subject: Below are a few schools that offer relevant 3D Art courses [print this page] Below are a few schools that offer relevant 3D Art courses
Texturing - Texture artists make models look pretty. Without some kind of texture art, everything will be variations of solid colors. The most common and accurate way to create a texture for a 3D Models is to "unwrap" the mesh (flatten it out) and paint over it in an application such as Photoshop. The final texture is then "wrapped" over the original mesh again. Depending on how a model is created, each section may have its own texture, i.e., a separate texture for hands, one for arms, and one for the torso of a character, all made to blend together seamlessly. Rendering - Rendering an image is typically the last step in any workflow pipeline, and is perhaps the most important part. It is a step often overlooked or glossed over by beginners, who are more focused on creating models and animating them. There are many aspects to creating a good final render of a scene, including attention to camera placement, lighting choices which may affect mood and shadows, reflections and transparency, and the handling of special effects, like fluids or gasses.
Everything else - There are many other aspects to creating a good final product. Scenes must be correctly staged, usually working from a pre-visualization rendering, or a quick pencil sketch. Character models must be properly rigged for animation, an art in and of itself. In many big 3D Models firms, there may be a handful of artists whose sole purpose is to rig up models created by modelers for the animators to work with. Finally, most major software packages allow extensions on the base program in the form of plugins. Programmers may build in features necessary to complete a particular scene or style of animation.
Your First Steps in 3D
The first step in becoming a great 3D artist is to understand the concepts of 3D modeling, and how to create a model that will eventually be useful for animation. Later, you will need to learn the principles of animation, and how to bring your skills together in a fully rendered scene.
3D art is a complex topic that can take months or years to learn. It is also an extremely rewarding venture, and one that is increasingly useful as art is increasingly created on computers. Digital art, and specifically 3D Models art, is still in its infancy when compared to traditional forms of art. The landscape is constantly changing, and, as a 3D artist, you will have to change with it. Perhaps, one day, your creations will mold the future of 3D art.
