The 3D Art & Design Book

260 Pages·2013·81.415 MB·English

Welcome to
The
3D Art
& Design
TM
The world of 3D art and design is an exciting place to express your creativity and achieve
incredible effects. Whether you’re an experienced 3D artist or just getting started, this book
contains over 250 pages worth of features, interviews and tutorials from which you can take
inspiration and develop your own creations. From characters and vehicles to arch-vis and design,
these expert guides cover the most popular tools and software to help enhance your works of
art. There are also masterclasses and a helpdesk to answer commonly asked questions about
techniques and skills. And if that wasn’t enough, there is also a free CD packed full of tutorial
files, reference images and over three hours worth of video tuition.
Enjoy the book

The
3D Art
& Design
TM
Imagine Publishing Ltd
Richmond House
33 Richmond Hill
Bournemouth
Dorset BH2 6EZ
☎ [phone]
Website: www.imagine-publishing.co.uk
Twitter: @Books_Imagine
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImagineBookazines
Editor in Chief
Jo Cole
Production Editor
Sarah Harrison
Senior Art Editor
Danielle Dixon
Printed by
William Gibbons, 26 Planetary Road, Willenhall, West Midlands, WV13 3XT
Distributed in the UK & Eire by
Imagine Publishing Ltd, www.imagineshop.co.uk. Tel [phone]
Distributed in Australia by
Gordon & Gotch, Equinox Centre, 18 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest,
NSW 2086. Tel + 61 2 9972 8800
Distributed in the Rest of the World by
Marketforce, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SU.
Disclaimer
The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the
post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this bookazine may
be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are
recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the bookazine has
endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change.
This bookazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein.
Photoshop is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated
in the United States and/or other countries and is used with express permission.
The 3D Art & Design Book © 2012 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1908222916
Part of the
bookazine series
IMAGINEER TEAM
OF THE YEAR OF THE YEAR
DANIELLE DIXON BOOKAZINES
08
Ultimate guide to
3D Art & Design
Gain the knowledge and insight to get started
Character Vehicle Architectural
visualisation
20 D istinctive design 90 The future in motion
Get inspiration for characters Harald Belker shares his experiences 140 A rchitectural visualisation:
28 Packaging characters 96 Design a muscle car i ndustry guide
Bring characters to life Create your own cool vehicle assets Insight into arch-vis in the UK
36 Create a stylised 3D pinup 102 Texture and render a 146 Light and render
Combine burlesque aesthetics muscle car a house
with classy 3D modelling Apply materials to your muscle car Re-create a stylish family home
49 Gallery 108 I made this… 150 I made this…
By RenPeng Dong AC Cobra Panoptican
50 Sculpt feathers and flames 110 Scorpion spacecraft 152 Lighting for day and
in ZBrush concept design night scenes
Make realistic-looking birds A 2D space-exploration vehicle Achieve a photorealistic look
takes shape
56 Master character design 158 Back to nature
112 Modelling the Scorpio
Create toy-inspired creatures Bring an outdoor village to life
TTaacckkllee yyoouurr ssppaacceesshhiipp''ss ccoommpplleexx sshhaappeess
116644 Creating realistic
60 Create realistic eyes and skin 118 TTeexxttuurriinngg tthhee SSccoorrppiioo visualisations in Blender
Make 3D portraits look like photographs
BBrriinngg yyoouurr ssppaacceesshhiipp ttoo lliiffee Achieve good-looking interiors
66 I made this… wwiitthh rreeaalliissttiicc tteexxttuurreess
The Interview 124 I made this…
68 Futuristic Femme Automotive design
concept design 126 MMooddeell aa hhoott rroodd
Post-apocalyptic punk girl Piece together a cool automobile
70 Create the Futuristic Femme 132 Texture and light a hot rod
Model, texture and present your character Use LightWave 3D to add more depth
6 3D Art & Design
90
170
224
36
184
Design Masterclass Helpdesk
170 Push the boundaries 208 Cooking up realistic fire 234 Exterior light
Chris LaBrooy explains how Create fire and smoke simulations How can I set exterior light in arch-vis scenes?
174 Fluid type experiment 212 Mastering glass and liquids 237 Paint jobs
Produce a dynamic piece of typography Render and light a glass of beer How can I perfect my paint jobs with V-Ray?
178 Master abstract sculpture 216 Creature texturing in MARI 238 Lighting
Create a stunning surreal illustration Master MARI for all your texturing needs How do you turn a custom lighting rig into an HDR
183 Gallery 220 Enhance renders image for mapping to an IBL node?
By Krzysztof Gawel in Photoshop 240 Skin deformation
Image manipulation and post-
184 Custom typography processing techniques How can I improve skin deformation in 3ds Max?
Create hand-knitted, soft-looking lettering 224 Compositing in animation 242 Realistic grass
188 ShadowBoxing with style Create a short animation using How can I add realistic grass to my renders?
Blend a stylised character with CG applications 244 SpotLight
abstract shapes 228 Get to grips with How do I texture with SpotLight?
193 Gallery projection mapping 246 Iceberg texture
By Kamil Solminski aka Trisme Learn the basics How do you create a realistic iceberg texture?
194 Digital graffiti 248 Applying fur
From 2D sketch to 3D art How do I apply fur to a character mesh?
199 Gallery 250 Flesh and stitches
By Finnian MacManus How can I create a gash with stitches over flesh?
200 Create fluid creatures 252 Industrial textures
Turn solid objects into fluid creatures How can I create industrial textures?
205 I made this… 255 Shadows
The Dark Type How can I add lifelike shadows in post?
3D Art & Design 7
Ultimate guide to 3D Art & Design
Ultimate guide to
© Maurice Panisch |
www.maurice-panisch.de
Model: Glen Johnson,
www.glenjohnson.de
Backplate and HDRI: Markus
Hanke, www.markushanke.de
3ds Max

