Task 1 - Tools
1.1 Readings from Ch3 3D Art Essentials
- Extruding creates new faces and can be done multiple times to extend a shape.
- The Boolean function can be used to cut shapes out of other shapes and combine multiple shapes together. It will estimate the connection points of these shapes.
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- The higher the polygon count you have the smoother the mesh will be but this will also start to cause problems the higher the count goes. Adding too many polygons might also not change the shape by much.
- When normals on a mesh don't face the same way it can break the model and prevent it from working in other programs.
- Quads create smooth surfaces while triangles can create sharp edges.
- Orthogonal drawings can help you to create a more accurate copy of something that already exists or has been drawn from multiple angles.
- An open polygonal mesh is something generally flat and never closed in on all sides.
- Box modeling starts with a cube primitive to be shifted and squished around. This can be a useful way to start an object if you don't have something in mind.
- Extrusion modeling requires an edge or polygon to start extruding out into the final shape.
- Box modeling is ideal for the subdivision process.
- Wireframe views are see-through allowing you to see the front and back of the object at the same time.
- Soft selection can be used to pull surrounding vertices and faces with the selection point.
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- Triangles or quads are the best to build shapes up with. Anything outside of this has a high chance to deform.
1.2 3D Modelling Software
Autodesk 3ds Max
3ds Max is well rounded and works across the board for most industries such as design visualization, videogames and animation. Max excels at heavy renders with high polygon counts without slowing down most machines. It also has a wide arrange of plugins available for different features. 3ds Max is the go to choice for realistic renders.
3ds Max has been an industry standard for many years and a lot of 3D design features grew up and were ported out of its design. That makes it one of the most feature inclusive software available to use currently. Given it's versatility in reliability in the industry, 3ds max comes with a hefty price tag of $355/month which excludes it as a choice for beginners and hobbyists.
Blender
The preference of people trends towards Blender despite not being the industry standard due to being free, it is however a valuable sculpting styled tool. Because Blender is free to use it has attracted a large user base and tutorials of how to use it are everywhere making entering into 3D modeling with Blender simple to do.
Due to blender being an open source software it is constantly being updated which makes it always relevant to new trends. A nice feature is that blender is very user friendly with its shortcuts and hotkeys allowing you to cut down on your time crafting in the software. All in all this software is good for beginners and also a good swap if you can’t be bothered paying for other software.
Zbrush
Zbrush is a paid software for sculpting, texturing and painting. It is frequently described as expensive compared to other programs that can do similar things, has very outdate UI and lacks significant documentation on an external website. Despite this it works very well for the features it focuses on and it also runs very well for high poly counts.
This program is typically used for adding organic detail to pre existing objects designed elsewhere or to organically sculpt characters from scratch.
Maya
Owned by the same company that maintains 3Ds Max, Maya is the go to for animation by professionals in the gaming industry. It involves the entire workflow of animation including features such as complex modeling, texturing, rigging and animation. This software can handle a lot going on but also requires a suitably chunky hardware setup to work to its full extent.
Task 2 - Industry
2.1 Digital Marketplace
Sketchfab - Sketchfab.com
Sketchfab, owned by epic games has a wonderful feature which allows you to rotate 3d modeled and rigged designs built into the website which lets sellers display their models in Realtime to give the full effect of their work.
This company is also strongly legislated around the use of models for ai while allowing ai assisted content to be sold so long as it is labeled correctly. This awareness of the industry and suffering creatives indicates a healthy location to market models.
Unreal Marketplace - https://www.unrealengine.com/marketplace/en-US/store
Another marketplace owned by epic with a stronger focus on game assets and the creation of your own game assets. This store features tutorials, pre setup environments and of course, Poly models for download. This is a more versatile marketplace aimed for the use of items within unreal engine. This website even includes a higher quality 'free for the month' section among other free downloads.
This website would be better used with designs already integrated with unreal engine or for the purpose of use in videogames.
