3D Modeling & Animation Reflections

2025-26

Quarter 1

Why I Chose 3D Modeling & Animation

8/29/2025

I chose to take 3D Modeling and Animation because it is a very useful skill that will help me in many personal projects and will also be very useful when I begin to look for a job, during this semester, I expect to gain a basic level of knowledge in 3D studio max and any other software used in this class as well as a certification in the softwares used. Being comfortable with 3D modeling will be very helpful for many personal projects from purely artistic projects to ones focused on a technical design. Another reason this class will be useful for after high school and college is that it will allow me to work in 3D modeling or other related fields. My goals for this semester is to become comfortable with 3D Modeling and Animation and to pass the certification test at the end of the semester. In conclusion, I am taking 3D Modeling and Animation because it will be useful in many facets of my personal and professional lives and I hope to gain a basic understanding of the softwares used in the course along with certifications.

Module 1

9/9/2025

In this module I learned the basics of 3D modeling using 3Ds max and making things using primatives. I also applied this to model a pencil, snowman, and a temple interior using primatives, the transformation tools, the modify tab, and array. I also learned how to navigate the viewports, and some terminology useful for 3D modeling like vertices, polygons, and mesh. The models shown helped me solidify what I learned by putting it into practice and allowing me to explore the software. These skills will be useful in the future as they will provide the basis on which the rest of my learning will be based on.

What I learned will enable me in the rest of this course and beyond as it forms the basics that I need to know in order to operate the software. For example, being able to navigate and change the different viewports will be necessary for every project I do in 3Ds max. Similarly, learning about the primatives and the different ways to modify them will also help me in almost every project in the future. Finally, the hotkeys that I learned will make me quicker and more efficient for future projects. Overall, learning the basics of 3D modeling using 3Ds max and making things out of primatives will form the base upon which I will build on for the rest of this semester and beyond.

Module 2

9/12/25

In this module I learned things that make modeling in 3Ds max easier such as organizing files and primatives in the a scene as well as ways to be more precise like using the snaps tool. I applied this to model a park area and a cat made of legos named Alfred Hitchcat and then placed it inside the temple I had previously modeled. To model these I used keyboard creation of primatives, snaps, merging multiple scenes, and the basic transformation tools. The models shown helped me solidify my learning by putting it into practice and because I experience a number of problems that I had to troubleshoot and learn from. These skills will be especially useful as I advance and start making more complicated models with many primatives, files, and/or scenes that I will have to organize and keep track of.

What I learned in this module will be very useful for organization and precision in future projects as they get more complicated and organization and precision becomes more important. For example, grouping will especially be important because it will allow me to keep a model of many primatives together. Likewise, learning to merge different scenes in 3Ds max will also be very useful as it will allow me to isolate certain objects in their own scene to make modeling easier. Finally, the snaps tool will be very useful to ensure higher precision in later models throughout this course and beyond. Overall, learning about organization and precision will be very useful in all future projects, especially as they become more complicated.

Module 3

10/10/25

In this module I learned how to edit primatives to make more complicated and detailed shapes and models. I applied these tools to make many models such as a screwdriver, chess pawn, lego minifigure, rocks, mushrooms, and flowers that I combined to create a field, a toy submarine, spaceship, axe, and enchanting station. To model these I used everything I had previously learned along with modifiers such as taper and edit poly and compound objects such as proboolean, boolean, and lathe. The models shown helped me solidify my understanding because many of them went beyond following a tutorial for the first time in this course, especially the axe and enchanting station which I created entirely on my own using only a reference image. These skills will be useful as I progress as they will enable me to create realistic models that will look more life like as I advance into rendering and animating.

The tools that I learned in this module will be useful for every other project I make where precision and detail matters. Editpoly will be especially useful as it will allow me to do the same thing as every other modifier if I wanted to. Proboolean and boolean will also be very useful as it will allow me to create primatives beyond the basic creation options. Finally, lathe will be a useful tool for making shapes with a non-linear path such as my screwdriver and the base of my enchanting station. Overall, learning about more advanced ways to model and edit primatives will be useful and will allow me to add more detail and complexity to future projects.

