Students Create 3D Animation of Center for Academic Achievement

CAA Animation
Shawnee Mission School District

Shawnee Mission high school students have created an original, 3D animation of the place where they go to school every day.

Using skills they have learned in 3D Modeling and Animation II classes, they created a 3D illustration of the Center for Academic Achievement (CAA).

Completing a multi-week assignment, the team of students created a model of the building’s interior and turned the district’s logo into a moving, colorful illustration. Click here to see a video about the animation.

The idea for the project was inspired by a request from other CAA instructors who wanted to help prospective students see what the building looks like. Bryan Johnson, Animation and Game Design instructor liked the idea because this mirrored a real-world assignment in the career field.

The team of four students started with a storyboard to plan the outline for the project. Then they made specific assignments to each team member. This included building the base environment, modeling the logo and words, and adding the special effects.

“Putting all the different pieces together was like a puzzle,” Zen Dalton, SM South senior and Animation Signature Program student, said. “I had to make everything look right to scale and fit seamlessly together.”

The students modeled the interior by taking reference pictures and measurements of doorways, staircases and furniture and used professional software. 

The students said they overcame several challenges to complete their project.  The project required spending a lot of time and figuring out workflow. But, it is one they are glad to have completed, Ivan Noble, SM Northwest senior and Animation Signature Program student said.

“This is a strong and unique project for my portfolio,” Noble said. “The experience of working with a team and depending on others to move the project forward made it more real-world.”

All four team members are planning to pursue a career path related to animation and graphic design.

“This class has given me excellent experience especially working with industry-standard programs and software,” Liam Sullivan, Shawnee Mission East senior and Animation Signature Program student said. “I have a huge head start on my graphics design and animation career.”

CAA Animation