Camera Model

Here is a model of a simple camera that I made on Maya.

Sword Update

When I started to model the handle part of the sword I realised that I had made a few mistakes with the blade so I could not make the handle connect to it well. This meant that I had to go in and correct these mistakes before I could proceed hence why there is not that much progress from last week. I did however manage to start modelling part of handle and this has gave me a good start for making the rest of the pieces that connect on to it. 

Modelling Toolkit

The modelling toolkit is a very useful way of accessing all the basic tools for poly modelling. This will be useful throughout the modelling process as it is one area where the common tools are. Some of the most important parts about the modelling toolkit it that it has the selection tools as well as the ability to edit symmetry and soft selection.
I had some challenges trying to figure out how soft selection worked and the benefit of it but after finding out how to use it I can see why it will be beneficial to modelling. I also did not realize that you could edit symmetry in the toolkit or choose which selection tool you were on; face selection, object selection etc. and I feel that this will now make modelling easier and quicker for me.
Concerning how well I learned when doing this project I would say around 70% as I feel that I learned a lot but most of it I already knew, I just didn't realize it was in the modelling tool kit.

Basic Poly Modelling - Screw Tutorial

3 Rules to Spark Learning

Rule #1 - Curiosity comes first
      "Questions can be windows to great instruction, but not the other way around."
Rule #2 - Embrace the mess
      "Trial and error can still be an informal part of what we do every single day"
Rule #3 - Practise reflection
      "What we do is important. It deserves our care, but it also deserves our revision."

Content that cultivates curiosity and inquiry can result in more meaning to students lives and can spark their imagination.

Object Modeling Start

I started to model the blade of the sword that I chose last week. Even though it might not look like much it took me a long time to get the shape and form correct.

3 Ways to Teach

The 3 ways to teach can be seen as;
- Fail
- Process
- Learn from

or

- Experiential learning
- Student voice
- Embracing failure

She mentions that she changed her teaching methods which made students learn for themselves as she didn't tell them what to do but gave them problems instead which resulted in a successful learning experience. She says as a teacher you have to be comfortable with children failing instead of having an infatuation of the one right answer system. The wrong thing to do is to tell them to never be wrong and to always tell them the correct answer as this results in them not learning. To successfully learn failure must be apart of the process.

The Mind of a Master Procrastinator

He mentions that both brains have a Rational Decision-Maker in them, but the procrastinator's brain also has an Instant Gratification Monkey. The Rational Decision-Maker will make the rational decision to do something productive but the Instant Gratification Monkey will become distracted and would prefer to live in the present which generally focuses on a easy and fun life. Sometimes these overlap and it makes sense to be doing things that are easy and fun, like when you're having dinner or going to bed or enjoying well-earned leisure time. But other times, it makes much more sense to be doing things that are harder and less pleasant, for the sake of the big picture. And that's when we have a conflict. This leaves the procrastinator in this easy and fun place outside of the Makes Sense circle which he calls the Dark Playground, this is where leisure activities happen at times when leisure activities are not supposed to be happening. However the Instant Gratification Monkey has a guardian angel called the Panic Monster, who wakes up anytime a deadline gets too close or there's danger of public embarrassment, a career disaster or some other scary consequence.

The Panic Monster system for the two kinds of procrastination;

1) when they have deadlines
2) when you don't have deadlines but need to do hard work to achieve something or get things going for like a: career jump start, seeing family, exercise, taking care of health, working on relationships, getting out of relationships that are not working out.

With no deadlines the Panic Monster doesn't show up so the procrastination turns into long term procrastination. This can lead to long term unhappiness as it made procrastinators feel as though they are a spectator to their own lives as they could not start chasing their dreams.

I feel that in a way he is correct about people who procrastinate but I also feel that everyone procrastinates and people who only Rational Decision-Making minds do not exist. This is as everyone puts off some kind of work or gets distracted at some point, maybe not to the extent of a long term procrastinator but at least in the short term. 

What Motivates Me

The reason I chose to study Graphics for Games at The University of Bradford is because of my passion for video games. Ever since I was young I knew I wanted to study and work in a field I enjoyed. I would never be able to sit down in a boring office job 9 till 5 everyday for my whole life. The only problem I had was I didn't have anything that I was particularly interested in, especially something I could work a steady job with. Then I started to play video games a few years ago and that changed. Ever since then games have helped me through some very tough times, I've used them as a means to escape, for support, to bring me joy and countless other things. I know for certain that if it wasn't for games I wouldn't be the person I am today and I wouldn't of met some of the amazing people I have. I want to give back to the community and I feel that this is my main motivation.

I am also very interested in different cultures and backgrounds which I would love to research and spread among a wider audience using games. I feel that my interest in this and with others misconceptions about cultures makes me want to create content that is enjoyable but educational and eye opening. I think this is another part of my motivation as it is something I would love to accomplish in the future.

Object to model in Maya

For the model we will have to make in Maya I have decided to try and create the sword shown below. I decided on this object as it is from one of my favourite video games and it is one of the first swords from a game that I found interesting. I think this sword will be very challenging to make and to keep to the original design but I feel that it will be a good way to explore Maya as it is quite complex and has lot of parts.

Group Tutorial - Menu Shortcuts

In our group we figured out how to open and close the tool bar menus in Maya 2018. Thomas edited this to make it more entertaining as there wasn't much content to show. When we started this task none of us had much prior knowledge on how Maya works, especially when using the tool bar menus. However completing this task gave us a small inside on how the display screen on Maya works and how to tidy it up if we wish to. This could be improved by showing the menus opening and closing in a more easy to view way so the viewer can understand the commands by only watching the video once.