Now that I've reached the end of my DDA II course, considering the topics covered and all the projects created during my time in this class, I have to say it was all very much worth it and I shall miss it. Akin to my previous post, I have provided a visual map that while it is only marginally better than my last, shall suffice for my explanation. The course in its entirety even when broken down into its core units is rather lengthy and in depth, covering a wide range of topics from Portfolio creation and management to how to visualize, model, and animate a scene to advanced levels of quality. The course has gone through the modeling process, how to properly texture, edit, and apply materials to an object, and even onto how to effectively light, shoot, and animate a scene. In a sense it has taught all levels of development when it comes to the 3D animation industry. Overall, it has taught me the basics and fostered my growing interest in the field itself. I'd say that above all else my newfound intrigue and delight of the artistic aspect of the field has been its own reward. The countless hours I've spent in front of humming machines while diligently working to produce the best works I could was simultaneously the most rewarding and humbling experience this class has to offer. The pride felt real whenever I could come out of a solid week of trial and error all to be left with a single file of my hard work saved on my desktop, assured that I was learning real skills and had offered up my best. It's hard to pin down and describe, but in all honesty even after frustration after frustration, at the end of the day I could still look back and realize that what I was doing was real, and I was honing skills that I would remember and probably use later on in my life and career pursuits. It's rewarding just knowing that you're not wasting your time. In fact, even though I'll probably stick to my pursuits in 2D illustration and animation, these skills I've built on will transfer over and continue to assist me. I can say with clear certainty that from all my time mastering lighting and camera angles that these are skills I will probably continue to use into the future. Even the base concepts of 3D animation aren't that different from its 2D cousin, and its safe to say that most likely everything presented to me in this course has either created a foundation, or built upon skills I already acquired. In any event, I cannot say that I am at all dissatisfied with my time spent here. It has been a lengthy journey to get this far, and I hope I can continue to trek further. It's been more rewarding than I could've ever anticipated.
0 Comments
Beginning my time in this pathway, I had expected to jump into the programming and design straight away, however, having taken my AGAD class for 3 years now, I can say that I am glad that that was not the case. Down below I have provided a simple graphic outlining the basics of my time, and admittedly while illustration is my strong side not graphic design, I'm sure it will suffice for an overview. Overall, the content ranges from dealing with real world careers and overseas markets, and how to work with a team of peers, to things like 3D design, A/V production, and then actual game design and coding in Unity. The most important takeaway is that no matter what, you never truly know enough to really get into game design, because game design itself is so much more than programming and asset creation. In all honesty I feel that every single unit has helped to contribute to my skills now, no matter how well versed I may have been beforehand. It's a lot of bulky topics and rushed deadlines, but between the seemingly arbitrary vocabulary and the nail bitingly frustrating difficulty of various assignments, you tend to notice how much it all pays off. In my opinion, no other class will better prepare you for what it feels like to stick to your own created schedule, how to manage your time and keep up with deadlines, and how to crank your brain for creativity. In a way it almost feels like you're halfway there to the real world. As terrifying as it seems, it certainly helped to realize my potential by leading me on with assignments where I'd perform excellently at tasks I'd never thought I'd be good with or consider to do. For example, my experience with the 2D world helps me to understand the 3D one, such as setting up bones and rigs, animation, and creating textures for objects after painstakingly arranging polygon faces piece by piece. Thus, I've come out a jack of all trades in a sense, operating on all levels of what could be considered game design, as it's proven to be so much more than coding and animating. I'm almost certain that my skills with handling my time, as well as my applicable knowledge of audio and video handling, 3D design, concept creation and planning, and my experience with Unity will pay off exponentially if I manage to stick to it all, and I'm certain I will. Being exposed to this sort of wide variety of topics and materials has certainly opened me up to so many possibilities that I hadn't even previously considered. Not only that but I feel well prepared in the sense that I could continue on in nearly any direction I wanted to, and with my skills and some good old fashioned dedication, I could progress onward into an industry of my choosing.
|
Creator InfoThis is a blog for a Game Art Design class. Future programmer and currently an artist and writer. Archives
June 2019
Categories
All
|