3D Modeling & Animation

2025-2026

Planning & Storyboard

Prompt: I will have two characters, one being a swordsman who is fighting my other character, a rock golem made up of several rocks and some facial features like a rock jaw. The swordsman will a shadow head and human body. the rock golem will throw a punch and the swordsman dodges, then run up the rock golems arm and cut his "head" off and the golem will crumble into a pile of rocks. I plan to make two versions of the rock golem, one rigged for the punch andone using path constraints to make it crumble and reassemble to loop the animation.

Asset & Prop Design

Characters - Both will be rigged

Stone Golem

A stone golem composed of many rocks forming a towering opponent slayed many times but continually reforms.

Shadow Swordsman

A mysterious wandering swordsman fighting this eternal fight with this golem because it keeps regenerating.

Objects

The Swordsman's sword

A standard iron blade tapering at the tip of the blade

A damaged minecart

A minecart and some rails sit in the back of my scene adding to the feeling that they are in the mine.

lanterns scattered lighting the scene

lanterns being the main lighting for the scene

Concept and Story Development

1: What is the title and concept of your original game?

"Golem Slayer" is the name for my "game"

2: What is the purpose of your cutscene in the game's story?

It is the first golem the shadow swordsman fights so he does not yet know how to defeat them so the battle seems endless

3: Who or what is the ‘character’ in your animation? What makes this character unique or expressive?

My character is the shadow swordsman who has been cursed to hate golems and to hunt them all down. He has a shadow head and chains around his arms to symbolize his entrapment.

4: How does your cutscene tell a story without using dialogue?

It will show his rage from this battle continuing forever

Asset and Prop Design

1:What are all the models (assets or props) you will need to build for your scene?

The swordsman

Rock golem

The sword

Minecart

Lanterns

Cave

2:Which of these items will require detailed modeling or special attention?

the swordsman he will be in frame almost for the entire time he should be the one I focus the most.

3:Which objects or characters (if any) will need to be rigged for movement?

the swordsman as well as the rock golem throwing a punch so both will needed to be rigged.

4:How does the design of your character reflect their personality or role in the story?

The swordsman is wearing chains showing his containment and an unknown past his shadow head shows how he has been stripped of his identity consumed by the void.

Environment and Layout

1:What does the layout of your scene look like? Where are the key objects placed?

the rockpile that turns into the golem is being illuminated by rays of sunlight from the surface and the swordsman is approaching with the minecart in the background and dim lanterns scattered across the scene.

2:Where will your camera(s) be placed, and why?

the first camera will be placed behind the swordsman to show him in the starting position then when the golem arises it zooms in then cuts to camera 2 that opens to a wider shot from more right to show both the swordsman and the golem. The golem throws the punch and it switches to camera 3 behind the golems shoulder moving backwards following the swords man running up the arm then even farther to show the cut from the swordsman. back to camera one behind the swordsman to show him jumping back to starting position

3:How does your layout support the flow of the cutscene?

the camera layout has a large focus on the main character the swordsman and following his movement trying to keep him the focus of attention.

Artifact 1

Design and Planning

What was the concept for your main character, and how does it fit your chosen prompt?

My concept was for a mysterious swordsman that had been striped of his identity and is now forced to fight these golem for eternity this fits with the promt becasue of the

How did sketching your design help guide your modeling process?

It gave me the idea of what I wanted to make and follow that it was very helpful

What inspired your texture design choices?

A medieval tunic and the same texture of a cave slippery

Modeling and UV Techniques

Which modeling tools and techniques did you use most effectively?

What steps did you take to unwrap your model cleanly and evenly?

What challenges did you face while unwrapping or packing your UVs, and how did you solve them?

Texturing and Materials

Which texture maps did you create, and what role does each play in the final look?

How did you ensure your textures aligned properly with the UV layout?

How does your material setup (PBR or Physical) enhance the realism of your model?

Reflection

What challenges did you face during modeling or texturing, and how did you overcome them?

What part of your finished model are you most proud of, and why?

How will this character be used in your future scene and animation artifacts?

Artifact 2

Jan 7

Planning and Concept

1:How do your assets connect to the chosen prompt?

