Final thoughts and reflection

Looking back on the very first lecture for Virtual environments, I remember becoming very anxious about what was being asked of me and what I had to create for this module. Having a very limited experience of 3D Studio Max, and having not used it in over five years, I was concerned about the quality of work that I would be able to produce. As such, I got into the work straight away and started to work through the online tutorials right from the beginning. Looking back, I believe that the key to this module is to follow the tutorials as closely as possible, and always expect things to take longer than they actually do. The online tutorials are very helpful and descriptive, although the voice for the commentary can get a little annoying at times. The only negative aspect of the tutorials is that occasionally they jump forward into the next stage without showing you how they got there. For example, there is no explanation on creating the eyes or the lips. However, these things are relatively easy to work out, and there are several ways of doing them.

Although the most tedious stage was at the beginning, aligning the images and creating polygons, this was also the most important stage. I feel that the model that I created was only successful because I spent so long anally lining up both images and making sure that I did not have any polygons or shapes with more than four sides.

Defining the topology was also very important, because this eventually brought out and highlighted key areas of the face which then made the model look like me.

Converting the 2D mask into a 3D mask was very fiddly and time consuming. I was often unsure exactly where each vertex needed to go, but made sure that they were correct, as I knew that this would later alter the shape of my face and the feature within.

I found creating the nostrils very satisfying. I learned a new technique of using the extrude tool to create the hole in the nostrils. The extrude tool is extremely useful and one that I can take with me and use in other 3D projects that I venture upon. I have also learnt to use other very useful tools, such as cut, weld, connect, break, create, attach and many more.

I had great fun creating the lips and eye detail. It was at this point that I really started to feel a sense of achievement with this project and to start seeing a resemblance in my model to my original image.

Developing the back of the head and shoulders was very much different to creating the mask. When creating the mask it was all about detail, whereas developing the back of the head and shoulders was more about quantity rather than quality. This does not mean that the head and shoulders are not created to replicate my model, they are simply easier to replicate as the detail is not so specific. Creating the ears proved to be a very difficult task. This was probably the most time consuming part of the modelling aspect, as it was very confusing trying to work out where all of the vertices needed to go and how I could make the ear resemble my original image, particularly with the amount of detail that was required. Once I had welded the face to the rest of the head and shoulders, I could then start to concentrate on the mapping aspect of the project, rather than the modelling.

Mapping the image onto the model was definitely the most important, and at the same time difficult, part of this project. I spent approximately 6 days on the mapping alone. I initially thought that it would be a case of using the material editor and copying my image onto the head. This shows how little I originally knew about 3D Studio Max. Nothing is ever that easy! Creating my face template in Photoshop took days to create, and even when I thought it was complete, I still had lots of modifications to make to it when I later view it complete on my model. Once the model was complete and work had ceased, I was overwhelmed by satisfaction that I had created a model that was relatively accurate to my original images. As I finished slightly ahead of schedule, I was also able to create some animation. This was really just to see how my model looked when it moved and if it looked realistic.

Overall, I feel that this project was really beneficial to me. I have learnt a vast amount of knowledge on how to use 3D Studio Max, and feel confident that when I come to creating something else again, I will be able to produce something to a high level. I have learnt to use many new tools in both Photoshop and 3D Studio Max. Spending many hours on this assignment was the only way to get it done, as everything took far longer than I initially expected it to. This module was designed to increase my knowledge of 3D imaging, and for me, it has done exactly that. I have gone from having virtually no knowledge at all, to creating an animated model of myself. I am extremely pleased with the way my model has come out and how it looks very similar to the way I look in real life. If I had more time, then I would animate my model further, which I am sure that I will do further down the line.

During this project, I encountered many problems. I had problems with welding the vertices together, problems with the symmetry modifier, problems with linking the photoshop image up with the model and general modelling issues. I overcame all of these by mainly trial and error. If something didn't work, then I would try it another way. This way, I learnt a lot more as I got an insight into the many different ways in which I could do things.

I have enjoyed this module, and have learnt far more than I thought would be possible within five weeks. I have also learnt many new skills which I will be able to use in the near future.