Module 4

10/22/25

In this module I learned how to work with lights and cameras to make my models more realistic. I applied these tools to make a table lamp scene and to better render my axe from Module 3 with a three point lighting system. To model these I used various types of lights including omni and target spot, basic modeling tools, and cameras. The models shown helped me solidify what I had learned by allowing me to put it into practice. These skills will be useful as I progress because they will allow me to make my models look better by highlighting what I want to emphasize and creating realistic shadows as well as the many things I can do with cameras when we begin animating.

The tools I learned in this module will be useful for the rest of my projects as it will allow me to make my final product more interesting with shadows and highlights. Skylights will be especially useful as they will allow me to easily create ambiant lighting that is even throughout the scene. Target spot lights will also be useful as they will allow me to easily highlight a certain part of my model and nothing else. Finally, physical cameras will be very useful as they will allow me to replicate the parameters of real life cameras to make more realistic renders. Overall, learning about lighting and cameras will be useful as they will allow me to make my renders look more realistic, especially as I begin to learn about animation.

Quarter 1 Reflection

10/31/25

This quarter I learned a lot about modeling in 3ds max from basic things like basic primatives and transformations to more advanced things like lighting, cameras, and subobject modeling. I learned how to add and move primatives, how to model them with compound objects and subobject modeling tools, and how to take intereting renders of them using cameras and lights. My understanding of 3D modeling has significantly improved as not only do I know more tools to model with, I also am more comfortable and can visualize 3D space much better allowing me to troubleshoot when I come across problems. I am more confident using all aspects of 3ds max than at the beginning of the quarter. Overall, I have learned a lot about 3D modeling in 3ds max this quarter as my models have advanced from a simple snowman to an axe and enchanting station, to a table lamp.

Quarter 2

Module 5

10/31/25

In this module I learned how to work with the material editor to give my modules a certain texture or look. I applied these tools to add materials to premade models of a maltese falcon, bowling ball, heart of the ocean, and one ring as well as the surrounding room. To do this I used color maps, physical materials, and compound materials such as shellac. The model shown helped me better understand how to work with maps and materials by allowing me to put it into practice. These skills will be beneficial as I progress in rendering as they will allow me to add materials to my renders to make them look more realistic.

The skills I learned in this module will be useful as I progress as they will allow me to make my renders more realistic and interesting. Physical materials will be especially useful as I can adjust a lot of parameters about it to make it look a lot of different ways. Gradient maps will also be useful as they will allow me to adjust the colors of objects in a way that I would be unable to otherwise. Finally, color maps will be useful as they will allow me to adjust the color of objects in my scene. Overall, learning about material editing will be very usefull as it will allow me to add depth and texture to my models in the future.

Module 6

11/13/25

In this module I learned how to work with uvw mapping to add images to my models to make them more realistic looking. I applied these tools to make a lego minifigure of Indiana Jones and a tank. To do this I used the unwrap uvw and uvw map modifiers as well as knowledge I already had on modeling and materials. The models shown helped me in my learning by allowing me to troubleshoot and practice what I was learning. These skills will be useful as I advance to animation as making things look more realistic and lifelike will become more important.

The skills from this module will become useful as I advance to rigging and animation as making lifelike models will become more important. Unwrap uvw will be especially useful as it gives me a lot of control and I will be able to precisely control how the uvw mapping turns out. The uvw map modifiers will also be useful as it will allow me to quickly apply different types of uvw mapping to an object. Finally, pelt will be useful as it will allow me to flatten my models to more easily work with uvw maps. Overall, learning about uvw mapping will be useful as it will allow me to add realism and life to my models.

