There’s a whole bunch of free applications available on the web for the up-and-coming digital artist. This is great, in some ways. Some of my favorites are as follows:
Google Sketchup—My favorite 3D program
http://sketchup.google.com/index.html
MakeHuman—Much like Poser, but in development
http://www.makehuman.org/blog/index.php
DAZ Studio—Versatile, Poser-like program
http://www.daz3d.com/i/software/studio?_m=d
Inkscape—Shares some functionality with Illustrator and Freehand
GIMP—Much like Photoshop
Blender—Excellent 3D design application
Really, this is the just beginning of all the free 3D content and applications available on the web. There are so many free props and characters and programs available that you could probably build a comic or 3D animated movie and never have to model it yourself or spend any money.
For me, this is all pretty exciting stuff. I see it as a way to augment my hand-drawn art, speeding up composition, working out tough poses, designing sets, etc. My fear, however, is that the siren call of free technology will cause many young people to skip learning how to draw and jump right to 3D.
Is that really a problem? Yes and no. When you build your images in 3D, you still have to make use of composition, dynamics, and a host of other factors that figure into every image. So, a good artist is a good artist, whether he works in traditional 2D or modern 3D. 3D applications are tools, just as are brushes and pencils.
The problem, as I see it, is that every experienced 2D artist learns to build a 3D model of the world in his mind. He can take his subject, and mentally look at it from different angles, frame his shots, modify it, try different lighting, all in real time. 3D artists, on the other hand, might not develop this invaluable skill, because all these parameters are already there, externally shown on the monitor.
My advice: Use 3D technology to augment your art, but don’t neglect the good old analog world of drawing, sketching, and painting.
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I love these programs – very good stuff.
However, some people, like myself, have very little in 2D skills. Unlike the traditional artist, I can only look at things presented to me – such as in a 3D fashion. That doesn’t mean I forgo any traditional training – heavens no. It only means that while some people, like you, can take a piece of paper and make a master piece, I can’t. I can take a piece of paper and make a paper airplane.
Excellent Point, Tadd!
I’m not criticizing, by the way. I feel like I have feet firmly in both worlds, analog and digital, and they compliment each other. I never learned the art of doing beautiful hand lettering in comics, for example, so I’m thrilled with the computer as a lettering device.
When you get down to it, I’m just glad that these programs exist and are free and that people can express themselves with them. I make no secret of my love affair with Google SketchUp, for example, and I use it liberally.
You’ve talked about Sketch Up in the past, and even shown a few rather impressive models you’ve done. Where do you learn about how to do this?
Hi, Tadd:
I learned all of it from Youtube videos on the Sketchup site itself, and some from Youtube vids on Youtube itself. I had a little experience prior to this with other 3D programs, and that helped a bit, because all 3D programs have some stuff in common.