LogInCauldron 3D explained to us how he experimented and played with Maya tools to create an animated fan art of Ditto transforming into Gengar.
Introduction
Hello! My name is Cauldron 3D, and I work as a Modeler at a CG production company in Japan. Originally, I wanted to become a manga artist, but after giving up on that path, I looked for a new direction. Around that time, a friend of mine quit their job to enroll in a CG vocational school, and I decided to join the same school to pursue a career. There, I started from the basics of using a PC and discovered Maya and ZBrush. Once I got into modeling, I was fascinated by it and decided to focus on becoming a modeler.
I have developed my skills through both professional work and personal projects. What I learn in one area often helps the other, and I feel this has allowed me to improve both my speed and quality.
I can't go into specific details due to confidentiality, but I have worked on modeling characters, props, and environments for animations, games, and pachinko-related productions.
This project is an experimental piece of fan art that started with the idea: "Wouldn't it be interesting to express Ditto's transformation using blend shapes?"
Ditto is a unique Pokémon that can transform into others, and I thought that if I matched the topology, I could achieve a seamless change and create an interesting visual effect. For the transformation target, I chose Gengar, as its form is composed of distinct parts, including eyes, mouth, and body features.
Gengar was also the very first fan art I created when I started this account two years ago, so I slightly revised that earlier work for this project. This piece is not only a technical experiment but also an attempt to explore playful visual expression. For the character design, I drew inspiration from images from the games and anime.
From Gengar to Ditto
The character's movements were animated in Maya by combining blend shapes with three deformers: Squash, Twist, and Bend. The modeling and final output were also created in Maya.
Normally, rigging is an essential part of the process, but for this project, I deliberately skipped rigging and created the animation using only blend shapes and deformers to save time. For the look, instead of using Arnold or Pencil, I built the materials directly in the viewport and exported them via Playblast, which significantly reduced rendering time. For line rendering, I used a technique commonly employed in games, which involves inverting normals.
To use blend shapes, you need multiple models with the same vertex count and topology. For this project, I needed to deform Gengar's model into Ditto's shape, so I followed the steps below.
In addition to the Gengar model I had previously created, I first built a base model of Ditto's body.
Next, I smoothed sharp areas on Gengar's model, such as the fingers and spikes, using Edit Mesh > Average Vertices and Edit Edge Flow. Using the soft selection tool, I adjusted the shape to match Ditto's base model, then applied ShrinkWrap and refined the geometry to complete the model. Additionally, I created the eyes and mouth using vertex snapping. This setup allowed me to assign blend shapes to each part, enabling seamless transformations.
Deformer Animation
As background, Maya's non-linear deformers include six types: Bend, Flare, Sine, Squash, Twist, and Wave. For this project, I only used three deformers, but there are other ways to create interesting motion, such as lattice and texture deformers.
The ones I used were Squash, for crouching and jumping motions. Twist for twisting and rotating motions. I also keyed the model's position to adjust its contact with the ground.
And because the movement initially looked a bit simple, I added Bend to create a sense of compression before the jump. This allowed me to add a forward-leaning motion before the jump and a natural outward flow after the rotation, simulating centrifugal force.
Conclusion
The total time to complete this piece was about 20 hours. The main challenge during production was adapting Gengar's topology to match Ditto's shape. Because of this, parts like the fingers and the spikes on the back would sometimes get distorted, and fixing those issues was quite time-consuming.
Working on this fan art reinforced my belief that deformers are great for creating smooth and interesting motion, so I'd like to continue exploring new ideas and applying them to other projects. Looking back, I think the animation could have been more natural if I had first twisted the body in the opposite direction to give momentum before jumping and rotating. I also plan to experiment with adding rigging to enhance the character's performance and personality, and I hope to brush up the piece and re-upload it to my social media.
As for advice to beginning artists, as I mentioned in my background, everyone faces times when they can't do exactly what they want or don't land the job they hoped for. I've tried many things myself (drawing manga, experimenting with NFTs, and creating original 3D character animations under my previous account), and all of these experiences have led me to my current work as Cauldron 3D. For that reason, I think it's very important and rewarding to keep learning, having fun, and continuing to create. Let's keep doing our best together!