Ivan’s Journal - Marion the Marionette

Here I am, graduated from college but still waiting for graduation ceremony. It’s time to apply for jobs and have fun. Daily college routines were finally over and I was free to do whatever I want… well, almost… I still had to find a job and did interviews here and there.

I didn’t have enough money to travel to places outside Asia – long distance places. So how did I manage to see the world beyond mine? Well, sometimes I watched discovery channel and TV programs about traveling. How about adventures? I like to play games and sports a lot when I was in college. It’s the cheapest way to spend my spare time. How did I manage to see the world beyond dreams and imagination? Hmm, why don’t we create one? I always wonder how they made those movies and games.

One day, my curiosity led me to a free course of graphic design held by Binus College, which was coincidently held an open house event not far from my house. That brought me to the world of graphic design. I took a course of Photoshop and 3D Animation at that time.

The trainer happened to be younger than me and his 3D animation skills were great. He specialized in architecture and many of his portfolios were about architectural projects. I had few conversations with him and he happily shared his knowledge to me. So I went to a bookstore, bought 3D software, and locked myself at home.

The result? I managed to create my own 3D characters. I was close of making my own animation movie entitled “Marion the Marionette – Some Puppets Need No Player”. Unfortunately my computer didn’t have enough strength to do the rendering process. Well, I wasn’t planning to plunge myself deeper in design graphics anyway. So, I made myself 3 digital friends and many still image pictures as results of locking myself at home for 3 months.

Although my 3D digital friends didn’t come alive in the form of movies, at least they came alive in my thoughts and few real screenshots. Let me show and tell you about them:

Marion the Marionette – Marion was the first character that I created. I made him as a main character. Marion is a wooden marionette puppet without strings and has a controller above his head. Whenever he’s asleep, the controller falls off and he definitely needs help to put it back on. The controller have to be placed back above his head, otherwise he will stay asleep forever.

Marion likes to sit near the fireplace at night. He doesn’t like to get too close to the fire though, as his wooden body cannot stand the heat. He has a simple and friendly nature. The character who values friendships, likes to joke, enjoys laughter, and always ready for adventures.

Lillian the Ballerina Doll – Lillian is a doll made of waxes and ceramics that has a small golden key behind her slender waist. She has red hair with a cute bun tied with a red tape. She had a slim, flexible, and agile body gestures who likes to wear a pink ballerina costume and ballerina shoes. When her golden key stops spinning, she will be put to sleep. The only way to wake her up is by the help of others to spin her golden key again.

Lillian likes to dance very much as she became a dancer since she was made. Being a shy type of girl, she doesn’t like to talk much and prefer to watch things. Although her quiet nature often makes her look distant, but she is always ready to help others in times of troubles.

Pete the Snowman Toy – Pete is a toy that is made of plastic in the form of a bluish snowman. He has a round belly and chubby face. Being a toy, his life depends on the battery, which is placed inside his back. Whenever his battery runs out of power, he’ll be put to sleep. He needs help from his friends to replace his battery. He likes to wear his blue Santa Claus’s hat and big blue ribbon on his neck everywhere he goes.

Little Pete is always cheerful and lively. Although a little bit fainthearted, he is willing to brave danger if it comes to helping his friends. He enjoys the cold weather and likes to play in the snow a lot. Often he gets too excited sliding and rolling in the snow, someone should remind him that he should stay close to a battery store.

Well, that’s a brief introduction of my 3D digital friends. I hope someday, you can watch their adventures in the big screen with big smiles… CHEESE… ;-)

Ivan the Freelancer