Though I had done drafting and CAD things before, it wasn't until 2019 that I started modeling characters. I wasn't that good at drawing either at the time. In 2020 I attempted my first model of my fursona Lacey. I knew it was bad but I didn't know quite what to do about that. I pushed through and finished the model anyways, did all the steps. It technically worked and I then had a decent roadmap in my head of the whole process and since then I decided to work on my models in such a way that meant I could test them early in the process and use those tests to inform my design and technical features. Working in 3D also helped my drawing skills which in turn helped my 3D skills. I've been studying for years, getting better and also getting faster. I'm so pleased with this latest version of my Lacey model and it's hard to see yet what I can improve on this one. It's easily my best 3D character work so far. There is still more to finish and polish but I wanted to share this and reflect a bit on how far I've come.
And I'm really glad I've kept all the old models, even the terrifying one from 2020 which was described to me as "a rabbit on crack" and "an NPC from runescape". While these things hurt to hear and certainly made me feel shame for wearing the avatar in VR, I didn't let that stop me. I didn't know where to go from there so I turned to a few artists who were very happy to offer feedback. Having good shapes was the name of the game for most of my issues. Rigging and skinning was really tough at the start as well but I eventually became really comfortable with that part.
