Going into year 1 of Animation I was excited as I had little to no experience in the digital side of animating. Up to that point all I had done was stop-motion animations in school using models I had made or Lego. I was excited to learn how to animate using 2D and 3D software, as l grew up watching animated TV shows, both 2D and 3D, such as Regular Show, Spongebob and Star Wars The Clone Wars, so I was eager to learn the techniques that went into creating something similar.
Over the first few lessons it was good to get settled in and I enjoyed getting to talk to new people.
I was really excited for the first group project where we created a world and animated it in 2D. This project was really fun as we all got to animate our own take on the world using our own style with the same two characters. I found that whole process of 2D animating very enjoyable, despite it taking a while to get finished.
After Christmas I was excited but also nervous to begin proper 3D modelling and animating, as I have always been mediocre at using computers and would prefer to draw in 2D. For the first assignment of making a model I found it very challenging at times and found myself referring back to videos on blackboard for help, but also really enjoyed the whole process as it has me now well equipped to do basic modelling in Maya. I am convinced now that I I could make my models from assignment 1 ten times better and in half the time.
For assignment 2 of 3D Digital Literacy, I really enjoyed using blender and sculpting things there. It was also challenging at first but after I figured out how to use it I now really enjoy making models in blender and would consider myself fairly decent at it, especially human limbs for some reason.
Going into the 3D short film assignment I was somewhat skeptical as I wasn’t overly confident in my ability to model in 3D, but over a couple of months with practice and learning new techniques in class I began to very much enjoy it and it didn’t at all feel daunting anymore .With the skillset I gained from using blender for the cute character assignment I was able to translate this into the animated short as I used blender to make aspects of my character, which made it look far better than if I had tried to use Maya, as I am better at sculpting using bender. Working in a group with people you got to know over the year was a really fun experience as it was so easy to discuss ideas for the film and encourage each other to get the best result for the final product that we are all very proud of. It was also incredibly satisfying going from being awful at modelling in February, to successfully animating part of a high quality short film.
Also, despite often being a hassle to write/ make, I find the concept of the blog posts alongside assignments to be a very useful way to show what we individually did for the assignments. I like it because I have always preferred coursework over exams and the blogs are a good way to show the process of everything you have worked on, what you have learned in the process and delve into the details of your work which may not have been obvious in the final submission, such as steps taken when modelling, or different versions of something that you replaced when you figured out something could be done better.
Lastly, our lectures have made the course so much better as they are all very friendly and easy to talk to and get along with. They always provide excellent help when asked and have the exact solution needed every time, so I am very thankful for this.
Overall I really enjoyed my first year as I learned so much and had a lot of fun doing the assignments and getting to know new people.