Yea, it's a small preview but you'll see the main image, completed, once it finishes rendering, which by the looks of it, seems like it may be some time this week, hopefully within the next 48 hours. Anyways, I have an older post that was on a now inactive blog I wanna share for any just getting into 3D, which I'll copy/paste in the next section below:
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Why 3D art requires patience. . .
I love 3D art, but lately I have come to realize something, that if you want something to look good you have to be patient. I can well handle waiting an hour for a large render to finish, however I have been getting into 3D animation as of late and, well, if it takes an hour for a large render with ray traced shadows to complete, just imagine waiting for 80 plus frames to render. Normally I would say it's the computer being slow, not the case this time I'm afraid, I run a pretty decent setup due to how hard I work my systems, this computer's processors are overclocked with 4 gigs of ram and a decent graphics card as well as cooling system in place, it's just the detail of the 3D work is taking it some time to work through.
I know 3D art grabs some people's attention, let me tell you now, if you want to get into the hobby here are a few things you need to be prepared for:
1: Depending on your setup, even single image renders can take quite a while to complete, so be ready for a wait, it is best if you can set it to render before going off to do something else because sitting there watching a render complete is like watching a pot waiting for the water to boil.
2: Be ready for models to do some weird things, you NEED a sense of humor to deal with 3D, because sometimes that simple animation you think will transition smoothly doesn't and you end up with limbs going every which way and ending up flipped on their heads, enjoy the goof ups and move on, getting frustrated over the time taken for a messed up result will get you nowhere fast.
3: People will ask how you do it, be ready to either explain or tell them to look up tutorials, it can be very aggravating to walk someone through 3D rendering, as most do not know the effort 3D art actually takes, which brings me to my next point. . .
4: Don't expect people to realize the effort and hours that go into a render, many who will be looking at your work will be looking at it from a 'pretty picture' point of view, not from an artist's point of view. Unless they've tried to work with 3D, they likely won't get the time and trouble that went into this one picture. A render can take hours, yet people will rarely look at the end result for more than 30 seconds. Be ready for it.
5: People will ask "Can you do ----- for me?", it's a common thing, those who have skills in a certain area will get asked to do favors by those who don't. Be ready to politely (or not so politely) decline or do favors for others, which you do is up to you.
6: I cannot stress this enough: BACK UP YOUR FILES! Spending time on something for it to come out wrong is one thing, but spending time on it to lose your work is another all together, even older files, you would be surprised how many times I've revisited an old file and found a new use for it.
7: Dedicated folders for texture edits are a must, keep all your custom textures for your models in one place, this will save you so much time when modifying textures that it's not even funny.
8: Don't expect instant gratification, yes, it would be nice to go in and know exactly what you want to do and exactly how to get it done the first attempt, but that rarely happens. Often I will go through 7 or more test renders before I get it just right, that's seven times waiting for the render to finish, review it and correct the model before rendering again, it's not as point and click as some think.
9: Learn at least basic modeling, if you don't then editing models to your liking will not go over too well. I do not call myself a modeler because I am more of a 3D artist than a modeler, but I even know basic modeling because it is needed. Also, a side note, have respect for modelers, without the wonderful models they spend weeks on 3D artists wouldn't have anything to work with.
10: If you get serious with your 3D art, be ready to drop a bit of cash, yes, there ARE free programs and resources out there, but most of the better programs and resources cost money, my own 'collection' totals over $2,000 in worth, and 3D art is more of a hobby to me.
11: Learn photoshop or another photo editing program. A render often needs post-processing in an external program, while it is not always needed, sometimes it's the only way to get it exactly how you want the rendered image to look.
12: Be ready to read, a lot, as well as learn through trail and error, this is not a 'pick up and do' hobby, this is a 'pick up, learn, test, goof, see what you did wrong, read up more, ask for help if needed, try again, repeat process." hobby.
13: Finally, be ready to pick each piece you do apart, we are our own worst critics, you will see flaws others don't because you've been staring at the models for hours and rendered the images over and over and over, you WILL notice issues others don't, and if someone does notice them, don't be close minded to constructive critique. Being bashed is one thing but there is a community among 3D artists who will give well meaning suggestions to help you improve, it is in your best interests as an artist to not ignore them.
