ETERNITY
3D Modeler, Animator, Director - Ryan Yuan
Developed by Blender, Procreate, Adobe Premiere
An Individual Project
Sep 2021 - Dec 2021
Project Run-through
Live Performance
Dec. 10th at NYUSH IMA Show
Dec. 11th at Shencheng Lane
Summary
ETERNITY is an individual 3D animation project, integrating religious studies into abstract expressions with Blender. The main theme of this project is to illustrate the reincarnation of the world, and the animation consists of three parts: Birth, Evolution, and Demise.
Gains
Everything in the animation are original and I learned a lot about improving rendering quality through editing shaders, lightings and cameras in Blender. I tried to create camera movements and use various zoom methods including dolly zoom to narrate the story. I learned how to use shape key in Blender to create different shapes for same objects to switch between. I utilized the boom effect in Blender to do the particle simulation and managed to control these particles.
Intention
In addition to creating fascinating visuals, I also would like to narrate thoughtful stories through them. I tried to combine my philosophical reflections with digital production technologies in this project.
As a result of my study on Buddhist art in Mogao Grottoes, I chose lotus as the main imagery in the project. Lotus is regarded as the symbol of purity in Buddhism, and there is a Buddhist doctrine saying, 'One Flower Is A World'. What's more, Lotus is often placed in the center of the sunk panel, the ceiling of the Buddhist caves in the Mogao Grottoes, to represent the center of that microcosm. Lotus is the most important element in the project as it is the representation of the world. Also, the lotus is placed still in the center with everything surrounding it moving and altering implying that it is the center of the universe.
In addition to creating fascinating visuals, I also would like to narrate thoughtful stories through them. I tried to combine my philosophical reflections with digital production technologies in this project.
As a result of my study on Buddhist art in Mogao Grottoes, I chose lotus as the main imagery in the project. Lotus is regarded as the symbol of purity in Buddhism, and there is a Buddhist doctrine saying, 'One Flower Is A World'. What's more, Lotus is often placed in the center of the sunk panel, the ceiling of the Buddhist caves in the Mogao Grottoes, to represent the center of that microcosm. Lotus is the most important element in the project as it is the representation of the world. Also, the lotus is placed still in the center with everything surrounding it moving and altering implying that it is the center of the universe.
Birth
The first part, Birth, is about the generation of the world. The bud of the lotus is gradually constituted by particles from the void, indicating that the world is born out of nothingness.
Evolution Pt.1
The second part, Evolution, could be divided into two sections. The blossom of the lotus with the emergence of the kaleidoscopic space implies the first section, the very first evolution of the world. The world is adapting itself to the environment as it extends its structure (the blossom), in the meantime, it is acquiring its consciousness from the reflections on the surrounding surfaces.
Demise
The following evolutions constitute the second section as the world evolves to higher dimensions. Those levels of geometries represent different dimensions according to the number of their vertices, the more vertices that level has, the higher dimension the world has evolved to.
The third part, Demise, is about the decline of the world. Everything start to decline, from splendid to black and white, from complex to simple. The world, before it reaches the end, consists only of the most basic elements, the yin, and yang. In the end, everything vanish into the void representing the end of this reincarnation.
Evolution Pt.2
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Colors
The colors of the lightings in the third part refer to the color combination of the murals in Mogao Grottoes.
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Yin & Yang
Everything turns into black and white, the two fundamental elements constituting the world. The world transfers itself from complexity to simplicity.
Storyboards & Style Frames
Storyboards and style frames are drawn in Procreate.
The story starts with a magic orb being constituted by particles coming out of the void in the center of a mirror space. All the surrounding surfaces reflect its images endlessly. Then the orb begins to shatter, appearing the bud of a lotus in the center, floating. The lotus blooms and withers, leaving its seedpod in the air with petals scattered all around. Branches emerge from these petals, they start to emit right after they fill the whole space. Whoever, this space is only one of the glassware kept somewhere.
Animatics
Animatics made in Procreate.
I drew 90 frames depicting scenes in storyboards from the generation of the lotus to the end of the world.
I changed part of the story as I would like to focus on narrating the reincarnation of the world, making the narration simple and detailed.
Render Tests
Production Process
Using Shape Key in Blender to morph the lotus between the bud shape and the blossom.
Adjusting camera parameters such as focal length enables me to create cinematic shots.
Utilizing Compositor to post-process the rendered frames.
With the help of the shaded viewport and cycles, I can view the rendered output in real-time.
Utilizing Shader Editor to manipulate the shaders to optimize rendering quality.
Utilizing Video Sequencer and Timeline to handle and render various animations.