3D World recently took to Twitter and Facebook to ask 3D artists: what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Some nice interesting words of wisd "warning"
When asking for advice, a 140-character restriction is ripe for abuse.
In fact, we were surprised to only receive one tweet telling us that you can’t polish a you-know-what.
And it surprised us even more that the response from you all wanting to help out fellow artists was so huge. As a result, we’ve put together this list of the best advice for CG artists in bite-sized chunks for everyone to see.
Modelling
For some, it’s all about getting the model right before even considering the next step… check out these tips for modelling spaceships.
“Make sure your model is flawless before rendering; an imperfect render is a waste of your time”
Michael Hill, @michael90hill
“Sculpting-wise, if your model doesn’t look good at 10k polys, it won’t look good at 10 million polys”
Jelle van de Weghe, 3D modeller and sculptor, @Jellevdweghe
3D software
The overall consensus is that the 3D software you use is irrelevant. Trying to stick to just one package is a big no no, as is expecting it to do the hard work. If the expense of using multiple apps is an issue, it’s worth signing up to the new 3D World newsletter, and checking out the Creative Challenge in the forum where you can win software prizes – it’ll also help you improve your art!
“Never marry to one piece of 3D software, learn how to adapt to many 3D programs: they all complement each other”
Mauricio Sierra, artistic director, @mau_sierra
“What matters is that the final product works, not how you get there or what you use to get there”
Travis Saul, @3dnerdry
“The day you think you know everything about your software is the day you have stopped leaning”
Chris Guerin, director at Short CGI, @shortcgi
“Don’t let software be your limitation. E.g. don’t say you can’t do something with Maya because 3ds Max is better suited for the job. You can do whatever you want as long as you persevere”
Stephen Cordes, via the 3D World Facebook page
“It doesn’t matter whether you use Max, Maya, or C4D – the software is just a tool. It is the digital counterpart of a paintbrush, pencil or chisel. Learning to use the tools is a step towards creativity, it is not the end result.”
Steve Kerry, via the 3D World Facebook page
“Software is just another tool. The better your drawing skills are, the better your 3D will be. The only issue with Maya (or any other program) is user error”
Dwayne Rene Martin, via the 3D World Facebook page
Real life
A huge part of your learning should come from spending time away from the computer (and that includes taking a break if necessary!). Check out our recent feature, 10 anatomy tips for 3D artists (though admittedly you’ll need to use your computer to view it).
“One of the biggest contributors to my skill set: pick the brain of a photographer, and then integrate that information to the 3D realm”
Alex Al-Hamdan, @arccentric
“Learn how to light in the real world – then transfer to 3D”
Eugene Rockstar, @EugeneRockstar
“Photography is just as much your friend as anything else: composition, colour, light – all without a computer!”
Ross Board, 3D artist, @RossBoard
“Consume anatomy books, and explore the most of a model while in lower sub divisions”
João Fiuza, via the 3D World Facebook page
“Draw, paint, photograph, sculpt, etc. Pressing the right buttons in the software is only part of the process”
Scott Honeycutt, via the 3D World Facebook page
“If you’ve spent hours trying to find solutions to problems, take a break. Hour, day, week. Solution will come eventually”
Alex Jevon, @ajevon
“Do not turn your nose up at running for breaking into VFX. Its a superb way to get your foot in the door”
James Stone, senior modeller and texture artist at Cinesite, @mrjames
Miscellaneous words of wisdom
There were many general pearls of wisdom that came through the doors too… or comments that were just plain crude/enjoyable…
“The wrong audio track can destroy any masterpiece of ‘creative video’. We see it all the time”Dan Forsley, @DanForsley
“It’s not the tool that you use, but the vision that you have”
Brian Hanson, president of The Bible Animated, @BrianHanson2nd
“Take the time you think it will take and multiply one and a half time, that is the time it will take”
Maxim Fleury, freelance 3D modeller and texture artist, @MaximFleury
“Make sure all of your 3D work includes lots of ‘Winning’”
James Stone, senior modeller and texture artist at Cinesite, @mrjames
“You can’t polish a turd”
Eugene Rockstar, @EugeneRockstar
“Do stuff you enjoy! Oh, and read the f**king manual”
Dean Punchard, @DeanPunchard
And though irrelevant to this current subject, we feel the need to end on this next piece of advice, which is just too damn valuable to ignore: “Don’t eat the yellow snow” (Wayne Robson, @WayneRobson)
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