Where to begin…
This project was challenging. It was essentially what 3D modeling and Maya are all about. The goal was to model about 5-6 objects in such a way that when rendered, would be indistinguishable from a photograph. Despite this, the real challenge was not perfection— after all, it would no longer be a model. Rather the “sleeper” objectives were time management and work flow. These two things were just as critical, if not more critical than figuring out how much geometry to input into a model.
In completing those objectives, I think I think I accomplished them. I completed my models in a reasonable amount of time (1-2 objects per working session), finishing before the given deadline. However, I encountered a major problem.
Rendering.
This was where things got (and continue to get) dicey. In short: my project refused to render. It absolutely would not. I attempted on many different occasions, at different time, on different computers; one day I rendered for 7 hours and 45 minutes and it still would not finish. It was almost done but that doesn’t cut it.
To try and balance the scales, I cut some items from my master scene, since a lot of my objects were reflective objects. I lowered the intensity of my lighting AND cut the pixel height and width of my image from 6000 x 4000 to 2000 x 3000. The result?
One completed rendered image. It took 56 hours, 6 minutes and 53 seconds. A little under 2 days. To say I was frustrated, would be an understatement. This ONE image rendered over an entire weekend and change.
The project requires four rendered images from four different camera angles. I have already started rendering another image but if history tells me anything, it won’t be complete for the next couple of days.
Speaking with peers in my class this semester, it appears I’m the only one with this issue. After some research, I’m still not sure why. Maybe I need to cut out some more objects from my master scene or change the materials applied to them. That being said, I will still render the other 3 images and update this post as they finish.
In the end, I am disappointed. Like everyone else, I worked hard on this project — my first modeling project and I was excited to see how I fared in the modeling department. It was the one I was most interested when I signed up for this class. After all this, I learned I am not a modeler. As art becomes more digital and we all sit and click on our computers, I thought I’d feel a little more at home in the world of meticulous modeling but I was wrong. I don’t hate it but I just don’t particularly enjoy it in the same way I did while animating the Mondrianimation.
All that said, here is the one rendered image I was able to recover in this endeavor. The view is from my firs camera. Despite all the issues, I’m satisfied with how it turned out and I’m excited to see the other rendered angles.
Should they ever actually render.
