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3D Software Tips |
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3D Software Tips |
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Here is a collection of tips and advice for producing better images and animations with 3D software. They should apply to pretty much any package, and will be particularly useful to beginners - though I am still surprised at the stuff that makes it onto television which has really basic errors! Personally I use Lightwave 3d.
I'm no expert at this, but you do seem to see the same mistakes time after time - I hope this will help you avoid these obvious pitfalls.
It may seem obvious, but start with something simple. You are not going to be able to go straight in and produce a detailed jet fighter, or a creature that moves convincingly.
In particular start with stuff that works well with a simple background or setting. You don't want to have to model a whole mass furniture to populate a room before you start on the main subject! This is one reason that space scenes are popular - you can't get easier than a plain black background. A selection of wallpaper sized backdrops is also a quick and dirty way of getting an environment for your objects.
The next stage is probably to get a few standard settings built. What you go for will depend on your interests, but never forget that a big part of an objects appearance is it's surroundings, as it picks up reflections and the like. You may want a simple room, perhaps a better space setting with planets nearby or nebulae around, but whatever it is, it will be very useful when modelling - just plonk the object in the setting, and you have an instant scene. If working on a space scene it's very easy to produce convincing planets on your first day with the software - make a simple sphere, then get some image maps from the net, and wrap them around. You can advance to adding atmosphere effects later.
This goes with keeping things simple. Try not to get distracted by the scene as a whole, but work on surfaces, lighting or whatever one by one. If you want to get the hang of the basics of animation, just take a supplied object and move it around with the camera tracking.
Whatever the software you are using, it comes with certain settings as defaults. Change them all! So many people leave these settings as they are for colour, reflectivity, specularity, and just about every other parameter going, that your work will look very unoriginal if you do the same. By changing all those 100% settings to 95% your work will be instantly distinctive.
Most software will let you change settings to above 100% or below 0%. Experiment with these, and once again you stand a good chance of being distinctive, or finding unusual effects. Specifically, using negative heights for bump maps gives you a whole new set of surfaces.
Most 3D software includes an ambient light setting - be very wary about using this, particularly at higher levels, (over 10%). This shadowless light destroys a 3d effect Much better to add more lights in various places, (with soft shadows if that's an option). Space scenes in particular should almost always have one distant light (representing the Sun), and zero ambient. If a planet is nearby, an additional faint light of the appropriate colour, coming from that direction may be effective.
The single most common fault with computer generated images is that the colours are way too strong. These kind of saturated primary colours just don't occur in the real world outside of neon signs, plastic toys, and 1960's posters! So just because grass is green don't use an RGB setting of 0,255,0. If your surfaces look too bright and plastic, go to the colour selector and look to the HLS settings - dropping the saturation a LOT will often help.
In the real world completely smooth and even colour is also very rare - for example, a completely even tone is one thing that can make died hair very obvious. A touch of fractal noise added to the colour, (in a similar but perhaps darker or less saturated shade), will break up this smoothness nicely.
Every graphics package going has some sort of colour picker, down to the cheapest shareware. And the internet is a great source of images. So its really easy to find a picture of what you are modelling, and sample the colours from it to use as a texture. For even better results, try blurring the image a bit before sampling - this makes it easier to get representative colours. Also try taking two samples from different parts, and using one colour for fractal noise patterning over the other.
Just as 100% saturated colours are very rare, so are 0% saturated colours. Avoid using pure whites, blacks and greys. A slight touch of red will add a warmer effect, blue the opposite. It may not be obvious, but small changes from grey, even if only a couple of points, make an object more believable. This also applies to lights as well.
Most software will let you drop an image in the background when modelling - this makes getting the shape and proportions right much easier. Again the Internet is an excellent source of reference images.
Another real world one! Real objects rarely have perfectly sharp straight edges. An easy way to get this right is to add a small bevel along the edges. It may not be obvious in the finished work, but it does make a difference - particularly with moving shiny objects where you can get a neat little highlight running along a bevel.
Get used to thinking about shapes in 3 dimensions. Look around you and think how you would model the objects you see if you had to - much comes down to breaking things up into combinations of basic shapes. This kind of practice can be done anywhere, and is great for passing time in a boring meeting or on a long journey!
If you are having difficulty getting the look of a surface right, it's always a good idea to get a piece of it in front of you. For example, metals vary wildly in appearance, all the way from mirror bright chrome with its strong smooth reflections, to something like dirty rusty copper. A piece of similar material will be a great help in setting up the correct values for the surface.
One of the nicest things about working with computers is the ability to re-use your earlier work. So when you get a surface right, save it out for future use, and group them in ways that reflect your way of working.
Scanners are cheap, probably much cheaper than your software. And they make a great source of reference images, textures, and the like. Want a sand texture? Tip sand on your scanner and use it as an image map. Having trouble getting skin tones right? Scan your hand, and sample the colours. Model a picture frame in software then scan in images for instant virtual indoor room decoration.
Goes with the scanner. Again used for reference images, textures and the like. I have a separate cheap camera that I use just for this purpose - it avoids explaining why you took several pictures of grass and bare ground! Digital cameras save the delay of getting things developed of course.
The most under rated accessory going. A small pad of squared paper, and a pencil - more
flexible than a hand held computer, and zero running costs, plus infinite battery life. It
doesn't matter if you can't draw well - using the squares to knock up rough views from all
directions - it will help you visualise in 3d. And if you are any good, you can then scan
the results and use them as backdrops to model against.
Or how about drawing or painting bump maps? Anyone can draw a scratch. Don't restrict
yourself to the world of the digital!
Don't make the mistake of thinking you should only look in the computing section of the book shop for books that will help you produce better work. The art, photography, and cinematography sections will also contain plenty that is useful, on subjects such as composition, use of colour, and lighting. After all, set lighting is considered complex enough to be a career in it's own right! I have also found books on conventional special effects handy - for example the excellent book by Derek Meddings, who was responsible for most of the effects on the Gerry Anderson series like 'Thunderbirds'. The advice on how to get a sense of scale, and 'dirtying down' surfaces for more convincing effect is every bit as useful to the computer based modeller as the physical modeller. And also applies to realistic vehicles every bit as much as fantasy ones. Conventional modelling magazines are also good sources for reference pictures, and blueprints.
If you are reading this, it's a pretty good bet that you have access to the net, and that's a great resource for all sorts of things. Here are some specific suggestions:
These have been covered in some detail above. Be very wary about actually using images you find in the end product, as you could find yourself in breach of copyright. You cannot assume that its yours to do what you want with just because its on the net! Using them as reference material or sampling colours is fine.
Many amateurs and some professional places provide objects you can download. A great help when you are starting, or are in a hurry. Please do respect the authors conditions of use, or they will stop providing this sort of material. A brief note of appreciation if you find something good will also encourage the author to provide more material! I have also found most are very happy to go into a bit more detail on how they did things if asked politely. A search on 'download' and 'lightwave' (or whatever your package is called), will often turn up a lot of great stuff.
Don't forget that surfaces can also be found, or saved out from good objects. And don't forget to examine the settings used to achieve that effect, so you can produce more like it.
I have found out more useful stuff from the Lightwave mailing list than any other source, (including the manuals!). Most packages have at least one running, where you will find people of all abilities from complete beginner to state of the art professional. Just watch for a while, to get a feel for how things are done.
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