Mini Motion Garden

Type 3D Animation
Timeline May 2025
Tools Maya / After Effects / Illustrator
My Role 3D Designer & Animator

Overview

Mini Motion Garden is a 30-second 3D animation I built in Maya, following a character as she walks through a small garden of geometric forms. Rather than a traditional narrative, I structured the piece as a walkthrough. Each stop along the path is a small exhibit, and motion itself is what's on display.

Process

Character Design

The character is designed in a chibi proportion, with a scale that fits naturally within a mini garden. I modeled, rigged, and animated her from scratch in Maya.

Character design — wireframe to shaded model

Material as Motion

I designed one exhibit around material rather than movement. A solid cube quietly becomes transparent, with the animation happening in what it is made of rather than where it goes.

Material as motion — solid cube transitioning to transparent

Shot Progression

I structured the sequence around four shot types, moving from wide to close and back out.

Shot progression — long shot, medium shot, close-up, and final long shot