A beginner's guide to 3d art

 

A beginner's guide to 3d art

Are you interested in being a 3d artist, making architecture visualizations, 3d animations, and wondering where to start?

This is the article for you. I’m going to give you an introduction to 3d for a complete beginner.

Learning 3d could seem overwhelming, or even intimidating from an outside perspective. I remember when I first started learning, and feeling I used to get where I look at any 3d image and wonder if I would ever be able to create something like this.

I’m going to help you get a step-by-step overview of what 3d is, how it is created, and how you can get started with it.

 

So, what is 3d design?

3d design is a lot like photography. And while you have a set in real life where you place the objects and lighting fixtures, in 3d, you create a scene to place these objects on after modeling them.

You have control over every single detail. You can change the colors, textures, physical properties of surfaces. You can also adjust the light settings just like in real life. Then you set up a virtual camera to take the shot.

 

 

Regardless of the 3d art field you want to specialize in, you need to have a basic understanding of the main fundamentals of 3d.

I am going to walk you through each of these steps using the example of this really simple chair scene.

A studio render of a chair

• Modeling
  

3d modeling is basically the drawing of a three-dimensional object. It is created by manipulating polygon meshes and molding them into the shape you want. any objects can be created from simple shapes up to really complex and detailed models.

The chair model

 

• Texturing and shading

The second process is adding materials to the different surfaces of the object.

You start by adding the color or a texture image and then choose the physical properties of the surface finish (e.g., reflective, glossy, transparent, matte).

You can also add more fine details to the models through materials, like adding fine bumps and displacements on surfaces. Modeling these small details could take a really long time and also increase the size of the project file.

In this example, images of wood and cloth textures were added to the model to make it look realistic.

 

The wood and cloth texture images

 

• Lightning

This is the stage where your scene starts coming to life. It is where you set the tone and mood for your final shot.

The process is exactly the same as in real life. you add a few different types of lamps to your scene and start adjusting the position, color, and brightness of each one until you get the results you needed.

In exterior scenes, you can add the sun and sky and choose the time of the day you want to take your shot. You also adjust whether it is cloudy, sunny, or overcast, and the height and intensity of the sun.

In the scene, I used two types of lamps, a main back-light behind the chair, and a fill-light at the front.

Lamps and camera positions

 

Those are the three main fundamentals of 3d. There are many other steps like rigging and animation and post-processing that we will get to in future articles.

 

So, what are the next steps?

Start learning right now. Don’t be intimidated to start. Get the software you like, pick a tutorial, then start creating.

There are numerous tutorials out there. But what do you need in the beginning is a well-built course that covers all the basics. After that, you can choose a more specialized course that matches what you want to visually create. Later on, you can start following different workshops to polish your workflow.

And while it does take a lot -and I mean a lot- of effort, I promise you it’s a really fun journey.

 

Looking for a tutorial that fits your goals?

Check out our top 3d tutorials reviews here.