3D Animation
District #82

District #82

A 3d environment that I created to reflect my vision of a slum outside of a futuristic urban area. Movie and still shots available.

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 8, Adobe Photoshop CS

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Frog Fundamentals

Frog Fundamentals

An educational short that I created with Luis Ramirez and Kent Iverson showing the life cycle of a frog. I created the environments, while Luis and Kent created the characters/animals featured in the piece. Movie and still shots available.

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5, Adobe Photoshop 6, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects

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The Last Dance of the Ladybug

The Last Dance of the Ladybug

An animation short that I created with Luis Ramirez and Kent Iverson based on a story by Roman Dirge titled "The Last Dance of the Ladybug". I created the environments, while Luis and Kent created the characters featured in the piece. Movie and still shots available.

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5, Adobe Photoshop 6, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects

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Bridge of Fire & Ice

Bridge of Fire & Ice

A 360 degree rendering of a prototype bridge that I modeled for a 3D Shockwave game

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5, Adobe Photoshop 6

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Countdown

Countdown

A 3-dimensional spin on the traditional 10-second countdown frequently seen on older films.

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5, Adobe Photoshop 6

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Night Voyage

A 3D ship in the water at night with dramatic lighting.

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5, Adobe Photoshop 6

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Optical Osmosis

This screenshot was taken while testing different material & lighting settings within 3D Studio Max just prior to beginning work on "Night Voyage".

Tools Used: 3D Studio Max 5

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3D Animation

One of the fastest growing forms of art, 3d animation is becoming increasingly prevalent in numerous fields of business. Although almost everyone is familiar with the use of 3D animation in the movie industry via films such as Star Wars, Final Fantasy: Advent Children, or Pixar's Ratatouille, it is also becoming a popular tool for advertising and demonstration purposes. For example, 3D Animation can be used to display scientific models or architectural designs in a way that people can easily understand and relate to. Additionally, 3D animation has a major advantage over other mediums in terms of cost-effectiveness. Compared to traditional hand-drawn animation, 3D animation is much less labor intensive because characters and environments can be modified as-needed rather than re-created from scratch over & over, so less people/hours are needed to create the 3D equivalent of a hand-drawn animation. It can also be far less expensive to use a 3D character as an actor as opposed to a real person, and you won't have to ever worry about the 3D character getting tired, or demanding more money. Looking to create a scene of mass-destruction? I think it goes without saying that laying an entire metropolitan area to waste in 3D is definitely less costly than the real-life alternative!

To view larger versions of the artwork to the left, information about a specific piece, or additional work, follow the links to the left.

Contact Don Schaefer