3D Modeling
21/4/2025-21/7/2025
Ruthlene Chua Zhen Si 0365222
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
- Instruction
- Class Summary
- Task
- EXERCISE 1 (Foundations of 3D Modeling in Primitive Object Construction)
- Basic Model
- Mug
- Chess
- Chair
- Table
- EXERCISE 2 (Design Own Chess 3D Modeling Exploration)
- Chess Set and Board
- ASSIGNMENT 1 (Washroom/Toilet 3D Modeling)
- ASSIGNMENT 2 (Hard Surface Modeling-Sci-Fi Prop or Machine Design)
- Small knives
- FINAL PROJECT (3D Human like Robot Design )
- Feedbacks
- Reflections
INSTRUCTION
Class Summary
Week1: In the first week, our lecturer gave us an overview of the 3D module. He explained and went through the grading criteria for each assignment, including the minimum scores required to pass. He mentioned that even if just one assignment is not submitted, it would result in failing the entire module. Because of this, we must submit all assignments. He assured us that if we follow his steps, we shouldn't face too many problems. If his teaching pace is too fast, we can let him know, and he’ll slow down to explain things more clearly. He also recommended downloading MAYA, the 3D software we'll be using for modeling this semester. He showed us how to apply for a student license to download MAYA for free and guided us through the installation process.
Week2: This week, although there were no physical classes scheduled an introductory tutorial on Autodesk Maya was provided. The material covered the basic interface and functions of the software, serving as a starting point for learning 3D modeling. An initial exercise was included in the tutorial, which is expected to be completed and submitted by Week 3.
Week3: In Week 3, the lecturer provided a hands-on tutorial on basic 3D modeling using Autodesk Maya. We were guided step-by-step in creating four simple objects: a mug, a chess piece, a table, and a chair. During the session, the lecturer emphasized the importance of keeping the models as simple as possible, encouraging us to use clean and minimal lines for better structure and manageability.
Week4: This week, the class focused on several key techniques in Autodesk Maya to prepare for Assignment 1. The session began with a walkthrough on proper project setup before starting any modeling work. We then learned how to create objects using the Bevel Tool to add smooth edges and detail. Additional tools introduced include the Bend Tool, Manual Bridge, and Curve Tool techniques, which allow for more complex and organic modeling. The class ended with an introduction to lighting for rendering, giving us a foundational understanding of how to enhance the visual presentation of 3D models through proper lighting setups.
Week5: This week’s lesson focused on expanding 3D scene creation techniques in Autodesk Maya. We learned how to create a tiled floor using duplication tools, allowing for efficient repetition and alignment of elements. The session also covered how to create and apply a solid color background to enhance the overall scene presentation. Lighting was another key focus, with an introduction to the three-point lighting setup to improve the visual quality of rendered scenes. Finally, we began working on our own 3D bathroom design, applying all the techniques learned so far to build a customized interior environment.
Week6: This week, the class focused on planning and idealizing camera animation techniques to enhance the presentation of 3D scenes. The lecturer emphasized how camera movement can be used to guide the viewer’s attention, highlight key details, and create a more engaging visual narrative. We explored the importance of camera angles, pacing, and smooth transitions to ensure clarity and professionalism in animation. This preparation is essential for presenting our final projects effectively, especially when showcasing interior spaces such as the 3D bathroom design.
Week7: This week’s class focused on the full rendering process in Autodesk Maya, guiding us through the steps required to produce a polished and high-quality final output. We learned how to adjust render settings, apply appropriate lighting, and ensure textures and materials display correctly in the final image. Additionally, the lecturer explained the submission process for Assignment 1, highlighting the required formats and presentation expectations. Time was also allocated to review and check the progress of each student’s 3D bathroom modeling design, providing feedback to ensure the models were ready for final rendering and submission.
Week8: This week, the focus was on checking the individual progress of the custom-designed 3D chess set. Each student presented their current modeling status, and the lecturer provided feedback on form, detailing, and design consistency. During the session, we were asked to evaluate whether our work had reached at least 30% completion. This served as a benchmark to ensure that modeling, layout, and basic structure were well underway, allowing enough time for refinement, texturing, and rendering in the coming weeks.
Week9: This week’s class focused on further developing the custom 3D chess set project. We began by modeling a bishop piece and continued building other chess pieces to complete the set. The session also included creating a chessboard model, followed by applying basic texturing techniques. An important part of the lesson was an introduction to UV mapping, using the chessboard model to help us understand how textures are properly unwrapped and aligned on 3D surfaces. These foundational skills are essential for producing clean, visually accurate renders in the final project.
