Created by: Lauren Kim | Date: December 12, 2025 | CSCI Animation Project
Description: A 30-second 3D animation exploring the 12 Principles of Animation using a primitive "Cube Cow" character. The narrative follows a grazing cow that is rudely interrupted by a UFO, resulting in a struggle against gravity and a comical exit.
1. Squash and Stretch: Applied to the cow during the beam abduction and the final impact with the ground to convey mass and flexibility.
2. Anticipation: The cow "breathes" before moving, and the UFO dips slightly before shooting upwards, preparing the viewer for the action.
3. Exaggeration: The vibration of the cow inside the beam and the "motion blur" stretch of the UFO were pushed beyond realism to enhance the feeling of force and struggle.
Problems Encountered & Resolution: The biggest challenge occurred during the final rendering phase. The Arnold renderer failed to initialize the GPU, defaulting to CPU rendering which would have exceeded the deadline. As a result the texture on the UFO came out white. None of lightings were showing up either, making it look dark.