These assets support that character and the setting of the abandoned cave.

2:Which assets did you choose to create yourself and which did you choose to find online? Why?

I made all assets myself because of the relatively simple setting but, I had to source one of my materials to get the correct look I was going for.

3:What kind of environment did you decide to build (e.g., classroom, sci-fi lab, fantasy forest)? Why did you choose this setting?

I built a cave with a small puddle and many stalagmites with lanterns scatterd about. I made this to fit to one of my characters being a rock golem showing him living in this cave.

4:What was your process for deciding which objects were essential for your scene?

I though about how a abandoned cave would be bare beside some rusted metal so I mostly kept the lanterns for lights and the minecart for some more detail.

Modeling Process

1:Which 3D modeling tools or techniques did you use most often when creating your scene assets?

I used many modifiers, because its such an organic scene I used many noise and other modifiers that add randomness to the scene.

2:Describe one prop or object you’re most proud of. What makes it successful?

I am the most proud of the lantern it is almost exactly how I envisioned it. it is a mix between the organic cave and manufactured look with it being manmade.

3:What challenges did you face while modeling your assets, and how did you solve them?

The sword it was difficult at first but when I changed approach and picked a different reference it worked out.

4:How did you make sure your models were in scale with your main character?

I used the same unit system using meters because it was easier to compare.

5:How did you ensure that your models matched the genre and visual style of your chosen prompt?

I used more organic shapes and stuck to the vision I had.

Workflow and Organization

1:How did you organize your scene and files (naming, layers, groups, etc.)?

I use the 3ds max name system letting me systematically name many similar items. I also used grouping to keep my multi-part assets together.

2:How did creating an asset list help you plan or stay on track?

it overall helped my future vision and let me keep on track by making it a sort of checklist and brainstorming mix listing ideas and things that needed to get done.

3:Did you make any changes to your scene plan after you started modeling? Why?

I decided to not make Stalactites (celling stalagmites) because I felt it would be to cluttered and take away from the action and props on the floor level.

Reflection and Evaluation

1:If you could improve one part of your workflow or modeling process, what would it be?

Working on things on one device would be a great improvement having to import and export things and sometimes forgetting to do so caused many delays and often ruin the flow I had.

2:What did you learn about asset creation or scene design during this phase of the project?

I learned that having a good reference prevents you from having to go back and change to many things.

3:How does your completed scene (without textures or animation yet) support the story or idea behind your prompt?

with the sword it gives the main character his weapon and starts the movement.

What are you most excited to work on next (for the upcoming texturing, lighting, or animation phase)?

I am most excited on seeing a view of how my final project is going to come out.

Artifact 3

Jan 12

What mood or atmosphere did you aim to create with your lighting?

I aimed for an abandoned cave with subtle lights and shiny surfaces.

Which types of lights did you use, and how did they work together?

I used mostly used omni lights for the lanterns and background but, I used a spot light to imitate the sun coming down from the opening in the cave.

How did color temperature and light intensity affect your scene’s tone?

The contrasting lanterns and cool green background lighting making the background assets standout more letting them tell their story.

What challenges did you face when setting up or balancing your lights?

Finding a way to light the background because I had not planned to light the back and did not have a good idea on what would work but it ended up turning ou good.

How does your lighting enhance the storytelling of your project prompt?

it really helps in presenting that we are in a cave the different warm and cool colors really prevent all the lights from all melding together giving a good contrast.

Artifact 4

1/21/26

What did you animate, and why did you choose those elements?

I chose to animate the swordsman, the golem and the sword to show the intense battle and allowing a epic battle.

How did you ensure your animation looped seamlessly?

I Used camera techniques to allow for the same frame to be at the beginning and end .

What challenges did you encounter with timing or pacing?

Trying to make a character move across the scene without affecting past animation. I managed to get around this by using multiple of the same character copied allowing them to do movement without affecting the other.

How did you use camera movement to enhance storytelling?

The camera follows the swordsman through his battle showing it more from his perspective giving us the viewer his perspective.

What part of your final animation are you most proud of?

I am the most proud of all of the movments the swordsman is doing it took alot of effort to make those animations look human.

FinalSceneEmoryBoyer.mp4

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