This assignment has been challenging for me as I had never used a 3D modelling software before.

In the first week, I found Blender very difficult to use. I struggled to understand even the basics like how to add a mesh and the controls were awkward for me to get used to. The most challenging thing throughout this assignment for me has definitely been the modelling aspect of this course. I feel like none of my models look quite right, always a bit off and kind of janky. For example, the wings of my Zubat – the edges are clunky and round in places they are meant to be sharp. However, I am extremely proud of my sword and my helmet as while they are not perfect, for my first time modeling entirely on my own I believe there has been a massive improvement from my very first model, the snowman.

I enjoyed learning how to texture my models. Using Subspace, while difficult, has been really fun. I’m surprised I found UV modelling as easy as I did and I’m even more shocked at how much I enjoy doing. However, my favourite part of all was Animating. I believe my animation skills have improved the most over the past few weeks and I am extremely proud of myself.

3D Models:

Rendered Images:

Animations:

Week 5, who’d thought I’d make it? Not me! This week I was introduced to yet another software I’d never heard of, Adobe Substance Painter. For the class workshop, we just played around with it using a premade model of a Warhammer. I really enjoyed using Substance Painter! It has a vast library of textures readily available, and it’s really easy to add to the model – simply create a fill layer and a mask and boom! We also learned how to layer different textures on top of each other to give it more depth and make it more lifelike. The only difficulty I found using Substance was trying to export the textures back into Blender, having to add and edit different shaders to do so. But I caught on pretty quickly.

In our assignment we again had to design our own model of a helmet and add texture using Substance Painter. I decided to completely make up my own helmet, drawing reference from fantasy games like God of War and real Viking Helmets. I found creating a UV Map of this model quite difficult, especially since I used the Mirror tool and found that every detail would be the same on both sides, even in Substance. But I feel like I made it work pretty well and I’m happy with the outcome.

-Orlaigh

Four Weeks in and I’m feeling great. We were told that we would be doing UV Mapping (which I had previously never heard of) in class. A few of my friends who have experience in 3D modelling software explain to me how difficult UV Mapping is. Feeling less great.

But as the lesson went on, I actually didn’t it find it that bad. Maybe it was because we were using pre-made models of rather simple shapes – some dice, a can and a hammer – but even still I didn’t find UV Mapping as terrible as I was warned. I actually enjoy it!

For the assignment this week, we had to model and UV map our own sword. This would be the first time I’d be creating a model solely on my own, with no tutorial to follow (DUN DUN DUNNNN). I wish I could say I did so well, given I’ve been doing this for four weeks now, but it took me an embarrassingly amount of time to figure out how to get my sword to look right given its fairly simple design. Nonetheless, I powered through!

I chose to model Finn’s sword from Adventure Time as it is one of my favourite shows and Finn is one of my favourite characters.

Model Reference

We created out texture maps in Photoshop, a software I’m familiar with (finally!) and I really enjoyed creating the UV Maps and exporting them. I feel I did a good job in the end and im especially proud that it was my first time creating something completely on my own in Blender!

UV Texture Map

Final Render:

-Orlaigh

Roll on week 3. We continued to work on our 3D modelling. In class we had to create two models, and milkshake cup and a flower in a vase. These brought back the Curve tool to create the stem of the flower and the straw for the milkshake. Last time I used the curve tool, everything was fine, so I thought this would be the same. Nope! Each time I tried to create the straw, it looked like someone had chewed it up and spat it out. And the flower stem was just as bad. Needless to say, it took some time for me to get this right.

I have to say, I really prefer the milkshake model to the flower. I enjoyed learning how to create transparent materials for the cup.

Then, the assignment. Model and animate and Zubat. Here, I had to use the mirror modifier again and I was just as thankful for it when it came to the wings. This was also my first intro to the knife tool, which I used to cut the wings out of a plane.

The model itself is not perfect. There are some obvious flaws in the outline of the wings – they look really chunky – and the use of the mirror tool made it so there was some creases inside the mouth but I say he just had his tonsils taken out. I also gave him a little bowtie so that he would look dapper flying around 😀

This animation is my favourite so far. It was very easy to animate as I learned how to animate separate parts of the character (in this chase the wings) so it automatically moves while I animate the rest of the character.

-Orlaigh 😊

Week 2! In class we were tasked to make a skateboard. After last week I was feeling a bit more confident however I still struggled with this task. It was my first introduction to the Edit Mode on Blender (which took me a second to realise existed) but I found it much easier to edit and sculpt the shape of my skateboard using it.

Then, for our assignment, we had to model and animate a tyfighter. When I saw the example model my heart dropped. It looked so complicated, and it was my first-time using modifiers and the use of Mirror kept confusing me. But it used to be very helpful when it came to the wings because I know I would’ve struggled trying to keep them both identical. I kept as close to the design in the tutorial, and I enjoyed playing around with the roughness and metallic textures with this model. They made it feel like an actual 3D model and not just a bunch of shapes meshed together.

In this assignment showed me how to use the curve tool to animate the Tyfighters flight. Again, it took me a second to fully grasp the task but after many attempts finally I got it to work!! However, for some reason I couldn’t get the ship to spin. Every time I tried only the wings would spin. I was disappointed at this because I think it could’ve really elevated the animation.

Final Animation:

-Orlaigh

For our first week of this module, we were introduced to Blender. Immediately I was worried about this section of the course as I had no prior experience with any sort of 3D Modelling software used for animation.

Already I was struggling with learning the basics so when we were asked to create a table and chair, I went with a simple design. I learnt how to change the colour of the objects and add planes which I could use to set up a scene. I was also shown how to use lighting and set up a camera which was difficult at first because positioning the camera correctly was awkward to do but in the end I feel like I managed pretty well for my first time using the software.

For our assignment, we then had to model and animate a snowman. Before this I had never animated anything in 3D before so while I was excited to learn, I was also still nervous. However, it turned out to be easier than I expected! I was expecting to have to move every individual part for each frame but the type of animation we learned involved rigging all the moving parts to a parent object and then all I had to do was move the character into the pose I wanted, and Blender filled in the movement between each keyframe. How handy!

Snowman Model

Final Animation:

In the end, I am super proud of my first ever 3D animation and I look forward to the rest of the course.

-Orlaigh 😊