3D Modeling and Tips For Beginners
- mndesignanimation6
- Dec 5, 2021
- 2 min read
Miranda Norris | December 5th, 2021
Modeling is no easy task, often it takes years and years of practice before organic shapes and textures can be produced by the designer! Though not everyone’s cup of tea, if you are looking into 3D animation, product modeling, or making video game assets, odds are you would like to learn how to improve your models or figure out what software works best for you. Here are some tips for starting as a beginner:
Look at your industry, your budget, and what your computer can handle. Okay, starting out let’s take a minute to ponder what the industry standards are for what you want to do. Maya, which is what I personally use, is a great all around 3D Modeling and Animation software that has a lot of backing and industry recognition. Maya can be a little pricy, but its high-end rendering capabilities and various features may be useful to you and your portfolio. Blender is another great option, especially because it is free. It is also up to par with many other 3D modeling programs, which makes it a great software to get a feel for 3D Modeling and animation. If you are looking for just a little taste of 3D modeling, Sketchup may also be a good start, which is very beginner friendly with many free features. If price doesn’t matter, again I would look at learning Maya, 3ds Max, or Houdini. All of these have different key tools and features that may appeal more to you and doing research and seeing physical renders will help!
Alright so now you picked some software and your ready to get started, from here it’s all about practice, practice, practice! Find some basic tutorials for your first couple of models, I think it’s best to learn more about the software and how to use its tools before you do any animating, unless you have pre-rigged and ready to use assets already made. Learn how to model with various tools and work up from there. Set up deadlines for yourself and realistic goals for what you want to learn and how much your schedule can handle. At first, all your projects may feel as though they are taking up a large amount of time… and that’s okay! Once you start to familiarize yourself with the basic features of your software, your 3D modeling will become faster and give you more opportunity to learn more important skills like texturing and lighting!
Don’t be dismayed, all great skills are learned in due time! Having patience, doing research, and even reaching out to on forums (trust me, there’s tons of them) will help you achieve your goals and help you solve any problems you come across. Utilizing these forums or asking your friends, family, etc. for a critique will also help you realize problems you may not have noticed and from there its about perfecting your products!
What’s something you’ve always wanted to make? Need any suggestions? Reach out to me on my website and I’ll see if I can provide you any more tips!
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