Degree Type
Honors Capstone Project
Date of Submission
Spring 5-1-2010
Capstone Advisor
Heath Hanlin
Honors Reader
Gail Hoffman
Capstone Major
Graphic Design
Capstone College
Visual and Performing Arts
Audio/Visual Component
no
Capstone Prize Winner
no
Won Capstone Funding
no
Honors Categories
Creative
Subject Categories
Art and Design | Graphic Design
Abstract
Gary’s Sneakers is a 3D animated short that I made with my collaborator, Meghan Grube, for the Honors Capstone Creative Project. It is a narrative featuring three main characters: a teenage boy named Gary and his two sneakers. In this animation the large clash with the small as the lazy Gary finds himself at odds with his sneakers. It is a battle of inactivity versus dynamic movement, as the sneakers fight the sedentary lifestyle choices of their owner.
Based in the world of 3D animated shorts, Gary’s Sneakers was inspired by many other works in the genre, particularly those from Pixar studios. There are similarities between plot, character, and color and lighting choices, but my partner and I strove to put our own touch on our animation. Like many shorts, it is humorous and involves an unexpected outcome.
We worked mainly in Lightwave 3D when creating this animation, and followed the traditional animation pipeline. First we developed a concept and narrative, then Meg made sketches and storyboards. I built the models and while she rigged and weight mapped them, I began work on the textures, using Photoshop and Lightwave’s built-in texturing capabilities. Meg then started animating, and I prepared the light setups and made final render decisions. Meg then compiled the rendered scenes in QuickTime and Final Cut Pro and we worked together with the help of another student to create the sound using Logic Pro. We rendered the final animation and authored it to DVD.
The final animation is a little over two and a half minutes in length. It is filled with humor, character, conflict, and consequence. It explores social trends, but still acts as a source of entertainment on the surface level. Even after a year of working on it, it still makes me laugh. Hopefully it will do the same for everyone.
Recommended Citation
Adams, Kelsey, "Gary’s Sneakers: A 3D Animated Short" (2010). Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All. 326.
https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/326
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
