2024 3D Animation Talent Showcase: Driving Creative Education Through Open Source to Empower the Next Generation of Creators

Based on its DECT (Digital Economy Core Technology) curriculum system, Krystal Institute promotes 3D creation literacy and practical skills among K-12 students through open-source tools, cultivating the next generation of creators.

During the “2024 3D Animation Talent Showcase” (theme: “Our Space Dreams”), the institute hosted the “Digital Dreamers” Blender public course. Over 40 students aged 9-20 participated in free Blender workshops, learning foundational skills and creating space-themed works within a short timeframe.

By encouraging K-12 students to use Blender—a free, open-source tool—to transform their visions of China's space program into animated films and 3D models, the initiative not only weaves humanistic values with technological aesthetics to tell the next generation's space stories but also sets a new benchmark for similar competitions.

Breaking Learning Barriers with Open-Source Tools

Traditional commercial 3D software often faces hardware limitations and high learning costs in K-12 education settings. Students typically gain exposure to these skills only when pursuing specialized university courses.

In contrast, Blender—a free, open-source software—has evolved over three decades to offer a unified workflow spanning modeling, materials, rigging, animation, effects, and compositing/rendering. More importantly, Blender boasts extensive global educational resources and a vibrant community ecosystem. Whether through official documentation, YouTube channels, forum discussions, or plugin sharing, students can easily access the learning materials they need. This not only helps them master knowledge and skills but also lays a solid foundation for future industry-academia collaboration and career exploration.

Gold Award Winner: Visual Narrative from Dream to Reality

The Gold Award winner in the high school category is Team Rocket from Pui Ching Middle School in Macau. Comprising three students and one mentor, the team spent over ten months creating the nearly three-minute animated film Where Dreams Take Flight. Centered on a girl yearning for space travel, the work tells the moving story of her journey aboard a space elevator, gazing upon Earth and fulfilling her dream. It masterfully intertwines China's space achievements with the resilient spirit of personal aspiration.

The team demonstrated mature research perspectives and innovative thinking in both artistry and storytelling. Whether in scene design, character development, cinematography, or post-production editing, they drew inspiration from diverse film, television, and gaming works, transforming these influences into their own creative expressions.

For more details on the winning entries, visit here.

From Campus to the International Stage

The creative process not only provided students with invaluable learning experiences but also honed their 3D skills across modeling, texturing, animation, and cinematography. Students gained opportunities to showcase their work beyond campus, entering the public eye on an international stage. At the International AI and Creative Conference (IAICC), student projects were shared with global Blender enthusiasts, enabling exchanges and in-depth discussions of creative concepts with world-class animation masters. Additionally, the gold medal team will receive a study tour opportunity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, gaining exposure to the creative industry to broaden their horizons and forming a positive cycle of “learning-creating-displaying-exchanging.”

A Sustainable Educational Innovation Model

The “open-source + industry-academia linkage” strategy centered on Blender demonstrates that when educational resources effectively align with industry demands, 3D creation education can evolve from specialized training for a select few into inclusive literacy education. The Digital Spectrum Institute is committed to providing Train-the-Trainer programs and DECT courses to enhance the digital literacy of local K-12 students. This enables the next generation of creators to build solid 3D skills during their primary and secondary education, finding their own expressive voice and growth path at the intersection of technology and art.

About Krystal Institute

Krystal Institute engages in teaching, research, training, and certification to empower the people, provide upward mobility, and bridge the global digital divide. We deliver essential knowledge for excellence in the digital economy. We prepare students to fully utilize their knowledge, skills, and tools in the digital economy by fostering their creativity and providing open-source technologies.

Our Founders have decades of experience collaborating with educational institutions worldwide, such as Nanyang Technological University, Shenzhen University, and City University of Hong Kong. Founder Raymond Neoh produced China's first 3D CG animated feature film, Thru the Moebius Strip (2004). To date, the Institute of Digital Game Technology and Institute of Digital Media Technology have trained close to 10,000 media professionals for China's digital content creation industry.

In Hong Kong, we collaborate with training and industry partners to offer courses in over 40 different areas within the Digital Economy Core Technologies (DECT) framework. We have established academic collaborations with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, driving our research and development.

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