3D Digital Art Basic

This is not a classical art class. We will not spend much time on the types of things that a school art class would provide. If you do not have some art training, this may be a disadvantage. Composition, color theory, style, and perspective will not be extensively covered. We will utilize these in our class however, the focus of the class will be training on the tools used to create 3D art. We will provide specialized training based upon student requests.

Basic (4 one hour classes)

Learning Objectives:

• The basics of a 3D program

• How to create a scene

• How to import models/objects and manipulate them

• How to add textures

• How to change the Sun and add lights

• How to render the scene to an image file

Each of the four classes will cover the same areas but with more detail and practice using the programs.

What programs to use

• Always try to use the best programs

• Some free programs are semi-professional

  • Students can often purchase professional programs for a fraction of the retail price

• Learning to work in 3D can be difficult and requires time to become proficient

• 3D modeling is an art

• 3D scenes can generate large files 100-500MB

• Beginners could try Bryce (free) to get a feel for 3D

• Eon-software provides a free version of Vue which is more advance than Bryce and complicated. Versions of Vue range in price from $100-$1,000

• Google Sketchup is a free program that can be used to create 3D models of moderate complexity

• Models of people provides greater expressive depth

  • DAZ Studio (free) can be used for people models (integrated with Bryce)

  • Poser is a semi-professional people/animal modeling tool $300+

• Zbrush is a 3D modeling program $500+

• There are many tools available for 3D

  • TV stations, Broadcasters, Video Game Publishers, and Entertainment Industries all have adopted 3D and although the market is not as broad as word processing, it does have significant development ongoing with new and more advanced tools developed

How to create a scene

• There are two basic elements in every scene

  • Background

  • Foreground

• How does the eye of the observer travel through the scene?

  • The ideal image draws the observer in a smooth motion through the scene

  • Not too busy and the main focus should be in a space defined by the golden rectangle

• Simple scenes of land and sky scapes are easiest to create and have general appeal

• Adding human elements (building, people, objects) makes the image more personal

• Begin with a sketch or drawing of what you want to create

• Do a draft scene, render and review

How to acquire, create, and manipulate models/objects

• Models/objects can be found online

  • Most 3D programs can import models/objects in obj (wavefront) format and dxf (old format), some can import lwo (lightwave), 3ds (3D Studio Max), shd (Shade), skp (Sketchup)

    • Materials can be imported with some object

    • All objects can be textured inside the 3D program

  • Choosing obj or 3ds format will provide the best results

• Before using any models/objects acquired be sure that you have the licensing or permission to use the model/object

• Creating objects is an art

  • 3D modeling tools are complex and have a steep learning curve

  • Even a simple object like a cup requires several steps to create

  • NURBS is a more organic modeling format

  • Generally it is easier to find an model/object than it is to create one

  • Video Game Publishers like good modelers

• Manipulating a model/object

  • 3D models are solid objects composed of polygons that cover the surface

  • The more polygons the higher the resolution, the slower the render

    • Using billboards instead of multiple copies of a model

  • Booleans can be used to carve and sculpt objects

  • 3D modeling programs allow vertex manipulation

  • Landscapes use height fields for their creation

    • DEM is a USGS height field format

    • Some 3D programs can import DEM files

    • Many DEM files of real places are free

    • There are free height field (landscape) generators

    • DEM files do not include any textures, plants, trees, or other objects

How to apply textures to objects

• Most programs include a selection of usable textures

  • Textures can be modified and layered

  • Photos and other images can be used to create a texture

• Textures include displacement, reflection, refraction, shadow catching

  • A way to simulated a 3D texture is using a displacement texture

    • Displacement texture take a long time to render

  • Reflections add a realistic quality to models such as water and metals

    • Reflections can take a long time to render

  • Refractions provide a way to render realistic glass and water

    • Refractions take a long time to render

  • Realism is expensive in terms of rendering

• Selecting a color palate helps an image

• Sunlight will change colors

• Super saturated colors creates an interesting effect

• Digital Images are “too clean”

How to add lights, clouds, and position the sun

• Natural light adds a sense of realism to a scene

• Lights are expensive to render (time)

• Clouds can be photographs or spectral

• A volumetric atmosphere is more life like

• Simulating a dusty room with particles in a light beam

• The sun is the most important light in any scene, even indoor scenes

• The atmosphere can make a scene look real or far out

• Highly detailed atmospheres is expensive to render

• Point light and spot lights can add depth to a scene

• Shadows are important visual cues to the observer

How to render the scene and save it as a 2D image

• You will likely do many test renders of your scene

• Model and object positioning, lighting and interactions are often changed

• Saving presets of textures, lighting, atmospheres, and models is important

• Saving your scene including objects and textures is recommended

• Render quality increases render time

• Image size increases render time

• Save in PSD, targa, tiff or other non lossy formats

• It is possible to render a mask to use in a 2D program like Photoshop