Tips on moving forward

#1

Hey guys, first post here. I’ll try to keep it short. Feel free to kick me in another direction if I’m barking up the wrong tree.

Reason I’m posting this is because I’m at a bit of a roadblock. I have been exploring 3d art for a couple of years now. I started out doing mostly work in blender but now I’ve started using maya and 3dsmax. Most of the work that I have done is modeling. I’ve also done a little sculpting here and there. I’m mostly satisfied with the work that I’ve done but I’d like to add some liveliness to my pieces. I’ve tried researching lighting and shading but I can’t seem to make any progress. What are your recommendations on where to start? I would like to start with something simple perhaps showcasing some of the simple models that I’ve created with some simple yet realistic lighting and shaders.

Thanks for your help!

#2

What you need, more than anything else, is to learn and master the foundations of visual art–things like composition/perspective, values/lighting, color theory, anatomy/figure. Also, read this article about why it’s a really good idea for 3D artists to learn to draw/paint: http://www.cgsociety.org/news/article/2694/why-3d-artists-want-to-learn-2d

#3

Thanks for the reply. Read the article, pretty good info.

Any suggestions on what kind of books/videos to get started? I know there are a bunch of courses on this site (there was one mentioned in the article by the author) but a lot of them are quite expensive

#4

I just realized you wrote that article haha

#5

Start with the resources recommended in the sticky threads at the top of this sub-forum. Read all of them, and you’ll gain a lot of insights.