Evaluation Of 3D and Animation of Mechanical Marvel

Evaluation

In this part of the project we had to use the robot that we created in the 2D part and make it into a 3D model and animate it. The software that was used for this was Maya. At first i found Maya very hard to use a couldn't understand the layout or how to do anything but over time with a little practise i managed to get a hold of it. After i got a hang of how to use it i started by making a completely basic shape of my robot using only the basic shapes, i then proceeded by replacing each part with a more detailed part, starting with the tank treads and working my way upward from there. While creating my model i did encounter a few problems and things i didn't like for example, my tank treads on my 2D piece there is quite a lot of detail whereas on my model the treads are quite different as i couldn't figure out how to do the tank treads i drew, also the arms and head on my drawing came a across as quite plain on my 3D model so i replaced them with a more detailed a complicated design. As for animating my robot things were a bit different, the software i used however was the same with it being Maya. With animating at first i had no idea how to even start but after a quick demonstration i got a hang of it pretty quickly. Throughout the animating process i was learning new things constantly foe example how to apply lights and change the camera view. I also learned from my mistakes because initially i wanted to make the treads move as well as the head and arms but, with the treads i didn't realise that the shape would have made it work very well i didn't know how to fix it, and with the head i created it attached  to the body and i wasn't able to separate the two parts for two reasons, one i didn't know how and the other being time constraints. so unfortunately i wasn't able to fix these mistakes in time so i adapted by simple adding more animation to the arms and body which will hopefully make up for it. So overall my main struggle was learning the software and what different tools i needed to use, like extruding, however i am happy with end result as i think it turned out pretty well considering the fact i had no idea what i was doing in Maya when i started.

The next time i use Maya for 3D modelling i think i will be able to do much better as i now have knowledge of how to use it from the start and i know what mistakes i need to avoid.