Elephant (Paper Cutout)

[zander]

Here's a goofy little animation that I made. It took about 3 hours from start to finish (20 minutes to render.) It was all created in Lightwave.

I did this as a test/demo for a Kid's CD-ROM that I might be working on. Has anyone else messed around with this style of animation in Lightwave?

Hi-res version (4.3 MB, Quicktime 6, MOV MPG4) (http://www.bigevilbrain.com/movies/elephant_hires.mov)
Low-res version (2.6 MB, Quicktime 6, MOV MPG4) (http://www.bigevilbrain.com/movies/elephant_lowres.mov)

And here's a still:

[zander]

...And here's a side view so you can see the setup:

[Rich]

Really cool style. I cant wait to see more of this animation.

[BarkingTreefrog]

Very cool idea. I have thought about doing something like that, but never knew where to start even. It looks like a lot of fun. Very nice animation as well. Keep it up.

[uberslayer™]

Looks great, and it's going to be primo for the skidlies, but I reckon you could make the procedural a bit more card/paper like if you really want it to look like you used cut outs and a camera. Looks fine how it is just depends on what you were aiming at.:)

[Hervé]

i love it !!! more more more !!!!

cool
Hervé

[Hervé]

...... Maybe I would make the legs a 2 parts paper.... since paper cannot bend that way.... just a POV

Later, Hervé

[webfox]

I love that!

You should go to the art supply store and check out all the different exotic papers you can buy. That way you won't rely on crumple for all of your paper textures.

A laid finish would be awesome on a crocodile. One showing the fiber would be better for the grass.

Looks very cool, though. Please let us know what you do with it.

[Stewpot]

Looks really good and very original.

You might think about making some pins for the joints. Those little brass things with two prongs, that you push through paper and fold over at the back.

[marvin]

I like it. It's a very cool look and idea.

marvin

[pauland]

It looks great. How will you handle the transitions, such as turning 90 degrees so the elephant is face on?

Paul

[zander]

Thanks for all the great comments and ideas! I totally agree about the textures. It would be cool to scan in some home-made paper. I'm also thinking that cloth, faux-fur, leaves, vinyl, leather, etc. would be really interesting.

I don't have a plan for the animation, as of yet. There are a series of children's books by Francois Crozat called "I am a little elephant" ("I am a little monkey", "I am a little pig", "...cat", dog, bear, duck, rabbit, etc...) I would like to do something along those lines.

I guess I'll need to write a script first. :)