Gyoza Kingdom
The concept is depicting the creation of Gyoza in an imaginary kingdom populated with colorful characters. I had the role of TD, setting up and maintaining the characters as well as doing the majority of technical animation in the film.
The film was created by KOO-KI, Japan. In this character-heavy project I had the role of Technical Director, preparing the characters rigs as well as doing the majority of technical animation.
The Character Rigs
The “worker” is the main protagonist appearing in most of the films, while the three supervisors as well as the Gyoza King feature several outfit characteristics that needs to be animated accordingly. Features like built-in constraints and mirror poses help the animators to interact with the world efficiently.
The Gyoza Rig
The Gyoza doesn’t fall in the usual character categories. Instead of an overcomplicated rig, an open and a closed version was created that fits the corresponding shots.
Contraptions
The kingdom is full of ropes, nets, cogs and sliders, as well as effects like boiling water. Even though they are just objects, they all need to be rigged and animated.
Other Effects
Various effects like boiling water, cloth and animated displacements help to add the final touches to the animation, and help to sell the weight and atmosphere of the world.
Breakdown Presentation
Below is a presentation I did for the project, for Maxon at IBC, Amsterdam: