What did you learn?
In this lab, I learned basically everything we did in terms of 3D modeling. I had what I would call zero experience with it, so when it came to even booting up the program, called Maya, that in itself was new to me.
What was easy?
I felt I struggled with this lab, so in general I didn’t find many things very easy. However, following the Google Slides directions helped a lot. The easiest part, and the most fun part as well, was taking the roughly designed shape and making it have rounded edges and look normal. It would have been cool to see these 3D printed.
What was challenging?
As I mentioned previously, I found a lot of this lab to be challenging. I think the hardest part for me was putting the customized textures onto the piece and then rendering it. I had trouble getting the texture to change, and using the computers in the mac lab at school, the desktop I was on for some reason would generate a neon green overlay of my original pawn every time I loaded into the project, which made it very difficult to edit my new project because I would somehow edit the original layer. This was very challenging, and in the end, also aggravating, because I couldn’t really see what I wanted to do sometimes.
How could your submission be improved?
If I could have spent more time in the Mac lab, I may have become more comfortable with the program. Additionally, I didn’t have Arnold installed on the Mac I was using, so I couldn’t complete the project in full in the end, because Arnold can’t be installed on the school computers at this moment.
How could the professor improve the assignment for the next class?
I don’t think the professor could do anything, but I think the school could install the Arnold add-on to the computers in the Mac lab, or at least provide some sort of temporary subscription, so that you can use it for the project and get all the added benefits of the program. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on every computer, but it could be a useful tool.
How could you apply your knowledge in future assignments or work scenarios?
This is a skillset that I actually do not know if I will use in my field, and is something that I’d really need to practice with more if I was going to use this professionally.
How did a specific reading or video inspire or help you?
I re-watched the class zoom videos, so that I could pause them in order to go step-by-step to figure out how to do everything. I also exhausted the Google Slides, constantly referring to them when I needed to do a new step.
What is your piece’s special power?
My chess piece is a defense oriented chess piece. The piece is designed to stand both upright and upside down (hopefully). The piece can move two spaces in any direction. The idea is that once it has been “hit” by another piece, the piece is then flipped upside down and needs to be hit by another piece to remove it from the board. The same piece cannot hit this piece twice to knock it out. The only exception to the rule is when the King hits it, it is immediately removed from the board.