Week 13: ... It ends.

Continuing on from last week, I finessed my animation as much as I could and submitted it in time for the exhibition at SAE this week. I'm happy with the final result but it could always be better. I'm looking forward to receiving feedback on how I can improve. Over the trimester break I intend to complete the whole animation I set out to achieve! I rendered out two version of the 15 second clip; the well-lit version fades off at the end to a low-light version, making the emission of the guitar/eye stand out.

I've also included some of my freelance and collaborative work in my showreel.

Gerard Coutts & Associates Project

Overall I've had a great trimester. Although I fell behind my schedule toward the end, my time management has been a huge improvement from last year. I'm very glad that I organised to collaborate with audio and film students very early on in the process, so their contribution was not rushed and delivered in a timely manner.

I've learned, yet again, that I need to take on less ambitious projects if the timeframe won't allow. However, good works does take time. Unfortunately with 3D programs like Maya, when something goes wrong or you're not getting the result you want, it can take hours and hours searching through nodes, settings and tutorials to fix it. But in the end, this is how you learn. There were certainly times I felt so stressed I wanted to give up, but I stuck to it.

I am happy with the quality of Styxx's overall design, topology, texturing and charisma. Not so much with the rigging, weight painting and even less so for the quality of animation. However I believe I've achieved an appealing and entertaining piece of work.

Going forward, a technique I will focus more on is 'working backwards;' I'd start a project by clearly visualising what I want to achieve. Then I'd prioritise time for animating, then time for rendering, then time for setting up the environment, lighting and camera, then texturing, then modelling, then concept art.

Also, I also need to be careful that I choose to work with people who are as alert and hard working as I am. There were often times when I felt isolated, lonely and unsupported in class, so in the future I need to build more of a connection with my peers who share in the same discipline. I have learnt a lot and become far more confident in my skills. Thank you Angela for teaching us this trimester!

See you next trimester!