Week 1 - Initial Blender Practice

It's been a really long time since I've used Blender for anything 3D Modelling related, so it was interesting getting back into it. (I think the last time I used it was when I was like 11 years old for designing a game in Blender's old game engine!)

As a starting point for re-learning how the interface works and how to create a simple 3D model from beginning to end, I followed Brackey's short tutorial series (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPV2KyIb3jR7NpThqBF78byFOrzPKiLmb). In following the tutorial I ended up creating a low-poly barrel model similar to the one seen in the videos, however I ran into an issue somewhere along the line which made the texturing part (including applying seams and UV unwrapping) difficult. So the best I can show for this is the finished model with a basic material applied to the faces. 

Following this tutorial, I began work on my own idea for a 3D model, which was based on the tourist attraction in Penguin, Tasmania - "The Big Penguin". This process went a lot more smoothly than the barrel, probably because I had warmed up to 3D modelling once again. As for the model itself, while I did try to get it as close as possible to the real thing, it does look slightly off. Here's a side-by-side comparison showing my model and its real life counterpart.

Hopefully I'll improve as a 3D modeller over the course of the semester, but I'm pretty proud of this work as a starting point.