Journal Entry: Week 1

So... This first week has been intense to say the least. I have felt incredibly overwhelmed, resulting in barely knowing where to start. I have forgotten many aspects that contribute to working in Maya over the holidays, and the things that I have managed to create have resulted in being re-done multiple times. This has been due to the Maya 2018 to Maya 2017 file conversion, terrible poly flow structures or simply bad aesthetic. I have yelled at the computer too many times this week...

However, far be it from the stress, I have indeed managed to motivate myself to create and start on the numerous projects I must complete and have also thought about some ideas, how I might achieve them and how I might implement them withing my projects.

When I first heard about the numerous projects, I initially became most excited for the Specialization project, as over the holidays I had already thought of an idea that I wished to create, this being a Faerie Kingdom. I had seen a few films and some incredible images that sparked some creativity and want to eventually create this (however not enough to actually create anything). This Specialization project though, is exactly the genuine motivation that I need.

The day after my first class, I spent a bit of time modelling a few assets that I wished to contribute to my Faerie Kingdom. I also asked favor of by brother to create a design of a Faerie, so that I could use it as a reference for future modelling.

Unfortunately though, after learning how to actually use unreal engine I can see how I must change these assets to better suit the unreal environment. Eventually, I hope to create my own environment meshes (similar to the ones I used in the 'Soul City' package - tree's, bushes, grass etc.) to create my Faerie Kingdom.

I have also started on the Boot camp project, as I hope to get it out of the way as soon as possible. I spent a good couple of hours modelling and UV-ing my modular building in class on maya 2018, however only to realise the following day that the maya file would not open in Maya 2017 (The most current version I am personally able to use at home)... And so the tedious process of Modelling and UV-ing started all over again... This time however, I took note of what my Lecturer said to a fellow student, where he explained how the edges of the modular building should be 'smoother' to create the aesthetic of a 'game model' and to better refine the model itself. And so I proceeded with modelling my modular building in the style of a Viking longhouse, complete with fence and UV's. I cannot explain enough, the struggles I endured with the UV's and the copious amount of times I had to re-do them... Even, to my surprise, I struggled with the actual modelling itself (this is predominantly caused by lack of practice over the holidays). Finally however, what seemed like a lifetime later (I may or may not be slightly exaggerating) I finished my Viking building. And to be quite honest I feel quite content with the end result (even if the UV's could be slightly better), especially in comparison to my previous Viking models. I now need to texture the Viking building and complete the boot camp tutorials.

Staying on the topic of Vikings, I am hoping that for the After Math project, I (and my eventual team), could create a Viking Raid After Math. I have un-diverted from the Viking theme since Trimester 1 and greatly enjoy creating historically accurate Viking assets and scenes, it is also a fantastic way to compare and see my progress from previous Viking models seeing as I remain with the same theme. For the Viking Raid, I instinctively thought of the first raid scene from the TV show Vikings, this is where Ragnar, Lagertha and their raid party slaughter the monastery town of Lindisfarne.

I would really enjoy recreating or taking inspiration from this historical scene, and base this massacre around the Aftermath project. I envision the project taking place both in an outside and inside environment. Clearly this concept completely depends on my eventual group, however I feel that if created properly it could be highly successful.

As for the Cross Discipline project, honestly I have no idea on what to do. I don't know anyone at the University, especially in other disciplines. I did have one small idea though, where I could ask an Audio student to record my voice and edit it to sound 'enchanting' and 'mysterious', I would then incorporate this end product into my Specialization project. But this is only an initial idea, and in truth I have no idea what I could do for this project.

I have yet to think properly about the Obstacle Course project, there is just too damn much to think about in the first week. Sorry.

Overall this week has been interesting to say the least. I haven't done nearly as much work as I would have hoped for, but there have been some personal factors this week that have greatly effected my access, performance and motivation, making it difficult to get my work done. These factors should not be issues any longer however, which is a relief.

References

Fandom. (2012, May 30th). Snow White and The Huntsman HD 2 Poster. Retrieved from http://snowwhiteandthehuntsman.wikia.com/wiki/File:Snow_White_and_The_Huntsman_HD_2_Poster.jpg

Fandom. (2015, March 8th). Spider 2. Retrieved from http://spiderwick.wikia.com/wiki/File:Spider2.jpg

Creative Mom. (2017, October 26th). 10 DIY Fairy Houses Recycling Plastic Bottles. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7nBYsE8t8

Gluskin, E. (2016, March 31st). The Viking Rain and Burn Lindisfarne Monastery - THE VIKINGS SEASON 1. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMAzTMs7THs

Sarasinger42. (2016, July 23rd). Siren Song (Original). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw3z_rbfrFQ