Requirements to use A:M

[Hisako 100112]

my mom is an artist (on paper no 3D for her), and i can draw a little, but i'm not remarkable.

 

my question is - are any of you who use this program are remarkable artists? can you sculpt things out of clay and draw realistically?

 

my mom thinks i should use modeling clay to sculpt a face before i model one in A:M. did any of you do anything like that?

 

i don't want to model photo real looking people, but people that are slightly realistic (anime-ish)

 

i'll give you a picture of this doll; just slightly realistic like her.

[brainmuffin]

It's not difficult to learn to model in A:M. It's quite a bit easier to learn than polygonal modeling, in fact. Especially if you come from a 2D (on paper) background. It just takes some time, persistence, and patience. It's not quite like drawing, or sculpting, exactly. It's sort of a combination of the two, with some knitting thrown in.

 

Take a look at some of the tutorials on modeling, they'll get you familiar with how modeling works in A:M. I wouldn't say that I'm by any means a great modeler, but I think I could knock out a decent version of that doll in maybe 12-14 hours of modeling.

 

Having a doll or a sculpture to take reference photos of does make things easier.

[KenH]

I can sculpt and I prefer it/am better at it than drawing. I hate drawing and it shows. I don't know if I'm remarkable at anything, but I keep trying. That's what counts. If anime is your thing, then you've come to the right place. AM is well able for that style.....in fact any style. Provided you have the patience....as with any 3D.

[robcat2075]

Start with something simpler than a human while you are learning to model.

 

my mom thinks i should use modeling clay to sculpt a face before i model one in A:M. did any of you do anything like that?

 

I think it's pretty hard to interpret 2D pictures into a 3D shape.

 

The first time I tried to make an original character I did a sketch, but I still didn't have the whole shape in my mind yet so I made a clay model. I had never made a clay model before but it really helped to understand how the features related to each other in space.

 

 

That was ten years ago. The model ended up like this. I haven't made a clay model for anything since, but I haven't made another original character since then either.

[nimblepix]

I really believe in modeling with clay before modeling in A:M.

There is more of a one to one relationship between the two than drawing and A:M.

 

You can also bake clay models (Sculpey) and draw splines on them before modeling them in A:M.

You can erase the spline marks on the baked model to try different ways to build your model before going into the computer.

 

Good modeling to you!

[John Bigboote]

Yes, your mums a bit on the right side...this time.

 

HOWEVER... I know WAY more people in the 3D business who have NO art experience than do. It is not out of the question...

 

3D in general combines several disciplines and you'll find you need to know how to wear MANY hats:

 

-Artist

-Animator

-Sculptor/modeler

-Director

-Lighter

-Stylist

-Designer

-Researcher

-Technical director

-Cameraman

-Texturer

-Writer

-Actor

-Producer

-Editor

-Sound designer/foley artist

-Story teller

 

and many more. BUT, we all have all that in us, some parts more than others!

[Hisako 100112]

i'll take all of this into mind (for that matter i've only had the program since March; some people say it takes years to make your own models from scratch).

 

i'll try modeling with the clay (i have no sculpting experience what-so-ever), but that too will take time.

 

i'll try the patience thing

 

i have made an simple anime head and a simple robot; maybe i'll make something like that again until i get better.

[largento]

Of course, you don't have to sculpt your models first. I have no real experience sculpting (except for every once in awhile playing with my kneaded eraser). I've created all of my characters from 2D drawings... but I do think of them as being dimensional when I'm drawing them.

 

My path was that I sought out the info and tutorials that I could find for A:M. (Barry Zundel's training DVDs are excellent!) Then just started messing with it. I've been seriously trying to learn A:M for about a year and a half now.

[Fuchur]

Of course, you don't have to sculpt your models first. I have no real experience sculpting (except for every once in awhile playing with my kneaded eraser). I've created all of my characters from 2D drawings... but I do think of them as being dimensional when I'm drawing them.

 

My path was that I sought out the info and tutorials that I could find for A:M. (Barry Zundel's training DVDs are excellent!) Then just started messing with it. I've been seriously trying to learn A:M for about a year and a half now.

 

A:M is more like drawing than sculpting, but it is inbetween.

You dont need any real artist-background, but it can help to draw a little. You dont have to be perfect so.

 

I think Patch-Modelling is not easier to learn than polygonmodelling, but it is more efficient and especially if it comes to handleing and animation your models it is much better suited for most things... there is nothing that can not be modelled, it is only you who sets limits here.

 

But to come back to your question:

I never sculpted before. I did draw very often so, but only with a pencil and not really realistical or near to perfect.

 

Semirealistic, anime-style-models are even easier to model than for example a real, anatomic correct human (that is a task that is really hard... no matter what you use... a 3d-program or a pencil...)

 

So I would say: Just give it a try. If you got any questions, let us know... we will try to help if we can..

*Fuchur*

[robcat2075]

actually, I disagree with the premise of the initial question a bit...

