3D Modeling & Animation Reflections
2025-2026
2025-2026
I am taking 3D Modeling and Animation because I am interested in the process of how animated films are made and all the troubleshooting that is required to create them. I also feel that it will be beneficial to work on pushing through frustrating things, because I need to learn to allow myself to fail without getting frustrated. This will also teach me problem-solving skills by forcing myself to find a way to get my design to turn out the way I desire. Developing these skills will help me benefit in all areas of life, even outside of 3D Modeling and Animation, as it will help me deal with failing in future jobs, and even in my sports. Problem-solving can also benefit me in life by not always having to rely on others to help solve my problems, whether it be in the workplace, at home, with financial issues, or even relationship issues. By developing these skills, I will become a resilient person who doesn't give up until it is right.
I learned several things in Module 1. Some of the first things I learned were what basic privatives were and how to use them. I also learned how to rotate, scale, and change object's parameters. These first two assignments, making a snowman and a pencil, were good practice to work on these basic skills to lay a foundation for my future assignments and projects. The Temple of the Privatives was good because it helped me get more practice with the skills mentioned previously, by following the tutorials in Brain Buffet. I also got to learn how to import images into 3Ds Max, which could be useful as a reference, or to help create an accurate scale of the object. I also got to use the array tool to duplicate and place lots of pillars fast, as well as equally far apart. Knowing how to use the array tool would be useful if you are creating a scene with very symmetrical features that require multiples of the same element. One final thing I learned that was useful was how to take a screen capture. This helps me get images of all my work to submit and display. All of these skills will be beneficial to know how to do for feature projects, because every project will require you to know how to create standard primitives and be able to manipulate them to create the desired size and location.
Several things were learned in Module 2, one of which was how to set up your folders. These are important because you want to have a big folder to store all of your projects called 3D Modeling, and for each individual assignment/project, you want to create a folder within it with the name of what you are doing, for example, 4 Corners Scene. Knowing where all of your scenes are is very good for organization, and if you ever wanted to go back one day to look at them, you know exactly where they are. Another skill I picked up during this module is that you can use keyboard entry to create primitives. This allows you to get your objects the exact right size and in the exact location, creating a more seamless professional result. This can also allow you to save time by entering all of the primitive's correct size and location right away, instead of having to edit all of their parameters later on. This will allow for feature assignments and projects to move efficiently and have very specific locations. One other important thing I learned was how to turn on Autobackup. This will allow me to create models without fearing that the computer will crash before I get a chance to save them, losing all of my progress. This is very useful for every other project, because you never want to have an instance where something goes wrong and you have lost tons of work and time spent on your model.
In Module 3, I learned how to model more complex things, including my LEGO Mini figure, a field scene, a submarine, a coffee maker, and more. I got to practice using lots of different techniques, such as using splines to help me create my chess pawn, and a screwdriver. I got to practice using different modifiers to make my field scene and spaceship, as well as boolean operations to help create my submarine. For my project, I picked to model an object, the object I chose was a coffee maker, while modeling the coffee maker, I had to use all the techniques I had learned and make something that I did not have a tutorial for. I got to go through the process of blocking it out and adding all of the details that help make it come to life. Through the module, I gained more experience working with primitives, learning how to apply modifiers such as edit poly, and working in different sub object modes. During the field scene, I learned how to use soft selection to create different areas of the ground that were raised, creating a more realistic look by not having it perfect. I also worked on extruding and beveling, which helped me throughout the process of creating my coffee maker. These skills will help me in future modules and projects because smoothing modifiers will help me make clean, professional looking models, also getting more comfortable with Boolean and modifiers can help me know what tools will help me make complex shapes faster, rather than having to create everything manually. This module also just helped me increase my overall confidence while working in 3ds Max because I know way more features and do not need a tutorial to follow each step anymore. So now I feel confident I can create high quality models as well as more realistic models for future projects.
In Module 4, I learned a lot about lighting and working with cameras. At the beginning of the module, I learned all of the different types of cameras, such as free, target, and physical. I learned the advantages and disadvantages of using each type and what situations they might work best for. I also learned how to control the camera by using different lenses as well as viewport controls that include Truck, Roll, and others. I also leaned about the different types of lights, which include lots of different types but some include target spot, omni, and skylight. I also learned crucial features about the lights like how to control their parameters. I also learned about shadows, which I leaned you want to try to limit as much as possible, so the way you place lights needs to be strategic. Shadows also have many different types, such as Shadow Map and Ray Traced that you can adjust color and density as well. I put these skills into practice by first creating my Citizen Kane scene, which worked a lot with shadow and adjusting light intensity. I also got to try lighting one of my past models in a backdrop type of scene, for that I chose my Submarine and created a blue background to mimic the ocean it took lots of trial and error, but I finally got a result with much less shadow than I started with. The final assignment of this module was making a table lamp. This assignment was very useful to have to put my past module's modeling skills into creating the lamp, table, and walls, while letting me incorporate my new lighting skills to mimic the look of a real lamp. These lighting skills will be very crucial for every model moving forward because I means I have advanced to creating a backdrop that will make the model pop, and be more visually appealing. The cameras will be helpful for when I am wanting to capture multiple shots and do not want to have to move my view port before capturing each shot. This will also be good for capturing specific angles that are hard to get. lighting has a use in basically every model in the future and I am sure I will need cameras again in the future.
