There are a ton of tutorials out there. How to model, texture, light, render. A lot of them are just a single piece in a giant puzzle that is 3d art. This blog series I will go through how I go from an empty scene to a final render. This isn’t step by step tutorial, but I encourage you to follow along with your own scene and ideas. I predominantly use Blender for my 3d work, but this series it doesn’t matter what software is used, the ideas, concepts and execution will roughly be the same. Without further ado let’s get started with the hardest part of all.
Inspiration – What do I do?!?!
There are millions of scenes that can be done. From single objects to vast vistas. The first thing to set before starting is what the goal is. Ask yourself, am I going for photo realistic, cartoon, painting, etc… Next is the focus of crafting the piece. Is one of the goals to learn new things, like hard surface modeling, attempting organic modeling, a mixture? Am I just going to practice something I’ve already done.
One of the best sources for inspiration is the internet, from Google image search, Flickr, photography sites, Youtube, it is easy to find tons of art and pictures. Don’t disregard playing, drawing stuff on paper. Because my drawing skills lack I just hop into Blender and randomly model objects, sometimes these turn into something, sometimes they get trashed. I may start modeling something that I like and slowly a scene will build around it.
The world around us also holds a lot of inspiration. Observer your surrounding and something may pop out. If you don’t have a good memory carry a notepad to write down or sketch out ideas, before they get lost.
What will I be doing for this series? Well while doing a Google image search for reference images of a “dark forest” I found this…
Inspiration – What do I do?!?!
There are millions of scenes that can be done. From single objects to vast vistas. The first thing to set before starting is what the goal is. Ask yourself, am I going for photo realistic, cartoon, painting, etc… Next is the focus of crafting the piece. Is one of the goals to learn new things, like hard surface modeling, attempting organic modeling, a mixture? Am I just going to practice something I’ve already done.
One of the best sources for inspiration is the internet, from Google image search, Flickr, photography sites, Youtube, it is easy to find tons of art and pictures. Don’t disregard playing, drawing stuff on paper. Because my drawing skills lack I just hop into Blender and randomly model objects, sometimes these turn into something, sometimes they get trashed. I may start modeling something that I like and slowly a scene will build around it.
The world around us also holds a lot of inspiration. Observer your surrounding and something may pop out. If you don’t have a good memory carry a notepad to write down or sketch out ideas, before they get lost.
What will I be doing for this series? Well while doing a Google image search for reference images of a “dark forest” I found this…
Credit for the picture goes to whoever created it, I could not find a name or company.
Queue light bulb and inspiration to create my own version of this scene in 3d. I decide what I need for the scene. Scarecrow, tree, barn, ground. These are my main objects. My method of work will make all of my art teachers cringe, I don’t sketch thumbs, I don’t lay out my objects, I do zero planning. Why? I like the idea of free flow. I’m not locked into a concept or construct. I can change things on a whim and not worry about things down the road. Some of the best things I’ve done have been unintended mistakes and screw ups that just worked. If I put rules out there those might not happen as often or well. This, of course, goes for personal projects. Projects that have a chain of command, may have a different criteria. A client may want to see thumbs before any modeling is done.
Most important of all though! Don’t get discouraged! Psychologists say it takes about 10 years for someone to master their craft. A good reference to this is Marek Denko at http://marekdenko.net/ he shows his early works, from 1999, 12 years ago. They are very amateurish, but his art now, is incredible!
Find your inspiration. Next blog will be the start of modeling.
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