FORM C

Senior Project Reflection - Basis for PPT and Presentation Speech

Student Name ___Jenifer Huerta Romero______________
Core Advisor Signature ___________________________
Senior Project Coach Signature _____________________

All responses must be typed. Use space as necessary to make 2 paragraphs per question minimum
(200-250 words) *Highlight your answer, Word top of screen, go TOOLS, word count.

Reasons for Project Selection

IparticipatedintheMaya3DModelingworkshopformyseniorprojectbecauseitwillhelpgive
metheexperiencerequiredformychosencareerpath.Iplanonbecomingafreelancer
MultimediaArtist,workingoncreativeworksondifferentmediumsasIgetemployedor
commissionedforthem.Ijoinedthisworkshopbecauseitwouldhelpmewithmygoal,asit
offeredexperiencewith3Dmodelingandanimation.Ihavewantedacareerinthedigitalarts
eversinceIwas12yearsold.Itwasalsotheonlyworkshopmycoreofferedthatwasappeared
tooffermethebestknowledgeformypossiblefuture.

Mentor Role
TheMaya3DModelingworkshopsmentorwasamannamedJimEvans.Hisroleinthe
workshopwastoexplainthegeneralcourseandseethestudentsthroughit.Heintroducedusto
AutodesksMaya,a3Dmodelingandanimationprogram.Healsotaughtthestudentsthe
historyandrulesofanimation,alongwithhowIndiedevelopmentledtoeverydaypeople
creatingfamousgamesfromhome.
HeledusalongtolearnthebasicsofshapecreatingandanimationonMaya,eventuallyleading
ustoablendshapesandwalkingcycleprojectsinwhichwehadtoturnintoJimforworkshop
credit.Hewalkedusthrougheverythingwedidstepbystep,andheconstantlycheckedupon
everyindividualstudenttoseeourprogress,andifweneededhelporgotlost.

Senior Last Name _______________

FORM C

Senior Project Detailed Description of the Process and Time Spent

Formysenior/juniorprojectIparticipatedintheMultimediaEntertainmentworkshopat
WindsorHighSchool.ThisprojecttookplaceonaseriesofWednesdayafternoons,beginning
inOctober.MymentorwasJimEvans,aprofessionalcharacterandgamedesigner.Ilearned
severalaspectsoftheMayasoftwarecharactersketching.
ThisworkshopwasonWednesdays,from46pm,beginninginOctober.Webeganthe
workshopwithintroductions:Jim,thestudent,andaveryshortintrointoMaya.Wethen
discussedtherulesandhistoryofanimation.WelearnedthatWaltDisneywasaheavyinfluence
onanimation,helpingitgetthefamethatitdid.After,werecordedabasketballbouncingtohelp
createarealisticballbounceanimation.Ourtimewasthenspentworkingonblendshaping,
whereweimprintedtheshapesofsomeobjectsontoasingleobject.Thefinalthingwedidwas
workwiththeNormanrig,afreefordownload,premade,humanmodelusedforanimation
practices.WiththeNormanrig,weanimatedawalkcycle,realistically,tothebestofour
abilities.Icompletedall30hoursrequiredformyseniorprojectthankstoalltheworkwehadto
doinMaya.

Incidents of Challenge, Insight and Success

Outofallthethingswedidintheworkshop,themostchallengingthingwouldmostlikelybethe
walkcycle.IbelievethissobecauseIwantedthewalktobeasperfectaspossible,andthat
meant stressing over every little detail, every single change that happened whenever I moved
something even a millimeter. This, of course, meant that much time was spent perfecting a very
short animation. Out of the 30 hours spent on this project, the majority was spent on the walk
cycle, and that only totaled up to the final product be only seven seconds long. And that was for a
mediocrely-decent animation.
Insight on the project is that, as expected, it was difficult getting to the decent final products.
However, despite its difficulty, I still found the workshop fun and entertaining, and would gladly
continue with similar experiences in the future.
Successes in this workshop would be my timing. I was able to manage my time just fine in this
project, and was able to turn in all homework assignments in on time. And in that timeframe, I
managed to turn in decent blendshapes and a walk cycle.

Senior Last Name _______________

FORM C

Personal Growth/Skills Acquired/Lessons Learned

Somepersonalgrowth,Ithink,isthatIhavegrownfonderofMayaasIbecomemore
knowledgeablewithit.Ihavealwaysbeeninterestedinthedigitalarts,anditappearsthat3Dand
realisticareitsfuture,whichmustmeanthatIamheadingintherightdirection.WhileIadmit
that3Danimationismoredifficultthantraditional2Danimationduetothefactthatyouneedto
beawareofeverythingina360angle,ratherthanaflatsurface,Ifeelasthoughthefinalproduct
willalwaysbeworthit.
Alessonlearnedbyanyonewithevenalittleexperienceinanyaspectofthearts,isthatthisisnot
asimpleprocess.Anditisneveraneasyone.Anyprocessisnotjustanideathatsuddenlycomes
tolife.Thereisalwaysbrainstorming,storyboarding,planning,preparing,setbacks,andsuch.
Youneedtothinkofalmostanythingandeverything,becauseitspossiblethatthatthesmallest
detailscanmakeorbreakyourproject.Andallofthisplanningandcreatingrequiresalotof
somethingveryimportantforanycareer:time.Allofthisprocessistimeconsuming,andyou
maynotalwaysbegivenalotoftime.Thisiswhytimemanagementisveryimportant.

Overall Conclusion
Toconclude,IamverygladthatIparticipatedinthisworkshopformyseniorproject.Iamnow
moreexperiencedwithMaya,whichbodeswellforme.Thisshallmostdefinitelybebeneficial
formycareerchoice.IwouldalsostronglyrecommendfutureworkshopswithJimEvansfor
futureArtestudentsfortheirjunior/seniorproject,whoareinterestedinthevisualdigitalarts.
BoththeMaya3Dmodelingworkshop,andtheMultimediaEntertainmentworkshop,offera
finelessonandexperience.
IamalsogladthatIparticipatedintheprojectformyseniorprojectbecauseofwhatIgotoutof
it.Thefinalproductsofboththeblendshapes,andthewalkcycle,willbothproveuseful.They
willmakefineadditionstocurrentandfutureartisticportfolios.Andthankstothisworkshop,I
havedownloadedtheprogramathome,andwillcontinuetouseit.Iplanonimprovingtheskills
Icurrentlyhave,andhopefully,gainnewones,beforecollege.

Senior Last Name _______________

FORM C