Guides

DAZStudio

GIMP introduction

Anime Style

Software

Item Search

The Basics of Digital Art

The process of creating an image can be summarised as :

Create a 3D Model

3D modelling software such as 3D Studio Max, Wings3D, Hexagon, Rhino, and more, all allow modellers to create a 3 Dimensional image (sometimes animated, creating a 4th dimension). Usually models consist of polygons; simple arrangements of 3 points which make lots of little triangles, these triangles forming the model.

It is not necessary to make these models yourself; 3D Modelling software will let you do this, but there are huge ranges of models of all subject available, for free or for purchase, created by professionals and amateurs around the world. 3D models are made in different formats, not all arfe compatible with every piece of software. Usually, converters are available; however, most major software is compaitble with most major file formats.

Texture the 3D Model

Next the model must be textured. This "paints" the model allowing a flat image, or set of images, to be painted on the surface of the model giving it depth and realism. Some 3D modelling software has this ability; external software(UVMapper, DeepUV and others) is also available to do the job.

The neat thing is, once the texture mapping is complete, different textures can be applied the the model. So one model can be "re-painted" just by creating a different texture map. This is very common practice with Poser and Daz|Studio products, especially clothing.

A texture mapped model can also have maps for how reflective a surface is, whether it glows, even it's roughness or smoothness.

Some software, such as later versions of Poser, include special Material editors which allow the user to really play around with the textures.

Import all models into the Rendering software

Rendering software turns these 3D models into a picture. Different software renders in different ways, and most artists find one piece generates images in their preferred style. Some prefer very precise, realistic renders from ray-tracing; others might prefe a more cartoony look. For some, render speed is important factor, as extremely detailed images at high resolution with complex lighting could take days to complete on slower systems.

Some rendering software is capable of producing broadcast or movie quality images. A lot of software used by movie professionals is available, in either the full version of scaled-down artist editions, and often for less money than you might think. Even free software can produce surprisingly good results.

Arrange the models

Models can be moved in the X (side-to-side), Y (up and down) and Z (back and forth) directions or dimensions. They can also be rotated and scaled (made bigger or smaller, stretched, squashed, etc). Some models in some software are made of multiple parts which can be moved independantly, or changed in shape seperately to the main model.

This is the key to figure posing software such as Poser and Daz|Studio; each figure has morphs and other dials to change size, shape, appearance and position. Also, libraries of pre-set poses are available to give specific or general poses for figures.

Special Case: Landscapes and Scenery

Some artists prefer to use specialist software for generating scenery, such as Vue or Bryce. This software often has a great renderer and import facilities for posed models, so the workflow will be to modify, clothe and pose models in figure posing software then load the scene into the landscape software.

Add Lights, Camera, Action

Lights tell the rendering software how to illuminate the objects. Ambient light illuminates everything; distant lights act like the sun; spotlights create interest. There are many types of light in each piece of software. Each can be modified to create different colours and intensity of light, or produce HDRI (High Dynamic Range Image) lighting which creates a more realistic look, a light can even be told whether to cast shadows or not.

Cameras can be placed within a scene, and the final image could be rendered for the point of view of any camera. Most software allows the camera to be moved freely, to have different focus, lens types, and so on.

Animation allows objects to be moved, morphed, added or removed. Animation renders can be set to simulate motion blur as desired.

Render

The step which turns all this data into a picture! Once the scene is set, a camera is selected and rendering can begin.

Normally, a lower-resolution test render is carried out with most of the quality settings turned off. The final high resolution image, with all the lights, shadows, complex texture maps and more, can take minutes to hours to render depending on complexity. So, the test images make sure there are no glaring errors before wasting a lot of processing time!

Postwork

Often a final render is still not perfect. Even if it is, it is common to add frames, logos, etc to an image. 2D software such as Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, The Gimp etc. are all used to edit the picture.