Through out this module I have learnt a lot in the area of 3D animation. I also feel as though this has been an opportunity for me to focus express my particular interest in the area of character design. There have been a lot of aspects to this module which I have found really challenging, because I have had very little experience using Maya, so I was definitely taking a big step out of my comfort zone. Also, this is the first time I have properly collaborated with another student on something like this, so I have been able to get used to working under different circumstances, as well as managing my time and communication not only for myself but also for my partner.
One of the main stages of production that I have become familiar with, and gained a much better understanding of is the stage which took me from modelling, right up to the point where I was able to animate my character. Being given video guides for each of these stages, has been extremely helpful for me, because I do have quite a low attention span and it sometimes takes me a while to retain information, especially when I get a lot of it in one go, so having the video guides and being able to use them in my own time has really helped. This also made it much easier and quicker when it came to modelling, rigging, orienting and binding my own character. There are some areas that I would need to improve upon the next time I do anything like this. Firstly, I think Ollie and I as a team were slightly over ambitious with our idea at the start, we origioanlly wanted to create realistic water, and after much contemplation and conversation with tutors and other classmates, we realised that it just wasn't realistic in the time we had. Also, I had to do a lot of tweaking to my character, because she was too complex. I underestimated how long the process of getting a model ready to animate would take. Also, at the start, both mine and Ollie's character did not look right together. I decided to shrink my character down and make her slightly rounder, because originally she looked to elongated and slightly threatening. This has definitely taught me to be more open to the possibility of there needing to be adjustments and improvements to make an animation work better as a whole, even if it means extra work. However, there are parts of this model I am pleased with. Considering I have had very little experience in the area of 3D animation, let alone Maya, the work I have produced is much better than I imagined it would be at the start. I have started to pay more attention to smaller details when it comes to positioning and animating a character. This was also something I learnt quite early on with the "Strike a Pose" study task.
During my time working on this project, the way in which I think of a story or a potential character has changed. Now that I have a much better understanding of how 3D animation works, it has influenced my thought process for the better, and not just for this kind of animation. I have learnt to keep things more basic at the start and to not get sucked into the excitement of a new project by thinking that anything is possible. If I were to do this again, I would asked more questions at the start, because I don't think I quite appreciated how long it would have taken to stick with the original design ideas Ollie and I had. I have also become more used to working with somebody else, which is something I am not used to, because I like working alone. However this project has made me realise that sometimes, collaborating can have better results than always working alone. This has been very beneficial because I think this is something I need to get used to before stepping into the industry. However there have been a couple of down sides. This module has made me realise that I need to be slightly more vocal about my thoughts and to try and keep up communication, because there were some areas where this resulted in a disadvantage. Such as, Ollie and I at one point had different ideas on how to transition from one scene to another, but this wasn't apparent because we didn't speak often enough.
The study tasks, also helped with the technical side of things, in a way they prepared me for what was to come. The model that I created from Matt's tutorial videos was quite challenging but at the same time, really helpful because it helped the information to sink in, and made me feel a bit less scared to use Maya in the future. I was pleased with my final outcome of this model, but was aware that there were a few things that were't quite right with it, such as some of the influence weights, and some of the heir achy, so some of the body parts were incorrectly influenced by other areas of the body. There was also a problem with the eyes, this was also an issue with my mermaid model, however I managed to fix this so that they eyes moved with the head. There are a few little glitches with the final animation, for example there is a scene where one of the mermaid's eyes sinks inwards, however luckily this wasn't too noticeable due to the positioning of the camera. I would definitely spend longer next time, making sure that little mistakes like this were rectified. However overall, I am really pleased with the outcome of this module and feel that I have learnt a great deal. I no longer feel afraid to use Maya, and honestly believe that over time I will improve further.
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