By: Livia Mardiros
Have you ever caught yourself watching an animated movie and realized you are so drawn in by the incredible details in the characters you’re not even following the movie plot anymore? This happens to me all the time! I’m truly fascinated by the lighting, character models, and beautiful environments. I learned these incredible animations are created by 3D Modelers and 3D Animators working together, and I jumped headfirst into learning everything I could about how to do this myself. 3D Modeling is a form of digital art where an artist can create anything in a 3-dimensional space (like humans, objects, animals, just to name a few). These 3D creations are called a “Mesh” and are developed with skill sets like digital modeling and digital sculpting. In digital modeling, the artists create geometrical shapes then manipulate the vertices, faces, and edges. In digital sculpting, artists begin with a geometric shape then add to it to change the overall geometry of that shape, just like you would when sculpting with clay in real life. In addition to animated films, you may have seen 3D Meshes when playing your favorite Roblox game or outfitting your avatar with accessories from the catalog. These are created, uploaded, and sold by Roblox UGC Creators - UGC meaning User Generated Content - and joining the UGC Program requires approval through their extensive application process. I hope to apply to become a creator soon once I have a portfolio prepared for the application! Careers in 3D modeling is a highly specialized field and combines advanced math and computer skills. If you want to study 3D modeling in college, you should look into degree programs in Computer Games Development, Computer Graphics and Motion Picture Technology, Visual Computing, and Visual Effects. I strongly suggest mastering the basic design techniques of 3D modeling like how to bevel, composition, extrude, and lighting, and you’ll be able to apply this knowledge to any of the different software used in the industry. The standard software program is AutoDesk’s Maya, and studios like Dreamworks (Shrek & Bee Movie), Pixar (Ratatouille, Up, Toy Story), and Blue Sky (Rio and way too many Ice Age movies no one wanted) all own and use proprietary software. So again, mastering those basics will help you later if you want to do this for a living! I’m learning 3d modeling by using the open-source (and completely free!!) program Blender and I put together a quick start guide for you if you want to get started with 3D Modeling too! I recently created these Meshes for my portfolio:
Here’s an example of a fully rendered scene I modeled, textured, and added lighting to. I 3d modeled the “earth orb” as I like to call it, the laptop, the desk, and the wallpaper behind it. I also beveled the wall and UV Unwrapped all the meshes in the scene. This was the first full render I did with image textures.
The Tools You’ll Need:
Here’s How to Get Started in Blender: https://youtu.be/PlsfaenZXiA
Pro tip: Use a reference image to know what you’re making - an example of this would be to select a chair from the IKEA online catalog and view the chair from all angles, so you are familiar with its construction. Then keep this reference to refer to it as you model and when you return to your project later.
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