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Week 12

In the final week we rendered our turnaround video and reviewed the completed project. Seeing Genevieve beside the finished riverboat brought the whole Crimson Leopard world to life. The character’s confident stance and oversized hat showed her outgoing personality, while the boat’s curved Art Deco panels reinforced the shared design. Although I wish we had more time for detailed textures, I’m proud of how the clean topology and lighting made the models read clearly without them. From a technical standpoint, this project taught me Maya fundamentals like blocking, edge flow, subdivision, and cleanup. From a collaborative standpoint, I learned the value of dividing tasks early and maintaining open communication to keep style consistent. Overall, this six-week process gave me confidence in my ability to turn stylised 2D concepts into polished 3D assets. Despite the rushed texturing phase, the final result captures the energy and extravagance described in the Crimson Leopard production b...
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Week 11

During week five, we merged our assets and began final scene assembly. My teammate imported the completed boat model while I placed Genevieve in a neutral standing pose beside it. We coordinated lighting and scale to ensure the two pieces felt like part of the same world. Textures were only added near the end of the week, so our time to experiment was limited. Even with minimal textures, the forms held up well because the modelling captured the design’s rhythm and proportions. This made me reflect on the importance of workflow planning: texturing late left less opportunity for fine-tuning, but our strong base models kept the presentation looking good, even with minimal colours. Communication with my teammate remained smooth; we exchanged feedback weekly and adjusted both assets to preserve the authenticity of each of the models.
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Week 10

This week was about polishing Genevieve’s details and preparing the model for texturing and posing. focused on refining smaller features such as the feather boa, hat folds, and dress edges. I used Maya’s Insert Edge Loop and Soft Selection tools to adjust curves and improve the character's overall form. Although our plan included adding textures, most of our attention stayed on modelling until late in the process. I kept the UVs simple so materials could be applied quickly later. Our group checked scale consistency between the character and vehicle and created a shared colour reference using palette images from the production bible. Finally, to be presented on the turntable clip, I started rigging the character.
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Week 9

This week I refined character model by improving the edge flow and cleaning up the topology. Switching between low-poly mode by pressing "1" and smooth preview by pressing "3" helped me see how the forms would hold up during rendering. The face took the most time. The production bible describes Genevieve as cheerful and slightly mischievous so I tried my best to capture that through her eyes, but the finer detailing proved difficult. Throughout the week, I kept checking my model next to my group mate’s vehicle to ensure they matched stylistically. The clean, curved flow of the hull lines influenced how I shaped the character’s dress and hat. By the end of the week, the model felt cohesive and expressive. The next step was preparing for posing and adding final details before the turnaround render.
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Week 8

This week I focused on beginning the 3D block-out for Genevieve in Maya. Since I’m new to the software, my main goal was to understand how to use primitive shapes and the move/scale/rotate tools to capture the character’s proportions. Starting from a low-poly base made it easier to tweak the overall silhouette before worrying about details. One of the first challenges was interpreting the 2D concept into a 3D model. In the production bible, Genevieve’s hat is very wide and droopy, resembling a mushroom cap. When I tested this in 3D, it looked unbalanced from certain angles, so I reduced the brim width slightly while keeping the overall shape to preserve the character’s charm.  Through this process I started to appreciate the difficulty of translating stylised drawings into workable topology. Communicates the overall shape language of the concept. Even without textures or details, I can already see the contrast between the structured Art Deco forms and the organic mushroom inspirat...
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Week 7

This week I started by reviewing our group’s allocated production bible, the Crimson Leopard. The concept immediately stood out through its mix of 1920s flapper culture, Art Deco luxury design, and surreal mushroom-inspired forms. The character, Genevieve Joiryde, is described as a flamboyant, thrill-seeking partygoer who races a modified Louisiana riverboat at night. I thought this combination of vintage glamour and absurd fun really inspiring because it gives the project personality and stylisation. As a team we discussed how to maintain the playful, top-heavy “mushroom” silhouette while ensuring it still holds well in 3D. We agreed that the exaggerated hat and feather boa are key to her visual identity. When comparing this design language with existing references such as Mario Kart’s fantasy racers and Art Deco yachts like the Sycara IV, I noticed that both combine nostalgia and futurism through geometric curves and symmetry. This convinced me to push for smooth, flowing forms rat...
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Week 6 - Model Sheets, Poster and Notes to 3D modeler

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This week, we created model sheets for both elements, with front, side, and back views. For the driver, the cloak, hair, and accessories needed consistent proportions across views. For the racer, aligning the engines with the cockpit required careful scaling so that the design wouldn’t look off-balance when modelled in 3D. Reflection: Drawing orthographic views forced me to clarify proportions I had glossed over in sketches. Small inconsistencies became obvious, which would have been confusing for a modeller. I learned that model sheets are less about style and more about precision, they bridge creativity and technical communication. Writing notes for someone else clarified what parts of the design mattered most. For example, tacky spray-painted symbols aren’t just decorations, they sell the irony of the design. The poster was challenging because it needed to feel promotional, not just technical. Composition and scale became essential tools to guide the viewer’s eye. Looking back, I ...
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