 

my question is - are any of you who use this program are remarkable artists? can you sculpt things out of clay and draw realistically?

 

I think the people who make great models in A:M are remarkable artists even if they don't also draw or sculpt. I think the whole spline thing is a valid medium for artists to work in. It's a new one... it doesn't have the storied history of sculpting or painting... but give it time.

[frosteternal]

I always work from drawings. This is a workflow that meets with varied success. I think for our next film, I'll be buying up some clay for pre-viz work. Drawing makes it a bit more trial-and-error, you must have a very good idea in your brain-meats of what things are.

[heyvern]

Working with clay allows for one thing that drawing doesn't... you can draw splines on the model before you start (if it is the kind of clay that dries of course). I've seen some people who do this both with the clay model and on 2D drawings. Those who prefer to use drawings can often "fudge" when encountering areas that aren't clearly defined in the image reference. AM is used as the "clay" so to speak. I have trouble sometimes in AM when I have areas in my reference that are unclear or hard to see. Many times I've wished for a 3D sculpture to use as a reference.

 

With an actual sculpted model you can see the 3D. A drawing or photo, even with different views, doesn't have that 3D reference. Everything is flat and also distorted by the camera lens itself. I've done "portraits" from photos that ended up looking distorted because the photo increased the perspective and distorted the reference. It takes an artists eye to fix those things.

 

I often use the image reference in AM initially then remove it completely and only "look" at it as if I were painting a portrait. I don't "trace" the photo but use it to tweak the AM model to look more like the reference but from a purely... artistic point of view. Directly tracing from a drawing or photo may only get you so far.

 

A lot of times an artist will use drawings or sketches just to get the initial form of the character they are creating. At least for me, at some point the AM model goes way beyond my sketch. Even with photo references, eventually the model looks like my photo yet I couldn't possibly "line it up". It has gone beyond the reference.

 

Does AM require a ton of artistic skill? Hard to say. Artistic talent and skill is definately a plus. In your brain AM isn't any different than drawing or sculpting. AM is just like using your hands with a sculpting tool or a pencil or a paint brush... once you get the hang of using it of course... just like learning to draw or sculpt. I've learned over the years that using a drawing or photo reference rotoscope is only the beginning when building the model. It gets you going in the right direction. I almost ALWAYS end up discarding it and treating AM as a "canvas" and my reference as a model posing for me.

 

-vern

[StormedFX]

Jusr would like to add my 2 cents word.

 

Clay - the third dimesion is already there for you to work with to make it easier.

 

A:M - the third dimension is from your imagination of how to combined the first twos and put it in the third one into the 3d world spce that is what makes it harder.

 

But both still come to a commonsense where "Artistically Inclined" comes to play just like a mechanic always says

 

"I AM MECHANICALLY INCLINED" where I can look at thing from the outside and figure out how it works in the inside...

 

The same concept applies to both. You can work with clay all day long but without knowing where the third dimension should be the clay method is worthless...

but with A:M if you can use your own imagination to find out where that third dimension is from those front and side view you can call yourself

 

"I AM ARTISTICALLY INCLINE....."

 

To me, A:M is not easy for modeling but if you can accomplish the hardest part of it you can then accomplish the rest...

 

CHEERS!

[DarkLimit]

-Modeling in A:M is fun and artistic, you don't have to be a pro to model; I believe in visualizing what you want to create, (Clay,action figures,sketches) will always be a great help as you model...Spend quality time with your models and they will turn out good, modeling is never easy but it can be depending on how you approach ur work..

[phatso]

Speaking as one who understands the process, but does not claim to be good at it - if you saw my organic models you'd know...

 

A:M is designed, first and foremost, as a way to model and animate organic forms. It can do inorganic too, but organic is its specialty.

 

Your ability to model something depends more on how well you know its form than on how well you know the software. So, really, the only person who can answer the question is you. Could you make a successful sculpture? If you could, then you don't have to. The fact that you could means you know the form well enough to make it directly in A:M.

 

Not that making a sculpture to draw splines on is a bad idea. I just wonder if it's worth the time.

[heyvern]

Not that making a sculpture to draw splines on is a bad idea. I just wonder if it's worth the time.

 

It can be if the there is a weird hard to spline area like a face or shoulder. If you can "experiment" with different spline layouts before modeling it could save a lot of trial and error in AM. I've seen sketches from the "pros" here of arms legs, shoulders, heads, with "splines" drawn with pen or pencil. These can be helpful before modeling. They can help determine how to start... extrude or lathe or just stitch.

 

-vern

[phatso]

Of course, there's always a substitute for time: money. I've used the sculpture method myself, but I took a shortcut. I went to a place that outfits stores and bought a stylized mannequin head. They had one where the back had been smashed in, so it was cheap. No prob with that; don't need help modelling the back of a head. Nice, shiny plastic, the markings come right off if I want to change them.