2021 Goals: A year in Review

This year I set out to push the boundaries of my 3D ability. I set challenges and goals to aid with getting myself out of my comfort zone and into growing into the designer that I want to be. In some respects, I have smashed my expectations of what I could achieve and other ways I fell short. If you are here reading this thank you, and welcome to my review of my ‘2021 Goals’.

Mando

2021 Goals

The goals I set myself for 2021 were as follows:

  • 1000 3D Model Downloads
  • 15 New Designs
  • Full Mandalorian Armour – designed and printed. (Blender)
  • Infinity Gauntlet (Printed)
  • One Motorized Iron Man Helmet

Let’s see how I did, shall we?

Results

2021 GoalsResults
1000 3D Model Downloads 7451
15 New Designs27
Full Mandalorian Armour – designed and printed. (Blender)Partly Designed
Infinity Gauntlet (Printed)Not Started
One Motorized Iron Man HelmetNot Finished

All of these goals were supervised by my friend Andre (The 3D Smith), he kept the pressure on when I was falling behind with my goals. Having an individual to keep you accountable really helps. you can discuss progress and what your next move should be. consider this if set yourself goals, it can really make all of the difference towards the end.


Looking for a new community of 3D printing and 3D modelling creators, check out our Discord! Click the image below.

3D DISTILLERY

Model Downloads

The one number that really stands out is the number of model downloads. I set the challenge of 1000 downloads in 2021. This, I thought, was a fair and achievable number over the course of the year, I never thought I would get over 2000 let alone the 7451 that it currently stands at. I really was shocked about that number of downloads and across all of the platforms, it was crazy! I am going to have to set a bigger challenge for 2022 I think. Over 10k?

Thank you to everyone this year who has downloaded and printed my design. I hope they actually turned out to be what you wanted them to be.

New Designs

Next on the list was the number of new designs I wanted to make this year. I thought at least 1 per month was a good choice, so 15 was the target for the year. Currently, the number is at 27 new models created, nearly double my original target. Hard work really does pay off, I don’t know what my target will be for next year, maybe double?

The Mandalorian Armour

Ahh, The Mandalorian armour. What a beauty of a show and project this was. This was my main project for the year. I wanted to learn Blender and then use that to design and make my very own Mandalorian armour. Now blender is a beast and where I thought I had progressed the armour to a good enough point to be printed, I wasn’t happy with how it turned out. so I went back and practised some smaller models first to get better at using the package. Working on small and easily achievable models can really speed your process up and you will improve at using the software.

From there I started to redesign parts of the files. The second coming of the armour is going much better and is being used on a top-secret project as well. I do think I misjudged how much I needed to learn and become proficient at blender before undertaking the Mandalorian armour. But 2022 is looking very promising to finish it off.

Infinity Gauntlet

The infinity gauntlet never even got started. I had the files purchased and was about to print it around the time I got comfortable using Blender. But I didn’t print it. My reason was …….. I wanted to print my own design instead of someone else’s. There is nothing wrong with the files I purchased. I just want to print my own design. Which I think every designer does at a point, I look at a prop and think, I want to model that, I want to be able to model that.

Designing the Infinity Gauntlet means I can bring you guys a new model next year. woohoo! I might add this to the 2022 model list., it all depends if I think I can achieve the intricate detail of the gauntlet in the next year.

Motorized Iron Man Helmet.

The motorized Iron Man helmet really kicked my ass this year. The generic ”multi helmet kit” that I was used to creating the piece was not a one size fits all model. so I struggled for days on end to try and make the kit fit the helmet with no success. To be fair, I don’t think it was the kits fault, the helmet had no flat internal spaces and nothing sat right even after I modded the helmet. All of the arms were clunky and bent when I was getting close, so I dropped the project until I can figure out what to do with it. I might have to design my own helmet from scratch with its own opening mechanism this year, let’s wait and see.

Conclusion

Ultimately after everything that has happened this year, I am happy with the targets I have met. Yes, I didn’t reach some of my targets at all, but the ones I did, I smashed. Hopefully next year I will be able to do the same for all of my goals. I am setting myself even bigger and more demanding goals for next year, so why don’t you follow along on my journey eh?

Thank you again for reading, keep an eye on this space for new posts and models coming to you in 2022.

What did you think of my 2021? was it challenging? leave a comment below and tell me. Thanks again.

Find me on Instagram
Support me on Patreon
Watch me on Youtube
My Linktree
Donations: Buy Me A Coffee

Prop Models Available here: Etsy Store

Estikuma

Freelance designer & Mechanical Engineer.
Over Engineering Prop Designer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *