Learning the right way - I need help

#1

Hello I’m Lee and i’ve been interested in 3d art for a while now but I stopped modeling 2 years ago due to many different reasons, but one of the main reasons was that I was seeing no progress in my modeling skills. I’ve read countless tutorials, many of which show different ways of doing things and would get me confused quite a lot (one minute i’m saying this is easy and then i’d get lost)

I like i’m throwing myself into too much information at the same time (in one day I would read about texturing, sculpting, uv mapping, modeling and mindlessly follow tutorials without really understanding what i’m doing) What is the best way to learn 3d art, without overloading my brain (modeling, texturing, sculpting) I learn a lot better when I can focus on one aspect of 3d art, go through it slowly and absorb the information.

I have a subscription to Digital tutors and completed one of the character models right up to UV mapping but I just found myself mimicing his actions and not really learning anything and also video tutorials seem harder to remember than reading a tutorial, so if anyone knows a text based tutorial site, let me see.

tl;dr How can I teach myself 3d art properly and really absorb the information.

Thanks, hopefully you can understand my post i’m English but i’m finding it hard to read this colour font on this background (long day watching tutorials and forums)

#2

Hey Lee,

I feel ya man, I know exactly where your coming from. Look, there’s no such thing as “learn the right way”. Learning is learning, it comes back to you, as in what’s right for you. I’ve done EVERYTHING you’ve described because I like that. If I spend too much time on tutorials just about shading for example, I feel like I wanna stab myself in the face. I like to refresh by learning something else that’s new and exotic and that I find really intriguing and exciting (that’s the key).

There’s this book you should buy immediately and read. It’s a short read, you can finish it in a day and it will REALLY put reality into perspective and will give you all the info and insight you need and will ever need when you come to master anything whether it’s martial arts or 3D modelling. The book is called “Mastery” by George Leonard. It’s so unbelievably eye-opening it’s crazy, I don’t want to say anymore about it. Buy it used if you have to and hopefully, by the end of the book, you’ll know what you have to do.

#3

I think you’ve answered your own question - you need to focus on one thing at a time. Stick to modelling for a few months until you feel you’ve really mastered the fundamentals, and only then move onto stuff like UV mapping and texturing.

#4

I think Leigh hit the nail in the head. One of the best advices I got was the same from another 3D artist back in 2004: “when you model, never ever start shading or even rendering until your model is where you want it to be. It should look great alone, so once you add texturing, it would look amazing”.

You could also try joining a production or short film which needs help. That will put you in the mindset of completing a task and focus in finishing it. You can also join a challenge from cgtalk, and post your updated so that you get feedback. That will make you look for specific knowledge in how to solve particular challenges.

Even when you say your modeling didnt improve, it does. Its like working out. If you take a picture of yourself when you have a clean diet and excercise, you will notice changes. You can apply the same technique to 3D. Open a blog and post EVERYTHING you do. You will notice how you evolve over time. It will keep you commited. Just as working out, it takes dedication and focus to see results in both areas.

Cesr Montero - www.artzolio.com

#5

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