If you've been frustrated trying to find the right outlet for
your visual creativity, give some thought to the new hobby of
personal Computer Graphics.
Maybe you're one of the many creative people who don't have the
time or the manual dexterity to learn traditional art tools -
brushes, paints and all that. The good news is that you no
longer need those to make compelling visual artworks!
EVOLUTION SO FAST IT'S A REVOLUTION
You've seen what the Computer Graphics (CG) industry has done for
Hollywood special effects and the cartoon business. But you might
not know that most of those stunning 3D graphics tools have
already seeped down to the consumer and personal computer level!
Yes, the Web, rapid expansion in PC power and volume pricing
of software has combined to launch a new wave of popular
do-it-yourself art. This revolution is much like the one when
photography was invented. Suddenly anyone with a camera could
make interesting images, whatever their painting or drawing
expertise.
RIDE THE CG WAVE
Web sites like Renderosity.com Rendersosity, the young
granddaddy of this new digital art hobby, are the hang-outs of
the 3D computer art crowd. Their free online galleries are the
hobbyist's new showplace.
Their public forums come in flavors representing all the brands
of 3D graphics tools. The discussions range from digital art
criticism, to free contributions of tools and materials made by
members, to troubleshooting software bugs and the problems of
stuck novices.
You'll even find online stores with these galleries, where CG
artists do a brisk business selling their 3D creations to others
who don't want to make everything from scratch. Like much of the
Web, there's an international flavor to the membership and the
art and many friendships are formed across many borders.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
Do a Web search on "3d galleries" and you'll see everything
from salty amateur soft porn to work that's sweeter than Norman
Rockwell's. Science Fiction and Fantasy themes are fashionable
too.
But this is basically popular art, and other than the minimum
online limits on nudity, sex and violence, anything goes and
there are no controls on image quality. So don't be surprised to
find lots of images that - well, let's just say they could use
some more work. Invest a bit of time though and you'll find many
outstanding works. You'll discover some online artists that will
thrill and inspire you time and again.
WHAT'S IT TAKE? IS IT EXPENSIVE?
Most personal 3D digital artists want to make photo-realistic
images with human figures in them. You'll find this requires a
minimum of two software tools and a fairly new computer -one
with lots of memory, 1GB at least, and plenty of storage space.
Both Mac and Windows systems will work for you, but as usual,
the Windows world has more available software and far more
users.
You'll need a program that creates 3D poseable human figures and
animals (think 3D dolls). The most popular is Poser 6 Poser,
by e-frontier, for about $250. But you're in luck, because
another company, DAZ is giving away their fine new DAZ Studio,
in order to gain market share for this new product.
And you'll also need a software tool that's something like a
stage, where you assemble, light and render images of your
3D actors, along with your props and environments to create
complete scenes.
A favorite tool for this is the top-of-the-line Vue 5 Infinite,
from e-on Software Vue 5 Infinite, which has atmospheres,
vegetation, water, various types of lights, editors where you
can apply or create materials, and much more. You can even
animate your scenes and produce high quality short, movies!
Check the Vue 5 Infinite demo reel link for examples.
As Set Designer and Director, you build up your scene's
environment, for example including forests with thousands of
trees, or highways packed with cars. Then you become Lighting
Director and add dramatic lighting. Finally, you're the Camera
Operator, locating your virtual camera for the perfect shot.
Then you render your camerawork as a 2D image or a movie clip.
But all this creative scene power will set you back almost $600.
However, e-on Software, has recently released Vue 5 Easel, for
less than $100, to get people started. Naturally it won't do
everything their top product can. No massive forests or
battalions of marching robots in their light weight product.
With just those two software tools and a broadband connection
to the Internet, you can launch your digital art hobby and start
uploading your artworks to the online galleries.
For even more creative power, you may eventually want to buy and
learn a 3D modeling program, so you can sculpt your own unique 3D
objects from scratch. But there's no rush to accept that rather
formidable challenge, since you can buy most of the clothing,
hairstyles, props and other objects you'll need at the gallery
stores. And the two basic programs come with many free objects
and materials to get you started.
A 2D image processing program is also a handy addition. The pros
use Adobe Photoshop, a $650 tool. But Adobe Photoshop Elements
Photoshop versions, under $100, will cover 90% or your
2D editing needs.
THE LEARNING CURVE
Just how difficult is it? If you can spend, say one or two hours
a day, you can probably master the most important features of
those two tools in one to three months. You certainly don't have
to be a CG expert or a software engineer. Many thousands of last
year's novices are producing near professional results today.
FIND OUT MORE
The best way to find out what it's all about is to sign up for
a free memberships on a few of the online 3D art galleries, like
Renderosity, or e-on software's Cornucopia 3D Cornucopia. And
be sure to ask lots of questions - the digital art forums are
very friendly places.
Here's hoping to see your work online soon!
© jim coe 2006
|
