1. Basic Training
It is very obvious to me while browsing the 3d forums of the net that there is an overwhelming lack of the basic art principals in the majority of the 3d community. Image after image contains no thought to its composition, color choices, or design setup. Ok 3d is left looking mediocre at best. Just some changes in composition and lighting would have dramatic effects on the resulting images and animations. I think basic art knowledge is paramount to artists today, but unfortunately missing from the majority of them. There are just too many people out there trying to get your job to not understand the fundamentals. Once you learn them they will help you in every aspect from color choices on your texture sheet to camera placement.

Originally Posted by

Originally posted by doodle
I would certainly advise you to take up a fine art/life drawing class. Animation is essentially observation and life drawing is a great way to perfect this skill.

You really need reference images of some sort to produce decent work (maybe if your really good you can wing it, I doubt it though). You can find some ref’s around on the net but if you have your own designs then your gonna need to draw them out. Even if there just sketches for your own reference, it good to know a bit.

Having a basic knowledge of traditional art WILL help you with every aspect; you can be assured of that. I cant think of one reason why anyone shouldn’t learn the fundamentals.

Here’s a sentence from a article about why it good to go to school to study 3D:



Heed that

I personally agree with that statement, so much so I kinda temporally gave up learning 3D to focus on classical animation, graphics design and drawing. Software is easy to pick up, I want to spend my education learning the real skills.

That’s not to say you can’t get good without these skills, but you’ll be much better with them. As I said, cant think of any reason not to learn to draw… ANYONE can learn.

Originally Posted by

Originally posted by Nusirilo
Sounds like good advice. However, you say that anyone can learn to draw. Can anyone learn how to draw well? I have never been a great drawer (if that is a word in this sense) and have therefore tried to stray away from anything to do with drawing. Would taking a traditional art course in high school truly make a big difference? If so, I may have to give consideration to that. It always frustrates me, though, because I always feel that people who can draw well are generally born with that skill, or at least the majority of that skill. Is this not true?

Originally Posted by

Betty Edwards has used the terms L-Mode and R-Mode to designate two ways of knowing and seeing - the verbal, analytic mode and the visual, perceptual mode - no matter where they are located in the individual brain. You are probably aware of these different characteristics. L-mode is a step-by-step style of thinking, using words, numbers and other symbols. L-mode strings things out in sequences, like words in a sentence. R-mode on the other hand, uses visual information and processes, not step-by-step, but all at once, like recognizing the face of a friend.

Most activities require both modes, each contributing its special functions, but a few activities require mainly one mode, without interference from the other. Drawing is one of these activities.

Learning to draw, then, turns out not to be "learning to draw." Paradoxically, "learning to draw" means learning to make a mental shift from L-mode to R-mode. That is what a person trained in drawing does, and that is what you can learn.

Originally Posted by