Week10: This week focused on gathering references and identifying primitive shapes for modeling. We also began UV mapping for complex shapes, preparing for Assignment 2, which requires clean and organized UV layouts.
Week11: This week introduced the task of designing original sci-fi weapons or vehicles. The lecturer demonstrated how to model a simple knife as an example of prop design. We also covered UV mapping for the knife, including the use of UV wired auto layout from sweep mesh to streamline the unwrapping process.
Week12: This week focused on progress review for the sci-fi weapon design. Students were expected to reach at least 70% completion, including modeling and UV mapping stages. Individual feedback was provided to ensure the final detailing and texturing are on track.
Week13:The final project involves designing a humanoid robot with a sci-fi theme. Students are required to arrive in class with at least 30% of the base model completed, including the basic form and structure. This foundation will be built upon in the following weeks with added details, UV mapping, and rendering.
Week14: This week was focused on the final check for the humanoid robot assignment. The lecturer provided feedback and suggestions for improvement. The submission deadline for the final assignment was also announced, and all students were reminded to ensure their work meets the required standards before submission.
Task
For Exercise 1
We are required to model five simple objects. Specifically a chair, mug, table, chess piece, and one object made by combining three polygon shapes but using only polygon modeling tools. All models must be original, with clean quad-based geometry, proper naming, and no downloaded assets. Each object must be rendered from four angles (front, side, top, isometric) using basic lighting, and three playblast videos must be created showing wireframe, shaded, and shaded with wireframe overlay views. These playblasts must be in Full HD MP4 format. All screenshots and renders are to be compiled into the provided PowerPoint template for submission.
During the polygon modeling process, especially when I was working on spherical shapes, I kept accidentally distorting the form. I didn’t notice it at first, I was just following the general shape, but somehow the sphere kept losing its roundness. It got frustrating because I couldn’t figure out why it was happening!
I tried adjusting different parts, but the shape still looked off. Eventually, I realized the distortion might be caused by the way I was pulling certain areas of the mesh. That moment made me reflect on how sensitive the form can be when working with curved surfaces in Maya.
When I was working on the lighting effects, I always felt like the light was too weak, rendered scenes didn’t show any noticeable shadows or highlights, and it felt like the objects were just floating in a dim void. As a beginner, I had no idea why the light wasn’t showing up properly. I couldn’t "see" how the light was hitting the model; it was like there was no visible connection at all :)
Eventually, it clicked when I realized that in Maya, the way the light is projected is determined by that tiny, thin line in the viewport, the thing that points from the light source toward the object. Only when that line was properly oriented and adjusted different zones of the light would actually reach the model. It was such a lightbulb moment to see that that small visual indicator was actually key to directing the illumination correctly.
While redoing the chair model, I ran into an odd issue. After cutting the square into three separate blocks, I pressed R expecting to adjust only the lines, but instead, the entire square shifted as one piece.
Feeling stuck, I went to ask my lecturer the square have separate into three blocks but when I pressed R, the whole thing moves instead of just the lines…
He simply said, “Press B.” Turns out I had unknowingly enabled smooth selection mode, which made the transformation affect the entire shape instead of the specific section I wanted.
During the process, I came across another confusing situation while rendering the turntable. I could not understand why the chair in my scene was spinning at an unusually high speed, almost as if it was about to launch into space, whereas my lecturer’s version rotated at a normal pace. I kept wondering what went wrong until I decided to ask GPT for help.
That was when I found out that the speed could actually be adjusted in the Animation → Render Turntable → Playblast settings. Realising this made me laugh because the problem turned out to be so simple.
As for this part, I could not figure out why the base of my chess piece always appeared tilted. From the front view, it looked perfectly fine, so I did not notice the issue at first. Later, I realised that when building the model, it is important to constantly check its orientation and alignment from different angles.
.jpeg)
Otherwise, it would end up like the example shown below. I actually had to redo it three times before finally identifying the problem.
The following section shows the final outcome.
For Exercise 2
We were asked to design and model our own original chess set in 3D. The set needed to include all six standard pieces (king, queen, bishop, knight, rook, and pawn) reimagined using a unique and consistent theme, like sci-fi, fantasy, minimalism, or anything creative.