Module 7

11/20/25

In this module I learned how to work with bones and constraints to rig my models and eventually animate them. I applied these tools to rig and pose premade human and monster models in a series of interesting poses. To do this I used used bones, a biped, position and orientation constraints, the skin modifier, and affect pivot only in the hierarchy tab. The models helped me understand what I had learned by allowing me to get creative with how to pose the human and monster and I had to figure out how to do that. These skills will be useful as I learn to animate my models as rigging will be a big step in the animation process and will make it a lot easier for me.

The skills from this module will be useful as I begin to learn animation as bones and constraints will make the animation process much easier and quicker and will make the final result much better. Biped will be especially useful as it creates an entire pibedal skeleton and will save me a lot of time in the rigging process. Constraints will also be useful as they will allow me to restrict the movement to an object to things like another object or a path. Finally, the skin modifier will be useful as it will allow me to make the bones actually work with and connect to my models. Overall, learning about rigging will be useful as it will allow me to make quicker, easier, and better animations.

4 Corners - Path Constraints

12/10/25

Organizing my project folders and keeping backups in Google Drive helped me access my work for this assignment as I immediatly knew where all my work was and did not have to waste time looking for my files. Adding a path constraint allowed the car to move along the road, to ensure it followed the path correctly I had to ensure that it followed the path and banked properly. After extending the animation to 24 seconds the car's movement slowed dramatically, it was necessary to use the Re-scale Time option instead of just increasing the frame count so that it also adjusted the animation of the path constraint. Adjusting the frame rate from NTSC to 30 fps made my animation loop smoother.

4 Corners Path Constraint.avi

4 Corners- Lights & Cameras

12/11/25

Adding different types of lights made my scene look and feel much more realistic as each type of light has different characteristics, similar to the differing characteristics of the sun, moon, and headlights. Linking the headlights to the car body ensured the headlights stayed on the car throughout the animation, making it more realistic, using the align tool helped ensure accurate placement as it was automatically aligned much more accurately than I could have done by hand. Animating the lights to transition between day and night added a sense of time and realism to the overall atmosphere of the scene, to do this I had to adjust the placement and intensity of the lights to resemble a realistic day-night cycle. It was important to enable shadows for my lights because that is how real lights work so enabling shadows increased realism. The cameras affected the POV of my animation, positioning and linking the cameras allowed my POV to change throughout the animation to either follow and go along with my car.

Module 8

12/15/25

In this module I learned how to animate my scenes using keyframes and the curve editor. I used these tools to animate a scene involving the characters I had previously modeled in module 7 and the 4 corners scene I had modeled in module 2. To do this I used keyframes, the walkthrough assistant, the footsteps tool, and the curve editor. The models shown helped me solidify my understanding by putting it into practice and allowing me to troubleshoot the issues I ran into while animating them. The skills will be useful for my final project as it will be an animation.

The skills I learned in this module will be useful for my final project as it will be an animation and will require an understanding of the basic tools for animating in 3ds max. The walkthrough assistant will be especially useful as it will allow me to easily make establishing shots. The footsteps tool will also be useful as it will allow me to easily animate a character walking. Finally, the curve editor will be useful as it will allow me to make my animations more life-like by individually editing the tangents of my animations. Overall, learning about animation will be useful as it will allow me to more easily create realistic looking animations for my final project.

Indiana Jones Animation.mp4

Quarter 2 Reflection

1/13/25

This quarter I learned many new skills including working with textures, UVW maps, rigging, and animation as well as how to use all the tools that are used in those processes such as the slate material editor, the UVW editor, bones, and keyframes. My understanding of 3D modeling concepts has improved significantly over the quarter as I learned tools for better modeling such as materials and UVW mapping that allows me to make my models more detailed and realistic and I learned how to animate. I applied the knowledge gained from last quarter to my projects this quarter as every project needed some level of modeling which I learned last quarter, especially basic modeling and sub-object modeling. I feel much more confident in sub-object modeling this quarter than I did last quarter and am usually able to quickly find a way to model my ideas using modifiers and only a few elements. I found practicing and brainbuffet helpful in learning 3ds Max this quarter as they combined taught me how to model while also allowing me to experiment with my newfound skills to solidify my learning.

Page updated

Report abuse