Thesis Reflection
This year in thesis was a wild ride, so to help future thesis students here’s some things I learned over the course and tips/advice to help you through it as well.
INSPIRATION
Finding inspiration for your thesis project can either be a cake walk or one of the most challenges things in your academic career. For me personally, I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. I wanted to make a totally hand crafted 3D environment that told it’s own story. I also wanted to make a super complicated VR game attached to this premise, but we’ll talk about that later.
If you find yourself stuck on what to do, sit down and write a list of your skills and your interests. Find places where these two overlap and think of what you can create from that overlap. Do you like gardening? Are you good at graphic design? Maybe try making a super stylish gardening book with your own personal tips and tricks. Go nuts!! Thesis is the testing and proving ground for unique ideas you’ve maybe thought about in passing but never because, “I don’t have the time” or “I don’t know where to start.” Thesis gives you the time and you research where to start. Thesis projects really let you hone your skills while working on something creative.
Another big problem with thesis is getting grand ideas for what your project will be, then losing steam 1/2 through because you’re becoming overwhelmed. It’s a tough balance to think of an idea that inspires you AND is feasible. This is where we go back to what I mentioned about my project being a VR game. I have a basic knowledge of coding for games and never coded for VR, I don’t know how to make complex systems, and I don’t even know how to properly render assets into a games with lighting and such. Can you see where problem would start to arise. On top of all that I decided to learn THREE new softwares to enhance my 3D models. From the beginning I should of stepped back, looked in the mirror and said, “hey maybe this is too many new things to learn in too little time.” During my final semester I had to sit down and look at everything I’d done and go, “I don’t have enough time for all of it, what’s the core of my project,” and plan from there.
I realized what I wanted to do was improve my 3D modeling and texturing skills so I focused on that. No more VR, just learning those programs and working on making my models look really good. I had enough time left in the semester to do this because I took that step back. It’s better to have a small, finished project than a big unfinished one.
I think not overwhelming yourself and keeping a steady pace is the best way to keep putting in good, and consistent work for thesis.
FEEDBACK
Feedback is one of the most crucial parts of thesis and life. Your first idea is rarely your best and having other people to bounce your idea off of really helps you in the long term. Whenever you receive feedback, positive or negative, it’s important to really absorb it. Why didn’t they like this? Why did they like this? These are crucial things to know and help you smooth out rougher edges on your project. I’d even go so far as to say if someone give you generic or vague feedback, push them (gently) to really tell you what they think. Generic and neutral feedback doesn’t help you so it’s important to get into the nitty gritty of it. The same, however, goes for giving feedback. Make sure you really tell people what you think of something and go into detail when possible.
WORK HABITS
O boy, this entire section is gonna be a bit hypocritical with me writing it because my work habits for this project weren’t the best. I’d go as far as to say many of them were unhealthy and caused a lot of unnecessary stress. This sections is my advice to later generations so they don’t make the same mistakes I did. You can make a kick ass thesis project without running yourself ragged. Thesis is important, but so is your health and it should never fall second to thesis.
Get a physical piece of paper and write down EVERY objective for your project, what tools you’ll need, anything you’ll need to learn, etc. NO DETAIL IS TOO SMALL. Once you’ve collected this list, grab a physical calendar and write down what you’re doing and when. Don’t underestimate how long something will take, give yourself some breathing room. Chip away at it day by day, holding yourself to a higher standard. You really need a lot of self discipline for thesis and it’s important to build that up early. Treat the project like a job and you need to stay on time with things or else you’re going to have problems with your boss. Now things do happen and need to be changed around, if you’re feeling overwhelmed take a step back and reevaluate your project. Did you bite off more than you could chew? Did something personal happen and cause delays? How can you get back on track? Be tough but fair with yourself.
If you keep a steady pace from the start with all this in mind you’ll almost never have to lose sleep over worry and stress.
FINDING RESOURCES
Finding resources can be very easy or very hard depending on what your project is. The good news is we have the internet at our finger tips and it’s full of guides, tutorials, and knowledge about almost everything. If you need software, see if the school has a student subscription or if the software as a free trial period for students. Don’t be afraid to talk to professors about gettin certain software onto the school computers. Furthermore don’t be afraid to talk to other people about your project. I was lucky enough to have one of my friends in thesis and he knew a lot about 3D modeling and was able to get me outta some tough ruts. Your classmates and professors are super helpful resources and are happy to help if you’re struggling.
FROM STUDENT TO PROFESSIONAL
Unfortunately I don’t have much advice to offer here. I’m currently hunting for jobs in my field and haven’t found and yet or an internship but, fingers crossed, that’ll change soon. My IMM skillset is very art based and I’ve learned the hard way all the jobs are in California and I still have a bit of work to do before I can call my work industry level. Nothing crazy, but this summer is gonna be a lot of time refining the skills I learned this semester.
Find some people in your industry and see what they have to say about it, maybe even send them an email with some follow up questions. I’ve contacted someone in the industry and they gave me some things I needed to work on and tips for my specific field of 3D modeling.
Truth of the matter is some jobs are easier to find than other, but they’re out there!