ZBrush
As part of Autodesk’s ZZBBrruusshh iiss aa ddiiggiittaall ssccuullppttiinngg aanndd ppaaiinnttiinngg
Mudbox
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portfolio of programs, 3ds
Mudbox is a digital ooff iinndduussttrriieess,, ssuucchh aass fifi llmmss,, ggaammeess,,
Max off ers game sculpting and painting jjeewweelllleerryy,, ttooyy ddeessiiggnn aanndd mmaannyy mmoorree..
developers, visual eff ects prIot’gsr aavma iflarobmle Afour tModaecs,k . © Rafael
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systems. uusseerrss.. EEvveerryyoonnee ffrroomm pphhoottooggrraapphheerrss ttoo
model, animate, composite
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and render in its software.
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8 3D Art & Design
Ultimate guide to 3D Art & Design
Whether you’re a full-time artist or a days of needing a science degree in order exhaustive, it nonetheless does provide you with
hobbyist keen to take the leap into to navigate the interface or a sizeable salary an indication of what’s out there in order to get
the third dimension, 3D software to fi nance this art form – there are 3D you started in the world of 3D. Since the choice
off ers a world of possibilities for creativity. It applications out there to suit any budget, of software largely depends on what it is you
doesn’t matter if it’s photo-realistic or stylised and the companies behind the software are would like to achieve within it, as well as your
models, assets for animation and videogames or working hard to make them more intuitive for system setup, it’s worth taking some time to
visual eff ects; all this and more can be produced their users with every iteration. explore your options. Many companies also
with off -the-shelf 3D applications. For those of you that haven’t yet settled on off er free trials through their websites, which is
What’s more, these programs have never software, you’ll fi nd a round-up of ten ideal if you would like to explore a little more
been as accessible to artists. Gone are the applications below. While the list is by no means before you invest.
Gone are the
days of needing a
science degree or a
sizeable salary in
order to use this
art form
Blender
This free, open-source
software is a fantastic
resource for artists. You
Maya can model, shade, Vue
Cinema 4D
animate, render and
Another Autodesk Maxon’s 3D software is popular among composite in this E-on software’s
graphic and industrial designers, and is software.
product, Maya off ers tools landscape-
used by many artists to model, animate,
such as animation, modelling, light, render and more. generation tool
LightWave
rendering and visual eff ects. gives artists the
LightWave is another
It’s also used by creatives SoftImage chance to create,
modelling, animation
working in the game This is a visual eff ects, animation and 3D and rendering tool used animate and
game development software from by artists working in the
development, visual eff ects render realistic
Autodesk. It is available as part of the visual eff ects and
and graphic design industries. environments.
Suite, or as a standalone product. videogames industry.
3D Art & Design 9
Ultimate guide to 3D Art & Design
Character
Character art can
cover anything from
photo-realistic
representations to
futuristic robots
Character design is an incredibly also produce some interesting results; it
broad and exciting genre of 3D art could mean faithfully re-creating a realistic
and design. Commercially, character green lizard or devising an evolutionary
creations feature in industries such as answer to the extinct Dodo.
videogames, visual eff ects, fi lms and Although working from your own
advertising. However, outside of those original concepts is certainly advised,
areas, artists use character art to expand collaborating on projects with fellow
their portfolio and develop their skills in creatives such as 2D artists can open up a
other areas of 3D. For many, this can world of opportunities for the 3D artist. It
include attempting hair or fur on a critter off ers a chance to add your own spin on an
they’ve designed, achieving realistic- existing character with a back story,
looking skin on a portrait or applying personality and so on. Seek permission
a photographic fi nish via the post- from the original artist and/or copyright
production stage. own beforehand, though.
In terms of what character art There are many benefi ts of working in
encompasses as a category, it can cover 3D, but in terms of character creation it
anything from photo-realistic enables you to consider a complete view
representations of your loved ones, of your character, varying the poses,
organically sculpted monsters of the deep, lighting, materials and rendering. You
futuristic robots – pretty much anything also need to consider its end use – will it be
you set your mind to. in a videogame, animation or an
While big-name studios such as Pixar, illustration? These factors will all impact
DreamWorks and Blue Sky Studios are a your workfl ow at some point and infl uence
massive infl uence on many individuals, the fi nished piece.
artists source inspiration for their projects Like workfl ows, artistic styles vary in
from all kinds of mediums; fi lms, character design. For example, you could
videogames and even childhood memories create something that looks handmade,
can shape a character concept. What’s such as clay, plasticine, wood, or paper
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aass ZZBBrruusshh,, MMuuddbbooxx aanndd SSccuullppttrriiss,, aallssoo
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© Rafael
Grassetti wwiitthh eeaassee..
- Guardian
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www.
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com
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Photo-realistic portraits
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10 3D Art & Design