Project #2 Artist Statement: Virtually Wearable

In my TikTok Effects titled “i love banana cat,” “ALL MY FELLAS RAVE,” and “enderSLAY,” I am paying homage to TikTok “brainrot” content, specifically through the figures of Banana Cat, Apple Cat, and the Enderman from Minecraft. I use animated characters from Blender combined with additional filters in TikTok Effect House to immerse the user in fun and unserious realms fitting to each character. 

When I first conceptualized my idea, I knew that the cat characters would be perfect for the low-poly style achieved through Blender since Banana Cat and Apple Cat are meant to be viewed through low-quality images. Following this mindset, I added the Enderman as an additional character since Minecraft characters are not complex in their blocky forms. Since I kept the Enderman simple, I was able to spend some time creating a more complex animation of the Enderman jumping into the splits, as I wanted to experiment with a more engaging movement because the Banana Cat and Apple Cat characters I created only walk back and forth across the screen. 

Despite some technical difficulties in transferring the Enderman from Blender to Effect House and the issues of the Banana Cat and Apple Cat skins not appearing correctly in the model viewer the first time, my experience with Blender and Effect House went surprisingly well; I was able to create characters that were animated correctly and looked like the original characters, and on top of that, using the features from Effect House, I was able to create immersive environments that each character belonged in, so the project as a whole was a success. If I were to do anything differently, I would have made Apple Cat dance rather than walk across the screen because, in the rave setting, that sort of movement would have made more sense.