Reverse Engineered Project

Designing a Pencil Sharpener

Designing the Pencil Sharpener:

This was our first "major" project in the class. At this point in the semester, we had pretty much finished with the homework assignments and were moving to the "projects" section of the course. I was still trying to catch up with the homework assignments, so I procrastinated on this project. I was pretty unsure of what object I wanted to model, but then went back to an original idea of just modeling a pencil sharpener. I remember going to the library and trying to work on the PC computer there, but I prefer the Macs a lot more. I got out my sketchbook and started drawing the basic designs of the sharpener. I then extruded the curves until the shape of the sharpener came to life. From there I designed the top as well as the little sharpener up under the lid. Getting the angle of the sharpener correct was definitely a challenge for me. I also had trouble with the materials and finding the right shade of orange/pink. I added all the small details like the tiny numbers on the bottom of the sharpener as well as on the inside of the lid. I also added a tiny little bump on the bottom part of the sharpener. I could have just skipped all the tiny details, but I wanted to include them to make it look as realistic as possible. 

What Could I Have Done Better?

I could have made the rendering photos a lot nicer, as well as the angles the photos were taken at. I never seemed to add enough photos with each project, and with this project I was just learning how to actually model an object without step by step instructions on how to do so. I feel as though I could have made the color of the sharpener more closely related to the actual model as well. 

Aspects of the Project I was Happy With:

I was happy with how this was the first project turned out. I'm glad my friend Sabrina from the class could help me a little and guide me with some things like how to do the materials. I was happy with how my presentation went also. I felt as though I had kinda caught up with the class and really felt proud of my work. 

What Would I do Differently in the Future?

In the future, I would not procrastinate as much as I did. I was too busy trying to focus on finishing the homework that I left the project until last minute. I would also take more pictures as well as more angles too. 

What did I Learn from the Project?
From this project I learned how to utilize materials, as well as make backgrounds. I had never done this before so I needed a little help from a friend. I learned that it's okay to ask for help and not suffer in silence. I learned how to use my creative skills to model an object and not use a list of instructions.