Final Maya Project- The Pen

For our final project in Maya, we were asked to make a pen. However, the catch was that we needed to model it after an existing pen and make it as close to the original as possible. For reference, this was the pen I used:

So, we had to use all that we had learned to create a pen. I started off by making a simple cylinder, then adding subdivisions. After that, I went into Vertex Mode and made it so parts of it were more pronounced while the end of it tapered downward. Then I separated the grip and the top of the pen from the rest of the pen. After that, I created the push thing at the top of the pen using another cylinder and Vertex Mode. I then created the clip by drawing a NURBS curve, creating a surface from it, and extruding that surface. My initial plan was to use lofting, but that didn't turn out like I wanted it to. Then, after making the main body of the pen translucent, I added the ink and its container using yet more cylinders, and finally, I made the point of the pen with another cylinder and Vertex Mode. I also added colors and textures to everything- the plastic-like Blinn for most of the pen, the matte Lambert for the grip, and the metallic Phong E for the point. After that, I added lights and a floor, and I was done!

This project was a very exhausting one, but it was quite simple once I got the hang of it. After all this time, I'm proud of how far I've come in Maya. I'm amazed with what I have been able to create in Maya recently, and though I prefer 2D animation, at least I know how to do 3D animation now.