Evaluation and reflection

Looking back at my final project, I can say that during the past few months I have learned a lot. I have improved my skills in Maya and ZBrush and learned how to work in two new programs - Substance Painter and Marmoset Toolbag. All mentioned programs are industry used, professional software, which is a valuable addition to my skill set that is needed for my job applications in the future. 

I have successfully rendered a fully textured 3D model of a character for a game, so I achieved my goals set at the beginning of this semester. The character will also be a good addition to my portfolio. However, during the semester I needed to leave out a couple of things from the original design such as the robotic forearm and the jacket, because of the time issues. I have spent a long time dealing with problems with meshes, UVs, I had to re-do different elements numbers of times (such as hair) and my learning process took more time than I expected, so in a combination with some personal issues I encountered, I had to choose what to focus on more. 

When it comes to the final design of the character, the parts I am proud of the most are definitely the skin and the hair, even though I wish I had more time to re-do the hair planes from the beginning with my current skill set as I would place them differently. The skin is the most realistic part of the model, the skin tones work very well and for me it is like the first official step to hyperrealistic models which I want to achieve in the future. I also really like how the top came out even though it was the easiest mesh on this model. What I need to improve is the ability to model and sculpt shoes and boots because they are the least realistic part of it, especially the sole. I know I struggle with drawing and creating both, feet and shoes, so it is something I will practice a lot in the future.

The character is made for a game set in a futuristic environment with a cyberpunk aesthetic visual style. It is shown mainly on her pink hair and the head machine. Her muscular, sternish body shows she is a fighter, a no messing around enforcer type. She would fit in a game such as Cyberpunk 2077 or Metro 2033 style, mostly realistic, slightly stylised adaptation, therefore I can say my outcome has been successful.

Looking into my future, I am still not sure where I want to be or what I want to do. I would say nothing much has changed from the last semester's five years plan I wrote, except one thing. Before I was so scared of the game industry I even stopped considering getting into it. After the work I have done this semester, I have started considering it again as one of the possible paths I can choose for my future.


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