The task for the project was to create a mid-high poly 3D Model Asset that could possibly be used in animation or in a game. When this first started, it was on a bigger scale, and after consulting others on how to make the project achievable, I settled on downscaling from what was originally a 3D Animation with ambitious goals to a 3D Model that would test my abilities but still be within my skill level.
In reflection of my work, I think my ambition still caused me the biggest problems in achieving my goals. Even after my project was downscaled it was still a huge task to behold, and although it’s complete, I feel I could have done a lot better if I had given myself a task that was challenging, but not completely out of my comfort zone. Although declaring a low poly ship would conflict with what I presented initially, I should have tried to find a stable mid ground between my prototype model and my proposed project so that it would allow me to improve upon my work without heavily risking the quality of it.
Organization was a high priority in this project however and I feel this was a strong point that held it together very well. I had multiple timetables and plans laid out that were remade and adjusted every week based on circumstances and current events. These timetables were cut into small tasks that were more focused which kept me motivated and on track. Without this organization I wouldn’t have even come close to achieving the amount of work I produced. Although I gave myself 1 Week as a buffer in case of personal problems/emergencies, this wasn’t enough for some of the issues I faced during the development of the task. More time was not available and it was unfortunate but I’m still happy with what I achieved regarding how many ups and downs I had during the project.
Pre-Production was also much stronger in this project, I had learned from previous projects and created and expansive amount of concept work and notes to assist me in the development. This included blueprints for the model itself that were hand drawn after several different iterations following the first ship prototype. I also used more reference images and looked at ships from other games and animations to inspire me and give me ideas on how to approach different aspects of my ship. The huge size of the thruster for example came from looking at the Thruster on the Serenity, the Space Ship from Firefly. The Antennae were inspired by several other ships I saw and previously the fin was just for aesthetic, but now it also appears to serve purpose to the ship which justifies it’s existence in the overall picture.
The Modelling stage itself was a struggle. I had a hard time creating the shape from the blueprints and had to treat them more like guidelines. The final shape did resemble what I had in mind and what the initial sketches proposed, but it took more time to approach the different challenges in place to create the model. The blueprints were helpful but upon reflection, they weren’t up to a standard where they could be properly used in a 3D environment. There was a lack of measurements to help with scaling specific objects, and without the use of rulers and precise linework, the blueprints would continue to created distorted models if you stuck to them. As well as this, the other blueprints were merely screenshots from the old prototype, and this also caused issues. While I thought they would still work due to many similarities in the shapes, they ended up causing me more trouble as I tried to follow blueprints for different ideas that kept conflicting. This further reduced my work efficiency in the modelling stage. When creating blueprints for future projects I will take a lot more care and precision in their creation.
The first prototype however, in my eyes, still appears better than the new one in some levels. The Model shape is dull, but the textures were better quality on the prototype model compared to my final model due to time constraints. If I had more time I could have worked on more texturing techniques, consulted my peers, and created a set of textures that would be far superior to the prototype ship. The shape however is still much better. It’s smoother and more expressive, giving the ship it’s own style that would make it more recognizable and unique.
Good care was taken in keeping all the files secure, backed up and easy to access, I have back-ups on two separate hard drives that are updated regularly and named by subject and date so recovery is also an easy and stress free process. Naming Files has been a bit of a weakness for my work process but I’ve continued to make efforts to improve on this, such as naming many of my assets and layers in Maya and Photoshop to help me manage the assets during and after development. I used many different categorically named folders to keep files from mixing and getting lost. I’ll continue to improve on my organization in all areas, including Time Management, Categorizing, Naming Conventions and Risk Preventative Measures.
In terms of the overall final project, I feel I could have done much better. I was under pressure and stress from several sources and if given the chance to do the project in the same time without these influences, I feel I could have produced a much better product that would far exceed the previous prototype and current product in quality and with more work efficient results.
While I am not too impressed with the results of this project, I’m proud that I managed to do the best I could in the time I had, this is one of the most difficult projects I’ve undertaken and It has taught me a great amount in a short time. The results are always important but the work towards it in this case has shaped me into a better modeller, a better organizer and a stronger worker. In my mind, the project wasn’t really a success. I wouldn’t feel happy submitting this quality of work, but the process itself has taught me a lot and the results, while not up to a quality I’m happy with, can be used as a base for a far better piece of work, given some more time and skilled hands.
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