I learned tons of skills and techniques in 3ds Max this quarter, even though I had no prior experience with the program. I learned the steps to creating a model, such as blocking it out with basic primitives, then applying modifiers to add detail. I also learned about lighting, which has proven to be pretty difficult to learn, I have learned that in order to create good-looking lighting, you want to have know shadows. I learned about some different types of lights you would want to use in the 3 point lighting system project, and I can see that you want to have lights coming from all different angles. This is important to help pose your models for a good picture by rendering it. One big challenge I encountered while working with lights was getting the least amount of shadows. I had to mess around with the lights for a long time to finally get something that looked pretty good. The hard thing about the lighting is that it isn't a one-size-fits-all thing, and you have to make adjustments based on the shape and size of your specific model. So this requires a lot of patience with your model, as it can take a while to reach a desirable result. One aspect I feel much more confident in then at the beginning of the quarter is just moving in 3ds max, this may not sound like a big thing, but at the beginning I did not know anything about the different view ports, so when I was creating my first project which was the snowman everything looked good from the front, but then when you turned it none of the body was even touching. This has also been improved because I know now that by holding down the middle of the mouses button, you can move the angle you are looking at, which also helps to take good still images that are not just perfectly lined up from the front, backs, top, bottom, or sides.
In Module 5, I learned about rendering in 3ds Max and how different renderers affect the final look of a model. I used several built-in render engines, including QuickSilver, ART, Scanline, and Arnold. I learned the advantages of using each of them and what each is mainly used for by getting to practice switching between them in Brain Buffet. I also went more in-depth with Scanline parameters, doing things like changing the output size and frame range. I also worked with sampling and ray depth to see how the end result's quality changes. The other major topic I learned about was material editors. I used both Compact and Slate Material Editors to create, modify, and apply maps to objects. I mainly practiced this skill with the Still Life assignment while creating and applying maps to all of the objects, such as the Bowling Ball, the Heart of the Ocean, etc. These skills are important because rendering and materials are a big part of creating more detailed, higher-quality work. In future projects, I will incorporate these skills to add extra realism by adding accurate materials such as metal, glass, plastic, etc. Also, knowing the key differences between renderers will help me pick the best option for my model, depending on various factors such as whether I might need a fast preview or a high-quality rendered image. Overall, these skills will help me create more detailed models and allow me to have more confidence when working on models that may require more realistic-looking results.
In Module 6, I learned how to use UVW mapping and texturing in 3ds Max. I got to practice applying several different mapping types, including Box, Planar, Cylindrical, and Spherical mapping. This helped me see and understand how each of them is applied to objects and how the texture wraps around them. I also worked with the Unwrap modifier in UVW, which allows you to place my textures much more precisely because I can select and manipulate the different elements. I am also able to create my own seams and cut, weld, and stitch parts together. These features help me to view my model in a flat, clean, and organized way. Brain Buffets tutorials helped me visualize this by explaining it like a shirt and how it was laid out before it was sewn together to fit on a person. Features like the checker pattern helped me see where things looked distorted, so I could make necessary changes before applying the final texture. I mostly practiced this on the clothing of the Indiana Jones Mini Figure. The skills learned during module 6 will help me in the future because having UVW mapping look neat and aligned is crucial for having models look professional and realistic. Also, knowing how to unwrap UV layouts means that I can make things unfold how I believe they would and look less distorted, so I can avoid stretched or blurry textures for a polished look. So overall, these skills will allow me to become more advanced in 3ds Max, allowing me to grow my toolkit and create professional-looking models down the road.
In Module 7, I learned about rigging. I focused on preparing models for animation. I used Bone Tools to create and edit bone structures. I learned about how to adjust their size and parameters to give a more desired effect. I also learned about how the bones' hierarchy affects how they move. An example is that moving the root bone will control the rest of the strand, causing it to also be affected; however, moving the last bone only affects itself. Scene explorer came in handy as a visual aid to help me see the order of the bones. I also explored both Forward and Inverse Kinematics. I learned that Inverse Kiematics allow for a more natural movement suited for a more natural motion that may be useful for something such as limbs. I also learned about how you have to apply a skin modifier to connect the mesh/skin of the model to the bones/skeleton. I used edit envelopes in which I applied a heatmap to the model to try to see where the model may be deforming from movement. The heat map allowed me a good color visual of where the bones are effecting. I also learned to apply several different kinds of restraints, including link, position, path, and orientation constraints. I used the schematic view to get another visual of the hierarchy and connections. All of these skills I learned in this module will be important for future projects because rigging is a crucial important step you have to take before being able to properly animate a character or object. Understanding how to use bones, Forward, and Inverse Kinematics will allow me to create a more realistic looking animation because I know how they can effect how an object moves in different ways. The Skin modifiers taught me how to attach bones to the body, which is a very important step because you need both to be connected. Also, the heat map will help me in the future because I can better identify where there is distortion and fix it. This is essential for creating a realistic model that moves naturally instead of stretching or collapsing. Knowing about hierarchy will help me stay organized when working with complex rigs that may have many different linked objects. Character studio will also be helpful to speed up the animation process instead of having to hand-create each bone while still letting you have proper structure and control over the model. Overall, these skills allowed me a solid start into the animation process and helped prepare me for more advanced modeling and animation projects in the future.
