Steadfast - Final render of 2023 and year in review

[Dr. Nexil 1.4k]

"Steadfast"

Hello! This is going to be a bit of a lengthy post, so strap in.

My name is Dr. Nexil, some of you may recall seeing me around on these forums (mostly in this subforum) but so many of the people I used to know on this site have moved on to other platforms, programs, or even dropped Mine-imator completely. It's been pretty strange!

While MI 2.0 was in pre-release development I wanted to try and improve and invigorate myself in the program again after several years where I frequently used the software but rarely made anything I felt like posting. Wow, how far MI has come from when I began using it 9 years ago!

Back in 2018 I started making more renders/wallpapers than animations as Mine-imator became more of a hobby instead of what I spent all my free time on. Like many other users, I grew up. The amount of stuff I created slowly waned until around late 2020 when I basically stopped posting.

Then, MI 2.0 was announced and I decided it was time for me to really dig in again and see what I could make with more powerful tools and an older mindset. There's one animation of mine that I want to remake, and I figured the perfect way to begin honing my skills was to restart where I left off: Wallpapers. I knew I wouldn't get far if I didn't set a goal, so after a successful creation last December I made it my goal in 2023 to make one wallpaper a month for one year.

That brings us to today, December of 2023 and 12 (technically 13) wallpapers later. I'd like to delve into each one briefly and share some notes and behind the scenes about them now that time has passed. I'll also give a little rating mostly for myself based on how I feel about them in retrospect. On with the show:

Spoiler

December 25, 2022:

Spoiler

"Pleasant Present"

This render started out as a test to see what I could do with Mine-imator's new features. I particularly like the lighting in this with the pbr textures. The vex texture and model had recently been revamped and I thought it would be sweet to see an interaction with the similar looking allay.

Retrospect score: 9/10 - Great lighting and scene, very inspired. I'm very happy with this one.

January 25, 2023

Spoiler

"Woodland Walk"

The first wallpaper after I made my goal for the year. This one was actually in the works for a few months, but I just was never satisfied with it until putting on the shelf for a few weeks and when I got back to it I was so pleased with the result!

Retrospect score: 9/10 - I'm really happy with how the fireflies and the sky turned out, and the lantern I made for this render was a ton of fun to make.

February 14, 2023

Spoiler

"Happy Valentine's Day"

This one's alright, but I ended up refining the model for my OC Cassiopeia "Cass" on the left here that I ended up not liking the look in this render very much.

Retrospect score: 7/10 - The lighting could be better, and I can't help but not like Cass's model now.

March 17, 2023

Spoiler

 

"Dancing"

This is the new model I made for my OC Cass that I like so much more than the last month's render. I referenced Bluey for the dancing pose: 

 

I also loved this render so much that I made an animated gif for it!

Retrospect score: 9/10 - The lighting still could use some improvements but I just loved the scene and models.

April 21, 2023

Spoiler

"When did everybody leave?"

Whew... This one I made to represent the feeling I felt after realizing most of the people and friends I met through Mine-imator had grown up and moved on. Especially with how little activity this forum gets as compared to a few years ago.

Retrospect score: 9.5/10 - This was one of the few times I really felt like I got everything right to express a feeling and it was a good outlet. Plus I'm glad I was able to achieve the atmosphere in the scene.

May 20, 2023

Spoiler

"Cautious Encounter"

I wanted to show the custom models I made for Steve and mostly Alex, and I thought this scene was pretty funny.

Retrospect score: 9/10 - I'm really proud of the models and the fact that I was able to make a scene that told a story. 

June 29, 2023

Spoiler

"Alarming Ascent"

This is a wallpaper I had in the works before pre-5 of MI 2.0 released and had been shelved for months. I had run out of time this month for a render since I took a trip to Oregon for 2 weeks! So I needed to get something done quickly and so I brought this project back up and finished it finally.

Retrospect score: 8/10 - Not as refined since it was rushed a bit. The sky is bland and the lighting could be better, but I think the story in the scene is fun.

July 29, 2023

Spoiler

"Peaceful Ponder"

This is my favorite of the whole bunch. I knew I wanted to make a render with rain and I thought this would be perfect. I had also updated my enderman OC Dr. Nexil model a bit.

Retrospect score: 10/10 - I don't know what I'd change if I had to.

August 31, 2023

Spoiler

"Fundamentally Familiar"

I cut this one really close simply due to procrastination. I think the implied story is good but I needed to take a lot more time making this render better. It's just not very interesting as it is.

Retrospect score: 6/10 - I was pretty disappointed with this one. I rushed it and it needed more time to cook. The lighting needs to be better and the whole scene needs to be rearranged to be more interesting.

September 24, 2023

Spoiler

"Ten Years"

This wallpaper is very special to me. This is commemorating the 10 year anniversary of me playing Minecraft. I wrote a bit more on the original post, but on the left is my first skin and the house is my first house from my first world.

Retrospect score 9/10 - Not quite sure what to improve, but this was the best I could come up with. Check out a version of this render I was considering instead:

October 31, 2023

Spoiler

"An October Outing"

Besides being very similar in concept to the February wallpaper, I'm pretty happy with this render. I wanted to make a render this month with these 2 OC's I made a few years ago and revamped.

Retrospect score: 8/10 - There's more tweaks to the lighting I'm sure I could do, but I'm proud of the posing I got with the characters. Here's those 2 OC's individual renders I never posted here:

Melon "Melony" Vine:

Harvest "Harvey" Patch:

November 30, 2023

Spoiler

"Uh oh"

Here's another example of bland due to procrastination. I really liked this idea in concept but it just didn't turn out how I wanted. I'm sure in a few months I'll have an "Ah ha!" moment and tackle this project again.

Retrospect score: 4/10 - The lowest ranking even though it's one of the more recent, this project just struggled to get off the ground. It lacks interesting elements and I know I can do better. Here's an earlier (and maybe better?) version:

 

Final thoughts:

Overall, 2023 was a success in my book since I was able to produce a new wallpaper consistently even if the quality wasn't consistent. What I've learned after looking through all these is that I need to work on my lighting and visual storytelling more.

The future:

I'll be slowly chipping away at that previously mentioned animation, but this is the end of my "frequent" posts. I've become so much more busy that I realized I would when I was a kid just starting out making simple, cringy Minecraft animations after school. I'll still stop in but probably much less than I used to.

"Steadfast" is what I named this month's wallpaper, and it's the feeling I have looking forward. The unbridled enthusiasm from years ago has gone, but left behind is the steady passion for this blocky medium.

I'd like to give a warm thank you to everyone on these forums. From the old members who made my childhood, to the new members who upvote or comment on my posts, thank you.

Happy New Year!

[Jeo_Swift 354]

Loved every single one of your wallpapers, each one of them looks like it has been refined to the very detail.

 

I wish u the best in your future endeavours.