Self Evaluation

      Throughout the course of this unit I feel as though I have developed my skills really well, going from someone with little to know knowledge on 3D software or the different processes to someone who is confident in their ability to create a variety of objects and get them ready for use as game assets.

      The work that I have produced may have started out as reflective of my ‘beginner’ status in the 3D world, but I feel like I have progressed to a point where I could call myself an intermediate, looking at the final two projects that I have submitted, both of which are readied game assets. The pillar looks as though it could have come from an early horror game on the ps2 or the xbox, while my time machine is embedded into a map that I made, and it is animated, which I previously didn’t know how to do.

      I think the easiest part of this unit has been the modelling section, as although I made mistakes at the beginning, that was to be expected, and as time has gone on I’ve got more confident in my ability to create recognisable objects, improving my workflow and the processes that I use to create objects, keeping in mind how the item would be built in the real world so that I can split the model up into those segments and using floating geometry wherever necessary in order to create the illusion of reality in my models.

      What I found to be the hardest part of this unit is probably baking. At first, I didn’t understand UV mapping, but I’ve got at least a basic grasp on that, however, it is the caging of the high poly model which I found - especially with my pillar model which was comprised of organic shapes - to be something actually pretty frustrating, because it has to be done just right, otherwise the cage won’t work and it becomes a repeating back and forth process where you’re constantly retrying to get the cage done right.

      I’ve really enjoyed the 3D portion of this year, as I feel like I’ve really learned something new, and been pushed to investigate all the different areas of this part of the subject.