Paper Birds is a 6 minute 3D animated short film that I wrote, directed, and produced during my final year at RIT. The film required me to take complete ownership of the entire 3D pipeline: story development, storyboarding, layout, animation, rig construction and integration, scene setup, shader work, lighting, and rendering, as well as post-production and compositing to integrate the 2D elements. Managing every stage of the process gave me a deep understanding of how artistic decisions, technical structure, and pipeline flow all shape a final performance. It also taught me how to maintain visual cohesion across shots, solve unexpected problems quickly, and iterate based on feedback. Many thanks to everyone who gave me feedback, and many many thanks to my family and friends who dealt with me while I was slowly going insane.Score byCarl Irwin, and art assistance byDenisse Mari Aguilar.AdvisedKevin BauerandAtia Newman, withReagan Christie.
The initial animatic created in October 2024.
The film takes a lot of inspiration from other artists. The pieces below were used as references for background art, environments, and textures throughout the film.
These artworks were created to populate the museum.
Painings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodPainings found in the first room of the museum, inspired by the Baroque periodThe bird wallpaper at the heart of the film, drawn by Denisse Mari AguilarGustav Klimt's "The Kiss", one of my personal favoritesPaintings inspired by the work of Wassily KandinskyPaintings inspired by the work of Wassily KandinskyPaintings inspired by the work of Wassily KandinskyPaintings inspired by the work of Wassily KandinskyA piece done by Denisse Mari Aguilar, inspired by William H. Johnson's "Jitterbugs" seriesAlso loosely inspired by William H. Johnson's workPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoPaintings inspired by the work of Mark RothkoThe fire painting at the center of the piece, inspired by the work of Stephanie Peters and her studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by Pablo PicassoPaintings inspired by Pablo PicassoPaintings inspired by pop art, with an allusion to my previous workPaintings inspired by pop art, with an allusion to my previous workPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfiresPaintings inspired by abstract expressionism and Stephanie Peters' studies of wildfires
The characters were hand modelled and rigged for the film.
The initial color script for the film, created by Denisse Mari AguilarThe lighting pass for the final film
If you made it all the way to the bottom, clickherefor a sneak peak at the current progress,
