Date of Award

5-2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Legacy Department

Digital Production Arts

Committee Chair/Advisor

Timothy Davis

Committee Member

Jerry Tessendorf

Committee Member

Kelly Caine

Abstract

This thesis discusses the surfacing techniques and process used in the creation of two main characters and the supporting crowd characters in the short animation, Peanut Butter Jelly. The goal was to create a custom RenderMan shader that could be used for both characters, and that had qualities of refraction and subsurface scattering, to allow the characters to appear soft and translucent like jellyfish. Shader writing in RenderMan, map painting in Mari, and design decisions are covered to explain the way the goal was achieved. The process for creating an interesting secondary character that cooperated seamlessly with the main jellyfish to form its eyes is also discussed. Ultimately, these visually cohesive and engaging characters lend to the overall success of the final renders.

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