The goal was to explore shape, symbolism, and style while making sure all the pieces looked like they belonged together. Once modeled, each piece had to be rendered from four angles (front, side, top, and isometric) using simple lighting, along with three playblast videos: one in wireframe, one shaded, and one with wireframe overlay.
For this assignment, there are not many screenshots of the process because I often forgot to capture them. Once I started working, I became very focused, which caused me to miss recording many steps. Most of the time, I only remembered to take screenshots when encountering a problem, using them as reminders to avoid making the same mistake again. This was an oversight on my part.
For this part, my initial idea was to create a distorted chess design. However, after following a YouTube tutorial, the result still did not achieve the effect I had in mind. Therefore, I switched to a different style and design, which was also distorted. At this stage, my foundation is still not very stable, but in the future, I will continue to practice until I am able to achieve the desired result for any model.
The following section shows the final outcome.
Assignment 1
For this assignment, students must create a 3D model of a complete washroom environment using Autodesk Maya only. The goal is to demonstrate technical skill in modeling realistic restroom elements, with attention to scale, proportion, placement, and scene layout. Before modeling, students must gather reference images and compile a mood board.
In this part, when creating the bathroom window, the plan was to make an opening in the wall. I used Combine and Booleans to cut out the shape, but the result turned out unexpectedly odd. When pressing 3 for smooth preview, the edges appeared broken and looked very unattractive.
This issue happened because Boolean operations in Maya can sometimes create messy or non-uniform topology, especially with N-gons or stretched faces. A solution is to first clean up the geometry after using Booleans.
This can be done by:
- Deleting History – Edit → Delete by Type → History to remove unnecessary construction data.
- Using Cleanup Tool – Mesh → Cleanup to remove lamina faces, non-manifold geometry, and stray vertices.
- Manually Adding Edge Loops – Mesh Tools → Insert Edge Loop to support the smooth preview by maintaining the shape and preventing distortion.
- Merging Vertices – Edit Mesh → Merge to ensure there are no loose or overlapping points.
I solved it by cleaning up the topology after the Boolean cut, then manually adding supporting edge loops around the window frame. This kept the edges sharp and smooth when pressing 3, giving a clean and natural transition without broken lines.
.jpeg)
Next, I moved on to rendering the bathroom, but during the preview, the Maya light guide lines kept appearing and made the scene look distracting. Later, this issue was resolved by following the lectures' advice, I rendered the animation into 120 individual images and then used After Effects to sequence them into a video. This way, the final output had no light guide lines, and the visuals looked much cleaner and smoother.
The following section shows the final outcome.
For Assignment 2
We were tasked with designing and modeling a detailed sci-fi-inspired hard surface 3D prop or machine using Autodesk Maya. The model could be anything from a weapon, device, or vehicle ~ like a blaster, mech arm, drone, or mini robot as long as it followed a sci-fi concept. We had to come up with the idea ourselves, sketch or plan the design, and then build it in 3D using proper modeling techniques such as beveling, chamfering, extrusions, Boolean operations, and maintaining clean edge flow and topology.
At this stage, after finishing the entire knife model, I realized that the part I made was positioned on the side view rather than the front. When I tried to move the knife, it shifted out of place and even distorted its shape. At first, I thought my hours of work on the knife were about to be ruined.
Later, I solved the problem by using Maya’s “Center Pivot” function along with adjusting the Move Tool’s axis orientation to World mode. This allowed me to realign the model properly without distorting it, and the knife stayed in the correct position.
I hereby declare that, in the entire Maya modeling process, the most difficult and troublesome part is definitely UV mapping. It is something I truly could not grasp, no matter how many times I tried, it never turned out right, which was extremely frustrating.
Moving forward, I need to put more effort into this area by continuing to learn how to work with UVs and rewatching the teacher’s tutorial multiple times for better understanding.
.jpeg)
The following section shows the final outcome.
The final project
Focuses on designing an original 3D human-like robot using Autodesk Maya. The robot must have human features such as two arms, two legs, and an overall humanoid structure. Designs resembling drones or generic machines are not allowed. Students are expected to research references using online platforms, organize a moodboard, and model the robot based on a clear purpose such as a rescue bot, military bot, or service droid.
When creating this robot, the part that troubled me the most was the head design. My original head model felt completely mismatched with the body, so I ended up making several versions before finally creating one that suited it better. The head I designed has a relatively more feminine style. I also added some detailed modeling work to the body, making frequent use of Maya’s Extract function.
