FMP - Finale

 

With all minor adjustments complete, I think it’s safe to call my FMP finished!

This has been a long project, a lot more demanding than I anticipated, but I learnt so much along the way and I’m quite pleased with how everything has turned out. I wanted this project to not only be high quality but also showcase the type of 3D work that I want to do in the industry, and that I think I (currently) do best. I think having that at the forefront of my mind when deciding what to do was what kept my motivation high continuously to keep making high quality work – it’s always more fun to do what you like.

 Overall I feel like my understanding of textures has improved a lot from when I started to when I ended. From the feedback I received plus experimenting myself and pushing how I worked on my textures, I think it shows that there is now a more solid understanding of showing contrast and tonal range within my textures which I was lacking in before which made my models feel flat at times. Really enhancing the shadows for example to push the overarching values and understanding how to compensate for that in colour has really made my textures pop. I feel like they’ve just taken a step up in quality.

 I also think my time management has improved quite a bit with this project. Having the Gantt chart really helped me- having an actual visual of my time meant I was more inclined to stick to it rather than be half dedicated to a loose schedule in my head. Admittedly I didn’t follow the chart exactly because as things do, plans change. But having the big milestones blocked out meant I gave myself mini deadlines which I needed to stick to so the in between didn’t really matter. And I did meet all those milestones! I’ll definitely be planning ahead like this for future projects because it not only helped me but it helped others understand my workflow better.

For more self analysis however, I do wish I was able to add some animated portions to my models. The VFX I couldn’t figure out how to achieve the look I wanted to match with the hand painted textures of my models and, in short, I’m not an animator so creating an animation for my characters felt way out of my comfort zone to the point where it would downgrade the overall look (also the rigs of each model were very specific so even premade animations wouldn’t translate well to them). If I had more time I would want to allow myself the chance to get a proper understanding on how to give that animated flare to my models. I think having them posed like they are is fine but to have that moving aspect would’ve really made them feel alive and magical. 

But I’m not unhappy, I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made. I think this has been a good, big project that I’ve needed to really hammer it into me how I work and what I enjoy doing.

It’s been a fun ride, but I’m more than ready to hand it in!