We present you Antonia, a student, a front-end developer and a graduate of M3DS Academy of 3D and Game Design. She is completely enamored of the Harry Potter world, magical worlds, movies, comics, games, books, and everything the fantasy ignites, and she tells us her story.
Even when she was younger, fascinated by magic, visual effects, and CGI characters, it has fueled her curiosity about the process of their realization, so Antonia has her first introduction to 3D modeling at the Faculty of Computer Animation. Professors Dr. Dragan Mihajlov and Assistant Professor Boban Joksimoski, through a series of entertaining lectures, have succeeded in showing the beauty of the 3D world, or as Antonia puts it, "the first signs of magic in her veins."
Quite a coincidence with the IT Novum event in 2017 and the 3D modeling competition, including 4 hours of Maya programming and 4 hours of the game, according to her, "like a letter from Hogwarts I never received." An unforgettable day, surrounded by enthusiasts and positive people to learn something new, filled with creative ideas, fun, and inexhaustible imagination of each team member, resulted in Antonia's team first place, as well as a well-deserved M3DS Scholarship Award.
Antonia (left) with her winning team.
"The same day, I started studying at M3DS was the same day I started working as a front-end developer. I knew it was going to be tough, but still, both are things I love and find, even though they may have nothing in common other than creativity, so I was determined to find a way for both. As someone who spent many hours a day coding, I thought I was too overwhelmed to learn 3D modeling, but once I started making the first models, I realized that time flies and fatigue is forgotten when it comes to doing anything you love. I was introduced to new things from the 3D world, and I felt, and still do, moments like Harry Potter when he first arrived in Hogwarts. '" Antonia says.
Sometimes missed lectures at M3DS were unavoidable due to many faculty and work commitments, but understanding instructors always helped to keep up with other students, allowing them to go with another group or individually explain what they had missed.
The only problem Antonia encountered was only the housewives, who did not always finish on time, due to many obligations, but she still did her best to make her favorite character in the animated film, Toothless. The model she modeled, sculpted, and rendered in just a few weeks, until the last day of the deadline, is the reason for her successful graduation from the Academic Year.
Antonia at the Autodesk Certificate Award Ceremony
"When I got my degree, it was like getting my first Firebolt broom, and it got me even more motivated to finish my portfolio and never give up on my dreams. I would like to thank Stefan, the founder of M3DS, for being an inexhaustible source of inspiration and for never giving up on me, even when I begged him not to teach me the Zbrush program and believed in my potential and would I find myself in a program that I couldn't think of. It is the program that has made Toothless a reality."
Toothless,Antonia's final 3D model
Antonia warmly recommends all those interested in the 3D world and the game world to take that first step, switch from muggles to witches/wizards, and discover this magical world where they will be surrounded by over-talented, positive and friendly people with the same interests, and at the same time helping them find their place in the magical world, that is, the 3D world.
For the foreseeable future, Antonia aims to fashion a myriad of other characters that she has grown up with or is now discovering, with whom she is eager to begin the path of their creation and revival. "For the moment when Toothless was finished, and the moment I held the 3D model in my hand, it's unforgettable and unrealistic. And when my wishes are fulfilled, then I would definitely like to work in freelance because this is not a job but a vacation and a pleasure while giving life to one's imagination."
Congrats Antonia! We hope you continue to make us proud of your successes!