Evaluation

Coming into this course I had had no prior knowledge of any 3D software nor it’s existence. I elected my preferred program as Autodesk’s 3DS Max and got to work on mastering as many aspects as I could. Undertaking a project with such a magnitude as the Major Project brings about certain challenges and expectations. From the beginning, I set myself a goal to make something that I could be proud of and I feel that the amount of work I put in to this project is reflected in the quality of my final animation (for the most part).

In my time working on this Major Project, I have acquired an arsenal of skills and a huge and complex knowledge base of the 3D world and it’s components. I have to extend my thanks to the generous online community, which contains people that go out of their way to make tutorials purely for the benefit of others. My project would not be possible without their teachings.

The freedom given for subject matter in a Major Project (in my case) tends to undermine the allocated time for the completion of this project. Upon learning that 3DS Max was used to make studio-quality graphics and animation, I naively assumed that I would be able produce such a quality of work. Had I a team of people working towards a collective project, I feel that I absolutely would have achieved what I had initially envisioned. Regardless of the time allocated in class, and many, many hours spent outside of classed, I felt constantly pressed for time and needed to sacrifice certain aspects of my project in order to meet deadlines. Despite this, I am pleased with the final product of my Major Project. Looking back on my first rendered animation compared to my Major Project, I am overjoyed at the progress I’ve made as a graphic designer and am satisfied on a personal level with my development.

I knew from the early stages of development that my project would require a large effort on my part to put in extra hours at home. Many sleepless nights resulted in multiple renders and images which were all part of a contribution to a greater goal. Had I not enjoyed making this project so much, I feel as though my time might have been wasted. At times I encountered instances where gaps in my knowledge prevented me from progressing. I would be stuck for a week or two sometimes, fiddling with a problem in any way that I could in an attempt to move on. In some instances I had to ditch the concept entirely, this left me both at a loss and behind schedule. I feel as though I allocated my time well to the various progressions of my project. I have my motivation and enthusiasm to thank for that.

In my project I worked a lot with Raytracing and Reflections. This was an incredibly resource-consuming process and I learned very quickly how to best optimise my models to render within reasonable timeframes. During my project I estimate that I rendered close to 200 still images and nearly 20 AVI files.  One thing I learned during this process is how important it is to maintain an economy of resources when rendering, and how easy it is to clog up a renderer with unnecessary components. Leading up to the end of my project, I felt like I had made good progress with my animation. I was rushed only to complete the animation and rendering aspects, as I am a keen modeller and had completed most of the modelling very early in development.

In hindsight, I approached this course not knowing what to expect. I certainly did not think I would produce what I have done this year, and my knowledge and appreciation of the content and processes far exceeded my expectations.