This branded content piece for Nissan presents beautifully animated metaphorical days in the life of beings who thrive (and fade) based on their level of energy. Interesting 3D combo of CG and stop-motion. Directed by Tsuneo Goda (creator of Domo-kun). Part of Nissan’s larger Planet Zero campaign.

I’m not really even quite sure what this is but it’s awesome in its sound design, lighting and mood.

Remarkably, something of this polish and ingenuity and storytelling depth (not to mention gore) is a student group project from The Animation Workshop.

Hand-tweened facial mapping and 3D animation has always been one of the hardest things to make convincing. There’s just something… human… that can’t be easily recreated in a virtual character. Especially not in the lower-polygon meshes used by 3D gaming.

However, thanks to some of the latest facial actor capture technology in play at Rockstar Games, all of that is changing like never before as seen here in the upcoming L.A. Noire game.

via Devour

Bringing the Molehill API to Flash seems to have really kicked things up a notch with regards to fluid interactive 3D with immersive environments and reflection mapping.

An excellent 3D animated short about the life and love of an octapus.