10/31/2024

The first piece that I chose is my first 3d modeling project. I selected this piece because it was my first time creating something, completely by myself using 3ds Max. I had never 3d modeled before taking this course, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to manage the software, but after learning how to use asic primitives with the first few assignments, such as the pencil and the snowman, I consider that I achieved a product that I was proud of. This was the first time that I went through the production process, something that will come up again in the future and I need to familiarize with. Of course, since this is made solely of primitives, there's nothing too complex about the stadium, but since it was my first experience, it is worth to include. This piece is also special to me because it is the stadium of my sports team, which is in my country of origin, both things for which I have a special connection to. 

10/31/2024

This next piece is composed of multiple flowers, rocks, and mushrooms in order to form an aesthetic (somewhat) field scene. The reason why I included this assignment in here is because, it is the first time that I applied modifiers, like meshsmooth, and bend, which I felt amplified my range of possibilities in 3D modeling. Now I could not only build things using the shapes that were provided by the software, but I could turn and twist them to create a more satisfying product. Another reason to include this was that, it took me a considerable amount of time, making different flowers of differing heights and petal shapes, as well as rocks and mushrooms. I took my time to experiment and explore modifiers with this assignment, with trial and error, which gave me experience for future assignments. 

10/31/2024

This next piece is an animation of a nut and bolt, screwing in, and then back out completely. This piece doesn't have anything complex about it, It's actually pretty simple, and isn't hard to make, but there is something that I considered was worth noting, which is the animation part of it. This assignment was the first time that I made an animation, and I learned the most basic aspects of it, using the animation and time controls. In addition to this, I used ProBoolean to merge objects and make subtractions, like with the hole on the nut. This is a very useful tool for future projects, that I'm still using today, and frequently, unlike the animation, which we will likely explore a bit more towards the end of the year. 

10/31/2024

Next is the chess pawn, a piece that I find visually aesthetic, and pleasing because of its details and seeming perfection. I'm proud of this model because it was my first time using splines to create a somewhat complex shape, needing to click and drag to make the rounded edges. This took me many tries to achieve, because I either dragged for too long, or I clicked twice on accident in the middle of the spline, and messed it all up. This is why I felt the satifaction when the product was something that looks almost perfect. Of course, then I got into more of the specifics of spline modeling with the screwdriver, but this was my first spline modeling experience. The nice aspect about spline modeling is that I can essentially craft my own objects, and not manipulating the existing ones to make them resemble what I want. 

10/31/2024

In the last part of Quarter 1, we started working with subobject mode, and surface modeling. I started by making a character head, but I selected the tank as the one I'm most proud of. I found it very interesting that, from a single, normal box, you can make a tank, or a spaceship for that matter. This is just a simple version, but I'm sure that it's possible to make a much more complex tank with the surface modeling tools. This is an assignment that I liked and was proud of, because it made me realize the amount of different possibilities available with 3D modeling, and surface modeling combined with modifiers, gives me a very extensive arsenal to produce even more complex objects for future projects. 

1/20/2025

The first assignment that I I'm proud of for quarter 2 is Multi/Sub-Object Materials on a Box. The reason why I am proud of this piece has little to do with its aesthetical appearance, but more with the experimental side of it. I liked producing this piece because it is when I really got to experiment with Multi/Sub-Object and its effects on a model. The effect was very visible because of the contrast created by having the different materials right next to each other. This piece also helps me for future activities because it gets me familiarized with the process of applying Multi/Sub-Objects, as well as letting me see how objects are influenced by the different kinds of maps (specular, bump, metalness, etc.) 

1/20/2024

Another piece that I am proud of from this quarter is the mech. I think this piece might even be my favorite from Q2, because of the creativity part. At first, I had to follow a tutorial on how to model the basic structure of the mech, but after that, I was asked to make some modifications, to make it my own. This way, everyone in the class has at least a somewhat different model, but still being similar, which is something that I like. I liked how I could express my creativity on this one, and experiment with different tools, and I think that the final result was pretty good. I added some cables connecting parts in the sides, some spikes, and 4 big arms. I feel that I could've added something else to the end of the arms, but I'm still very satisfied from the end result. 

1/21/2025

The 3rd piece from Q2 that I selected is the textured tank with substance maps. This is the same tank model as the one I made at the end of Q1, but this time, I applied substance maps to it. The reason why I selected this piece is because it is when I grabbed the knowledge I had acquired with substance maps, and applied it to a model to make it look more realistic. I feel that though the final result isn't perfect, it certainly looks a lot more like a tank than the model without the substance maps. What I like about working with substance maps is that I can modify a lot of its aspects to make the texture look the way I want, so they are very flexible.

1/21/2025

This piece is one that took me a bit long to make, and I think it is very aesthetically pleasing. That isn't, however, the main reason I am proud of it. It is because it was my first experience working with Adobe Photoshop ever, and it is when I learned some of the basic aspects of the program. In this activity, I also learned how to make specular, bump, and roughness maps working from the original base color. Some parts of the texture do look a bit weird, with those black edges, but the overall appearance is more than acceptable in my opinion. These skills that I learned will be very useful for future assignments, not to mention that it is good to have a reference as of what each map does, and what their differences are. The incorporation of Photoshop into my range will be useful when making textures like these, in fact, I used it again in the assignment below.

