This blog will cover my work done on 3D models throughout my Games Development course.
The piece of work I had finished with -
Was satisfactory, but not the piece of work I had originally intended
-This version is muh more poilished, but unfortunately, I did not have time to touch it up to that extent. The product I finished with is slightly disproportionate, but being a cartoon pig, it isn't as relevant as it would have been on a realistic model. I am happy with my final version, but I do think modeling the nose would improve it. As previously mentioned though, I had ran out of time.
Regarding my intended audience, I don't believe I had much choice in the matter. The pig model is not intended for a mature audience, so I didn't need to add anything that appealed to that kind of audience. The product is cartoony and disproportionate, undetailed and smooth, implying its use for a younger audience. The animation, a penny falling into its back, is also a very simple animation that was not to intrest an older audience.
My work was based on an online tutorial - http://www.tutorialized.com/view/tutorial/Modeling-A-Cartoon-Pig/30135
However, I did not follow it religiously. I based my work upon it, adding my own aspects as I went along. I started with the shape shown in the tutorial, and follow where to extrude some polygons. The rest, I did on my own. Instead of using the methods presented in the tutorial, I used what suited me. This included -
Welding polygons and vertexes together to create surfaces much easier to model
using the symmetry modifier lastly to notice places that needed improving
Transformed the pig into a piggy-bank by adding the coin-slot and the coin, along with the animation.
Some of the techniques in the tutorial I just didn't find suitable.
Time constraints were a major worry in the work, I only had a few hours to get it done. To resolve this, I cut down on the amount of detail, and it turned out perfectly. The lack of detail I found did not exactly hinder the model.
From this I learnt that you should only add detail where it is needed. In my case, the detail was unwarranted and could possibly ruin the innocence and nature of the model, it being cartoony. The smooth curves that enveloped the model, the disproportionate nose and the single coloured, undetailed texture were actually positives to secure a child-like charm to the figure.
Doing this simple exercise of a model has taught me most of the things I need to know about creating and 3D model. To use rotation, welding, and most importantly, symmetry will in future cut the time spent making models by half. Along the way, I also learnt simple animation and learnt about key frames and frame durations, the basises of animation.
I did manage to meet my new deadline. I had some big problems with time management that I have learnt from, now. I learnt that you should balance the time that you spent on each individual part of a project, a lesson well learnt from putting all my time into trying to get the model perfect first time around, and not doing that after the basic model had been created, where I could touch up. Luckily, as mentioned my model did not require detail to have a purpose or quality.
