Bringing Objects to Life: 3D Animation and Holographic Personas

Creative Technology & Digital Storytelling Explore how 3D animation, sculpting, rigging, and persona development collide to teach empathy, identity, and design—all through the lens of animated non-living characters projected as holograms. What happens when a pencil becomes a punk rocker? Or a teacup reveals its secret life as a retired opera singer? This session unpacks a dynamic, interdisciplinary 3D animation project where students personify everyday objects—developing personas, backstories, and animated identities using Autodesk Maya. Students sculpt, model, rig, and animate characters, then present them as optical illusion holograms. You’ll explore how this approach builds design thinking, digital fluency, and creative confidence through character-driven storytelling and advanced 3D workflows.
Attendees: 
Please Install Autodesk Maya free trial before the workshop if you would like to follow along with the optional Maya tutorial segment.
Download link: https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview
Pre-installing Maya lets you jump directly into a quick intro to basic 3D modeling and simple animation without setup delays!