Behind the scenes

Summary

Michael is a personal 3D text project inspired by Pixar’s approach to expressive animation and character-driven design. The goal was to create typography that feels alive—soft, playful, and full of personality—while also serving as a recognizable brand element for my website.

The project began in Blender, where I created the text using curves, extruded and refined the form with deformers, and developed a subsurface scattering material to give the text a translucent, gummy-like quality. This allowed light to pass through the material in a gummy-like way, enhancing its sense of depth and softness.

Lighting was a key part of the visual development. I built a multi-light setup—key, fill, rim, and back lights—carefully positioned to enhance reflections and emphasize the material’s translucency. The scene was rendered using Cycles for realistic light behavior and soft shading, followed by color correction to refine the mood and final look.

Animation focused on the dot of the "i", using classic squash and stretch principles inspired by Disney to add subtle motion and personality. This dot on the “I” in Michael became a central visual motif and a recognizable part of my brand identity. Inspired by Apple’s historical use of the “i” in products like iPod, iTunes, and iMovie, the design leans into a clean, minimal aesthetic while maintaining a sense of playfulness and character.

I translated this idea to the web by recreating and animating the "i" using JavaScript and CSS, with AI tools supporting rapid prototyping and iteration. As the first interaction on the website, the "i" moves, falls, and reacts to the user—inviting users to follow it and engage with the experience in a playful, intuitive way. The motif continues throughout the site, reappearing in elements like the footer to reinforce visual consistency and strengthen the brand.

Overall, this project blends 3D artistry, animation principles, branding, and web development, exploring how expressive character design can transition seamlessly from a rendered visual into an interactive, playful digital experience.

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