1/21/2025

This last one for Q2 is yet another "version" of the basic tank from before. This one, in my opinion, is the one that resembles a tank more of the 3 (superficially of course, since it is the same model reused.) The thing that this one is lacking compared to the substance maps one is the other types of maps, other than base color. That's why the other one looks more realistic than this one. The reason why I am proud of this piece is because it's the first time that I actually try to paint something realistic on Photoshop to then apply it to a model. I had previously worked on an assignment where I had to use UVW unwrap and paint in Photoshop, but it wasn't a real world object, or anything that I had to try to make seem realistic, it was just like a demo for unwrapping.

3/21/2025

For my 1st piece of quarter 3, I chose the very first assignment of the quarter. This is a lamp on a table with a backdrop that is supposed to mimic the corner of a room. I realized later that I didn't correctly make the backdrop, so it's broken, but that isn't the main point of this scene. The reason why I chose this piece is because it is when I started to work with lights for the first time, learning when and how to use each type, including spotlights, quad lights, etc. This assignment gave me a bit of an idea of how light works in 3ds Max, and in this scene, I used a combination of spotlights and point lights to get the effect I wanted. Bright light comes out from the bottom and top of the lamp, and the rest of the scene is dimly lit.

3/21/2025

This 2nd piece is displaying the untextured mech I made earlier in Q2, on a backdrop (well made this time) with proper lighting setup. There is nothing particularly amazing about this assignment, but it was definitely useful towards expanding my knowledge of lights, not just in 3ds Max, but in the real world as well. In this activity I learned how 3-point lighting works, a system that can be very effective when focusing on an object in a scene. 3-point lighting works with 3 lights, the key light illuminating the front, the fill light over to the side, and the backlight, which are both less intense and don't produce shadows. This lighting setup allows for a perfect balance of light in the front, and making the model pop from the background, which is why I thought this activity was worthy of being here.

3/21/2025

This next one is a major one for Q3, since it is the one that took the most to produce out of all of them in the quarter. This video game scene is supposed to emulate and take inspiration from the famous video game series "Crash Bandicoot." This scene has elements from 2 different levels, hence, why it is divided into 2 different sections; one being the snowy section, the other being the cave. The reason why I'm proud of it is because I think I did a good recreation of what a Crash Bandicoot level could look like, having the Wumpa fruits and the boxes, as well as a mix from 2 different levels in the game. I also used some of the prior knowledge about lighting to compose this scene, and I think it turned out satisfying. In addition, I also had to make many materials on 3ds Max, which added to the work and made it a better final result.

3/21/2025

In this activity, I played around with different cameras and their settings, and took different renders of them. I think this activity was important because of the valuable information I got, which will be useful for future assignments. In this activity, I used cameras for the very first time. I learned about the different types of cameras (physical, target, and free), and determined what each one would be better for. In addition to this, I experimented with the different settings on each camera and their effects when it comes to the final render. This helped me because I will be able to have higher quality renders in the future, with the optimal camera type and settings.

3/21/2025

This piece right here is different from the rest of the things I did in quarter 3, and that is because this isn't a still image, but an animation. The reason why I value this piece is not solely because it's animated, in fact, I had already briefly explored animation in quarter 1, with the Nut & Bolt (above). In this assignment, we started exploring a bit deeper on animation, and I learned how to edit curves to change my animation, and make it more interesting. I learned that curves and tangents control the speed at which the animation moves from one place to another, and I learned how to manipulate them in order to have a better animation. Before modifying the curves, all the cars started at the same time, went at the same speed all the way, and reached the end at the same time. After editing the curves by pulling the tangents, I got all the cars to go at different speeds, start and end differently, and get to the other side at different times.

5/27/2025

This piece was what felt like my first big project of the year. It was the first thing I made by myself after learning some of the very basic principles of 3D modeling. There are a couple of specific reasons why I am proud of it, and why I still choose it over other, more complex pieces that I made throughout the school year. To begin, as I mentioned it was my first major project which was significant, as I had to go through the production process for the very first time and learn what that was like. Another reason I chose it is because even though it is only a block model with no texturing, I still feel like it captured the essence of the stadium pretty well and it is overall good looking for my first experience. It is important to mention that this piece has served for me to look back on it and imagine what I could add to it and how I could modify it with my current 3D modeling skills; this has helped me realize how much I have learned this year.

5/27/2025

This is a piece that I produced last quarter, and it involves a Crash Bandicoot-inspired scene. I know that this scene has a couple of different errors, like the lighting, which just looks a bit odd on the far right side of the scene, and I should've probably lowered the intensity a little bit as well. Despite this, I think this scene was a good way to test some of the skills that I had acquired up to that point, especially lighting and creating & applying textures to models. For this I used 2 spot lights: one for the outside of the cave, and another, less intense one for the inside of the cave. I also used Adobe Photoshop to create the textures for the boxes, the wumpa fruits, and the green floor for the cave. In addition, I used textures from Ambient CG for the ice and the snow (although it isn't that noticeable for the snow, as the light intensity is probably a bit high).

5/27/2025

This piece is special because it is the one that involves all of the skills that I have learned throughout the year in this class. There was surface modeling, spline modeling, animation, camera use, lighting, UVW unwrapping, and other techniques applied to create this final product. There are a couple of errors, (as in every one of my projects) especially considering that I had to rush for the last stages of the project to get it done and ready to present. This piece is inspired mainly by science-fiction, depicting the beginning of a robot invasion of the world to extract our resources. The reason why this project is special is because it has allowed me to compress everything that I have learned into one singular piece; that is the reason why I couldn't have not picked it for this section.