the final presentation in Week 7, I made revisions to the animated video that I submitted as my final project. Specifically, in response to the comment that viewers were focusing too much on the dialogue and didn’t have time to look at the animation, I recorded a voice-over and adapted it to the animation. I also added new sound effects to draw viewers into the animation. I also received feedback regarding camera work and character movement, but I regret that I was unable to come up with any ideas for those areas and, due to time and technical constraints, was unable to make significant revisions.
(Blender Premiere Pro Editing Screen)
Complete Work
Complete Animation -https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1z9mbd76WYSZ1OgklL2kqXAzIiQCZKLr9?usp=drive_link
Project Execution -https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16OobCErw6RdAMep4p602qX44Ay2U08q-?usp=drive_link
(Completed Animation)
REFLECTION
Week 1:
I'm an animation student. Taylor's App said I should attend Tuesday's class, so I did. I didn't know I could attend Thursday's animation class, so I plan to start attending next week. Therefore, I haven't received any feedback this week.
Week 2:
Lecture and me discussed the schedule for completion as I envisioned it. As a result, we will complete the model's textures and rig by Week 3, and begin background modeling during Week 3. We will finish background modeling by Week 4, and complete the animation during Weeks 5 and 6. Additionally, since the animatic I created for Major Project I wasn't very good, I should redo the animatic or storyboard if I have the time. Even if I don't have time, I was advised that when creating animation, I should make it more conscious of camera work.
Week 3:
Chinese New Year so no consultation and feedback.
Week 4:
I got sick so no consultation and feedback.
Week 5:
I didn't know how to adapt the rig, so I learned that from the lecture. I was also pointed out about the production schedule falling behind, and was told, “This is getting a bit dicey, so buckle down.” Nothing specific was said about the revised schedule.
Week 6:
During the lecture, I was advised that since there was little background information and many scenes showed no buildings in the background, this detracted from the visual appeal, so I should add some. I was also told that, regarding the model’s movements, unless I used the rig to create movements that utilized the entire body, it wouldn’t qualify as animation.
Week 7:
I received the following feedback during the lecture:
You should add a voice-over. If the animation relies only on dialogue text, viewers will be too focused on reading it and won’t be able to concentrate on the animation, which reduces their sense of immersion.
Also, adjust the timing of the sound effects. In the current state, the sound effects are out of sync with the animation scenes, which disrupts immersion.
Move the character model’s bones more across the whole body. By editing the full-body rig, you can enhance the sense of animation.
If possible, please also refine the camera work. Add more variety, such as medium shots, to make the visuals more dynamic.
REFLECTION
Experiences
Throughout the project, I worked on the entire animation pipeline, including character modeling, rigging, environment creation, and animation. In the early stages, I created multiple character models such as a deer police officer named Taro (the main character), as well as a dog, raccoon, cat, panda, and elephant.
I then set up bones for each character by transferring the models into separate Blender files and adjusting bone templates to fit each model. This process was challenging, as the bones sometimes did not apply correctly depending on the selection order, and occasional bugs occurred.
After that, I adjusted the range of motion of each bone using Weight Paint, ensuring that only the appropriate parts of the model moved. This process was time-consuming and required careful fine-tuning.
I also created three environments based on my previous project and used them in the animation. In the later weeks, I completed animation scenes by manipulating rigs and refining background details. Finally, I rendered the animation, added dialogue, and prepared presentation materials. After receiving feedback, I improved the work by adding voice-over and sound effects.
Observation
Through this project, I realized that Blender workflows are sensitive to factors such as the order of selecting objects, which can affect the outcome. I also observed that processes like weight painting require patience and precision.
In addition, I noticed that simply recreating visual designs is not always sufficient; adding extra details is necessary to make scenes more engaging. I also found that relying only on on-screen dialogue can reduce immersion, as viewers focus more on reading than watching.
Findings
From this project, I learned the importance of balancing visuals, audio, and motion to create an immersive animation experience. Adding voice-over and sound effects improves audience engagement compared to text-only dialogue.
I also realized that animation requires not only technical skills but also creative decisions, such as camera work and character movement, which I found challenging due to time and skill limitations.
Additionally, I confirmed that choosing an appropriate style—such as the 2-head-high (chibi) design—makes the content more accessible. Moving forward, I aim to improve both my technical and creative skills, and eventually create full-scale human character animations.
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