ps-ixelCommission · 2019 · Modelling, rigging and animation
NAO: a digital character
for a live event.
I created a fully rigged digital NAO for a pharmaceutical industry event, handling modelling, rigging and animation. Working from photographs, video and a toy figure, I built a screen character for a production connecting animation with a live stage appearance.
Reconstructing the robot.
I worked from photographs, video and a toy figure I already owned, without manufacturer drawings. The task was to understand the visible construction and turn those references into a model I could animate for the film.
Built to perform.
The model needed a control system as well as a finished surface. Rigging made it possible to pose and move the robot, giving me the means to shape its performance for the event sequence.
From construction to character.
A handover from film to stage.
The sequence connected the ceiling projection to the live stage. The digital NAO flew through a space scene above the audience before reaching a black box. Once the animated character had disappeared inside, the real robot emerged from a physical black box brought onto the stage. The film handed the action over to the live appearance.
The connection to Orbybot.
Building my own character, Orbybot, had given me a rigging approach I could carry into this commission. The two rigs ended up with similar structures: an independent project had provided practical experience for a different brief.
Project context
For event agency Vantage Global, I modelled, rigged and animated the digital NAO. The overall event concept and the original robot design were created by others. My model studies and motion tests developed the screen character for the planned sequences.
Traditional 3D production · no generative AI
Let’s develop your project.
Tell us what you want to create. We start with a discovery conversation to understand the audience, scope and practical requirements. I then develop the creative approach and a plan for bringing it to life.