These are just a few tips and things to consider before ever trying your hand at 3D art, it takes work, time, determination and being able to laugh at your own goof ups. But don't let this discourage you, it is a highly enjoyable hobby and one you can get a degree of pride from, it is also a bit addicting at times. It has many uses, both for fun and business, so if you want to try it then go for it! Who knows, you may find it to be natural to you like some, or you may find it an enjoyable challenge. I hope these tips are helpful to someone, if not, well, hey, I just wanted to type it all out anyways.
Til next time ya'll!.
I know 3D art grabs some people's attention, let me tell you now, if you want to get into the hobby here are a few things you need to be prepared for:
1: Depending on your setup, even single image renders can take quite a while to complete, so be ready for a wait, it is best if you can set it to render before going off to do something else because sitting there watching a render complete is like watching a pot waiting for the water to boil.
2: Be ready for models to do some weird things, you NEED a sense of humor to deal with 3D, because sometimes that simple animation you think will transition smoothly doesn't and you end up with limbs going every which way and ending up flipped on their heads, enjoy the goof ups and move on, getting frustrated over the time taken for a messed up result will get you nowhere fast.
3: People will ask how you do it, be ready to either explain or tell them to look up tutorials, it can be very aggravating to walk someone through 3D rendering, as most do not know the effort 3D art actually takes, which brings me to my next point. . .
4: Don't expect people to realize the effort and hours that go into a render, many who will be looking at your work will be looking at it from a 'pretty picture' point of view, not from an artist's point of view. Unless they've tried to work with 3D, they likely won't get the time and trouble that went into this one picture. A render can take hours, yet people will rarely look at the end result for more than 30 seconds. Be ready for it.
5: People will ask "Can you do ----- for me?", it's a common thing, those who have skills in a certain area will get asked to do favors by those who don't. Be ready to politely (or not so politely) decline or do favors for others, which you do is up to you.
6: I cannot stress this enough: BACK UP YOUR FILES! Spending time on something for it to come out wrong is one thing, but spending time on it to lose your work is another all together, even older files, you would be surprised how many times I've revisited an old file and found a new use for it.
7: Dedicated folders for texture edits are a must, keep all your custom textures for your models in one place, this will save you so much time when modifying textures that it's not even funny.
8: Don't expect instant gratification, yes, it would be nice to go in and know exactly what you want to do and exactly how to get it done the first attempt, but that rarely happens. Often I will go through 7 or more test renders before I get it just right, that's seven times waiting for the render to finish, review it and correct the model before rendering again, it's not as point and click as some think.
9: Learn at least basic modeling, if you don't then editing models to your liking will not go over too well. I do not call myself a modeler because I am more of a 3D artist than a modeler, but I even know basic modeling because it is needed. Also, a side note, have respect for modelers, without the wonderful models they spend weeks on 3D artists wouldn't have anything to work with.
10: If you get serious with your 3D art, be ready to drop a bit of cash, yes, there ARE free programs and resources out there, but most of the better programs and resources cost money, my own 'collection' totals over $2,000 in worth, and 3D art is more of a hobby to me.
11: Learn photoshop or another photo editing program. A render often needs post-processing in an external program, while it is not always needed, sometimes it's the only way to get it exactly how you want the rendered image to look.
12: Be ready to read, a lot, as well as learn through trail and error, this is not a 'pick up and do' hobby, this is a 'pick up, learn, test, goof, see what you did wrong, read up more, ask for help if needed, try again, repeat process." hobby.
13: Finally, be ready to pick each piece you do apart, we are our own worst critics, you will see flaws others don't because you've been staring at the models for hours and rendered the images over and over and over, you WILL notice issues others don't, and if someone does notice them, don't be close minded to constructive critique. Being bashed is one thing but there is a community among 3D artists who will give well meaning suggestions to help you improve, it is in your best interests as an artist to not ignore them.
These are just a few tips and things to consider before ever trying your hand at 3D art, it takes work, time, determination and being able to laugh at your own goof ups. But don't let this discourage you, it is a highly enjoyable hobby and one you can get a degree of pride from, it is also a bit addicting at times. It has many uses, both for fun and business, so if you want to try it then go for it! Who knows, you may find it to be natural to you like some, or you may find it an enjoyable challenge. I hope these tips are helpful to someone, if not, well, hey, I just wanted to type it all out anyways.
Til next time ya'll!.
.................................................................
Now that was written a few months ago, but it still does apply, just a few tips I learned early on, I've been doing 3D for a few years now but those points were the first ones I found via the 'school of hard knocks' so to speak.
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