CGtrader - https://www.cgtrader.com/
CGTrader is very popular for freelancers due to the environment it curates. You can buy and sell models and users can even commission each other for more custom designs. Besides the marketplace, CGTrader hosts competitions and educational resources to help the 3D modeling community grow which makes it quite popular. It's a viable website among professionals, hobbyists, and businesses for accessing quality 3D content for games, animation, VR, and architecture.
This website was the most suggested among review websites and reddits for its 70% monthly royalty rate paid to creators.
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Turbosquid - Turbosquid.com
Turbosquid is owned by Shutterstock as their 3D model marketplace for individuals to market their creations. As one of the most popular websites for high quality textured models it is considerably a nice marketplace to purchase from but not one to sell in unless you're well established. Turbosquid takes 60% as you begin selling and can also bump your pricing down if they think you're asking too much making it a harsh market for entry level freelancers.
This marketplace advertises itself as a place to save yourself time and money on your own projects. However this website feels very money first in its use of common buzzwords such as Ai integration and referencing the 'metaverse'.
2.2 Creative & Technical Strategies
VibaPop - Retro Five Nights at Freddy's
https://sketchfab.com/VibaPop
Vibapop has recreated the original FNaF characters in a retro, dirty styling with a few alternative version for some of the models. In the description they describe what the pack contains, have a link to the free download and credit the original concept creator.
Lizzy Koopa - A plushie dragon named Luu Luu!
https://sketchfab.com/LizzyKoopa
This designer has relatively simple beginner works but has execute the concept of a plush creature well. Their model appears to be in mainly one piece despite some details such as hair/horns and the stitching is part of the designs original mesh. The skybox reflection for the eyes is what looks to be a Pokémon stadium and there are some refinement issues on the model where colours overlap where they shouldn't.
Tij - Lowpoly Llama Plushie
https://sketchfab.com/tijwah
I really like how simplistic this design is and I think it references the key features of a plushie based design; Consideration for eyes (button, glass bead), stitching contours in the mesh and a tag label. However more critically, the eyes appear to have the denim texture overlaid and the ears were done with little afterthought to their connection of the body.
Task 3 - Participation
3.1 Upload to Sketchfab
Bonn Fluffier the Plush Bunny
Dreamy Purr the Plush Tiger
Task 4 - Industry
4.1 Address Forms of Risk
Link Back to Personal Sites
Multiple of the people I looked at had a link back to either their own personal website for more of their content or a patreon/kofi so they could encourage another revenue stream. Being able to exist across multiple places on the internet can help you to access more followers and even garner more paid opportunities.
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Prevent Stolen Content
As with anything online its very easy for content to be downloaded/slightly remixed and uploaded elsewhere for someone else to profit off your work. The best way to fight this is by legitimizing your presence by existing across multiple websites and releasing content simultainiously. Having a clear history of your uploads can help you combat others who want to steal your work.
4.2 Reflect & Discuss Future Plans
Through this project I found out some surface level things in 3d modelling and the systems in place to make money off your designs.
I find the programs available for use to be quite varied in what they can best accomplish and that if I were to continue doing this for a hobby after this class I might get into blender as it is well suited to my budget. I particularly like how much recent documentation there is to learn how to use it and the community around it seems active and friendly.
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Creating multiple models has also given me a good idea of what I visually want to make and how to get there in the most efficient way, keeping in mind cutting the mesh up for texturing. The repetition has made me feel very confident that my next 3D project will look outstanding.
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Texturing the models feels like trying to paint with a hairbrush compared to other art programs but I suppose that's just something you have to get used to when learning new software. I feel like a lot of the things I wanted to do once I got to that stage needed to be modeled in in the previous step.
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Uploading the model on Sketchfab was much more simplified than I thought it might be however, the model seems to be lit from the back and I don't actually know how to change that after a short time searching. I originally adjusted it in substance and exported but the file stayed the same. As these were my first models I definitely know how I want to progress my works in the future.
While I really enjoyed learning all about these steps that go towards producing a 3D model, I think it will be awhile before I get into making them for myself, especially if I have to learn a new program.