Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 4
Layout 1:
FoundationMaterial
One of the best ways to think about the
whole process of 3D is to equate it to build-
ing scale models and then photographing
them. All the different parts of the process
are the same. You've got to sculpt the
pieces that you'll eventually turn the cam-
era on, sometimes “kit-bashing” free
models found on the Internet or cannibaliz-
ing old pieces laying around in an attic-like
part of your hard drive.
If you were working with
practical
(“real”) models, you'd paint the models so
they looked just the way you wanted, from
whatever camera angle you were going to
shoot them. You'd find a private stage to set
them up. You'd get lights to shine on them
and bounce off of diffusing boards and
screens. You'd look through your camera or
director's viewfinder and see what needs to
be touched up on the models, placement, or
lighting. You'd possibly add some smoke or
wind and, making sure exposure, filters,
and camera speed are all correct, you'd let
the cameras roll!
The best-looking work I've seen from
3D artists is from people who were thinking
as though they were “doing this in real
life.” 3D is just a tool to give you rent-free,
unlimited soundstage space. Once you get
beyond the fact that you can't really “hold”
what you're working on, becoming good in
3D is mostly a matter of finding out how
what you know about your physical,
practi-
cal
“reality” translates into the tools you
use to manipulate this
virtual
“reality.”
Note
Some of the most impressive work to come
out of
Babylon 5
was from a guy in his late
40s who, until he was hired, had never
worked in 3D CGI before. He was a photog-
rapher, and as such,
he understood how light
behaved.
After he got the knack of Light-
Wave's controls, his 3D work began to
reflect how he would light and shoot an
event in “real life.”
Being a computer whiz has very little to do
with being good at 3D. After you know your
way around the tools, it's all about what you
choose to focus your camera on and how
you choose to showcase that environment.
Anyone
, given the time, can learn the tools
— possibly one of the most liberating things
about working in 3D.
There are no limits!