.jpeg)
As for this part, it was once again a lighting issue. I wasn’t sure whether it was due to my chosen colors or the environment lighting settings, but the robot’s full body color was never displayed correctly either parts of it weren’t lit, or the colors shifted unexpectedly. Eventually, I solved this problem by adjusting the light intensity and positioning, as well as fine-tuning the environment light settings in Maya to achieve a more balanced and consistent illumination.
.jpeg)
During the final render of this robot, things went wrong, the screen went black, and all the images I had spent three hours exporting were completely ruined. With no other choice, I resolved the issue by lowering the render resolution and breaking the render into smaller batches, then re-exporting the images. This approach allowed me to successfully complete and submit the final render turntable.
.jpeg)
The following section shows the final outcome.
Feedbacks
EXERCISE 1 (Foundations of 3D Modeling in Primitive Object Construction)
: During the modeling process in Maya, the lecturer emphasized that keeping edge loops and supporting lines simple is important for clean and efficient 3D models. Overcomplicated geometry can cause issues during texturing and rendering. Additionally, we were encouraged to familiarize ourselves with Maya’s shortcuts, as memorizing them can significantly speed up the workflow and improve productivity.
EXERCISE 2 (Design Own Chess 3D Modeling Exploration)
: During the review of the final render, the lecturer pointed out that some models contained overly complex edge loops and broken lines. It’s important to check the mesh structure thoroughly before rendering to avoid such issues. A reminder was also given to submit the final rendered output properly and on time.
ASSIGNMENT 1 (Washroom/Toilet 3D Modeling)
: The lecturer commented that the overall bathroom model was acceptable, but noted that the scene felt a bit empty. We were advised to avoid leaving too many undefined or blank areas, and to try to fill the space more effectively with supporting elements to enhance realism. Additionally, a tip was given to press “3” in Maya to preview the smooth mode. If the model holds its form without collapsing or deforming, it indicates that the model has a solid and well-structured geometry.
ASSIGNMENT 2 (Hard Surface Modeling-Sci-Fi Prop or Machine Design)
: The lecturer advised that the chosen weapon design (a bow) might be too complex for our current skill level. Instead, it was recommended to create a simpler prop, such as a small knife. The focus should be on clean and tidy edge flow, rather than complexity. Since this project is part of our practice, it's more important to build a solid foundation than to attempt overly advanced designs.
FINAL PROJECT (3D Human like Robot Design )
: The lecturer pointed out that the current progress is not ideal and suggested prioritizing the completion of the base form of the humanoid robot before moving on to finer details. Establishing a strong overall structure is essential. It was also mentioned that if the model can eventually reach a level similar to designs like Transformers or Gundam, it would reflect a solid foundational understanding of 3D modeling.
Reflection
Experience
This 3D modeling module has been full of challenges and little breakthroughs. From making simple objects to creating a sci-fi prop and a humanoid robot, each project tested different skills and pushed me to think more carefully about the way I work. There were plenty of moments where things went wrong, like shapes losing their form, lights not showing properly, or Boolean cuts breaking the model. Each time, I managed to find a solution, often with the help of clear explanations in class. The way the lessons were taught step by step made it easier to fix problems without feeling lost, and it also gave me more confidence to keep improving. Over time, I realized that 3D modeling requires not just technical skills but also patience, precision, and the willingness to rework things until they feel right.
Observation
One thing I noticed throughout the module is how important it is to keep the model clean and organized. Proper edge loops, simple geometry, and the right pivot points can save a lot of trouble later. I also learned that checking a model from only one angle is never enough, something that looks fine in the front view can look completely wrong from the side or top. The workflow becomes much smoother when using Maya shortcuts, and the lecturer’s habit of pointing out these small but useful tips really sped up my progress. The process is not just about making something look good on the surface; the hidden structure needs to be solid enough to handle texturing, animation, and rendering without falling apart.
Finding
The biggest thing I took away from this module is that a strong foundation is far more important than making a complicated design. Trying to do something advanced without the right skills usually creates more problems than progress. Planning ahead, keeping the mesh clean, and constantly checking the model from different views make the work much easier. UV mapping is still my biggest struggle, but I now understand how much it can affect the final render. Lighting also turned out to be more important than I thought. It is not just about making the model visible but to changes the mood, highlights the details, and gives depth to the whole scene. Thanks to the way the lecturer explained and demonstrated each step in detail, I was able to slowly improve in these areas, even when the learning curve felt steep.
.jpeg){kind=link}
.jpeg){kind=link}
Comments
Post a Comment