Old Adventures in 3D
Well, here we go yet again!
I have been “pixleing” away at exploring Blender 3D again this last year. I watch videos, pick up tips and tricks, and eventually complete a tutorial or two. As always, I have been continuing to enjoy Grant Abbitt, Derrk.com, and Polygon Runway. I don’t know what I am working towards with it other than I do enjoy incorporating 3D illustration into my current work when I can. It’s one thing that I began doing early in my career and fell away from doing it in recent years.
Looking back, the younger version of myself would have been amazed at what is possible today with virtually free software. The explosion of our visual medium has just been amazing to witness. In 1995, I created an animated GIF (89a GIF), and I thought it was just the most wonderful thing. Create a frame-by-frame animation and put it on a website?! Wow! As simple as that seems today, it wasn’t so easy back then. Today, I see the same thing happening for 3D. The personal adoption of easily accessible tools and the ability to deploy/render is just amazing from my perspective. With little investment, you can get started learning today. It really is a different time to be an artist.
Derrk Tutorial - Create your first Product Animation in Blender!
Noodling with 3D
As I continue to explore the tools (including spline.com), I am slowly picking up new skills and language and finding myself utilizing more and more aspects of 3D creation in my work. It’s slow, but I feel I am finally returning to where I was before I put down the thought of continuing my adventures in 3D.
Cycles Render Testing
Evee Render Testing
Artificial Intelligence (3D/Photoshop)
During one of Grant’s tutorials for a rocket taking off from a tiny planet, I wanted the exhaust to be more realistic, and though I could have taken the time to set up the smoke and flames in 3D, it became clear how using A.I. and 3D could easily be combined to achieve the effect in just a few clicks. I even created the space background with a few clicks using generative A.I. in Photoshop.
In the real world
Recently, at my last full-time position, I utilized my acquired 3D skills to modify one of the main branding elements during the conception of new ideas. Simply opening up an existing model and recoloring it for a different effect was all that was needed.
The Fragment
Start today
If you are considering getting your feet wet in 3D, I couldn’t recommend Blender3D any higher. The community is vast, with people using it as hobbyists and as professionals who put food on their tables using this free software. For the professional invested in Cinema4D or Maya, or some other supported and feature-rich software, I say, “Good for you!” but for myself personally, it works as advertised, and it seems to fit the bill. So, until my work exceeds Blender’s abilities (and I don’t see that happening any time soon), I plan on using it for my forthcoming project needs.