I learned several different things this quarter in 3ds Max. I learned about the material editor, UVW mapping, rigging, and animation. These are all a vary wide variety of skills that allowed me to expand on what I had worked on the previous quarter, because these are all more complex tools. The material editor was a very helpful tool to learn how to use because it can help you apply a more realistic look to an object, rather than just changing the color. The presets on the physical material are also very helpful for giving guidelines of what the parameters should be, so you only make slight adjustments to something that is almost how you want it. UVW mapping was helpful for very similar reasons because it allows you to apply textures onto the model and create a look that better matches what you envisioned, rather than just a plain color. An example includes, instead of just changing a table's color to brown, you can apply a good grain texture to it for added realism. Rigging was a helpful tool to learn because it is the step you take before you can animate an object moving. Rigging is like adding a skeleton to your objects so you can move their bones, and that dictates the movement. You can also apply constraints to only allow for certain movements, for example, when rigging my Lego figure, I put constraints so his arms can only go in a circle and not go out, because Legos don't move that way, and that makes it much more realistic. Skinning was also an important part in the process because it allowed me to use the weight tool to see how much certain bones were affecting different parts of the model. This was good to make sure bones are only controlling the part I want them to and are not effecting other parts of the body. I also learned about adding controls to the different parts of the body to make the animating process easier, which allowed me to move the controls instead of the actual object to make it simpler when animating a scene. The last main skill I developed this quarter was my animation skills. I learned that animating is about setting key frames across a timeline of how and when you want things to move or perform an action. I learned the two different keys, which are the Auto key and the Set key. These are both useful to know how to use because there will be times when one works better than the other, and you want to be able to adapt. Animating is a great way to help you bring life to a scene and create a progression shown over time, which the software will automatically help keep your transitions to different locations smooth.
An assignment that helped me understand rigging a lot better was "Its Alive!" This really helped me get lots of practice with lots of different rigging tools that you would want to use before you start your animation process. I learned lots about the bones from this because we did two different methods of creating bones, one on a practice "Frankenstone Monster" and one on the final Monster I turned in. On the practice model, I learned how to create bones from scratch and how to edit, delete, and edit bone parameters. On the final version of the "Frankenstone Monster," I learned how to use a Biped, which is basically a human skeleton structure so that you don't have to hand create the bones. Using this, I was able to manipulate the sizing to adjust it for the Monster. I also learned how to apply the bones to the skin using a skin modifier this connects them so they can move as one. I also applied constraints and adjusted the weight, which I already talked about above. All of this made this one of the most informative lessons because of all the tools he showed and how well he explained each tool on its own, and at the same time showed you the step by step process you go through to create a finished rigged model ready to be animated.
An aspect that I already knew from the previous quarter but now feel much more comfortable with is Pro Boolean. I was able to get much more comfortable with it this quarter because of how much I used it when creating my chicken model. I used it for several things in my chicken model, such as using the union tool to combine all of the toes together, as well as making the wing one object. I also used it for certain parts that I wanted to cut out of my chicken that were a little uneven or were sticking out I would create a separate primitive and use the subtraction tool to make things more even. I have overall gotten much more comfortable with the Pro Boolean tool and would say that I know how to use most of the tools on it pretty well.
I have several resources that I found helpful to look at when I needed to remember how to do a certain function. One of them was to go back into Brain Buffet and look at previous lessons I have done, where we did something specific like creating a constraint. This was good to see visual examples of him performing the action again, showing the steps, which was good if you forgot. A downside to that was that you would first have to remember the unit number it was on and then skip through all the videos to try to find the exact thing you are looking for. Another resource I liked was looking at the videos on some assignments in Canvas, such as turning a plane into a backdrop, which I actually used several times when I forgot the process of making it. These tend to be much easier to find because the assignments are labeled. My final resource I liked was also in Canvas, but I would just use it to look back at the Unit overview for each one, which was helpful to know what I learned in each Module, and it was good to know what assignments we practiced/performed different types of operations or tools. The summary of what students should be able to do is also helpful to know how much I actually was able to pick up from the lesson, or if I might need to practice a certain skill more. Overall, this whole semester, I went from knowing nothing about 3ds max to being pretty knowledgeable in it and knowing lots of different methods to modeling and enhancing models.