It isn't easy, first of all. It looks easy, of course, but the thing is that you can do pretty much anything with 3D. That's the problem, really. There's so much to learn, you can spend a decade and still not know everything there is to know about the things you can do with it as an art form. Just mastering the very basics takes forever - four years of art school and let me tell you, after nearly three years of that playing with programs like Maya, I've still got a lot to learn.
Because there is so much to it, it puts people off. Infinite complexity means nothing if you can't wrap your head around some part of it. For the longest time, I've been depressed over just how horrible my models tend to look - they look too bland, to me. Now, I think I can understand why: a good model means absolutely nothing without an amazing texture to go with it.
Which is kind of the whole point of this post tonight, I suppose - finding new ways to inspire creativity in yourself. Some time ago, I was curious about "how do I do this?" or "How can I solve X problem in a manner that pleases me?" Such topics include rendering a beautiful, lush field of grass that doesn't look like crap, or like someone threw a texture on the ground. Other topics included things like using textures that look crisp and sharp.
That was my problem - I didn't fully understand the render nodes. For the uninformed, render nodes are basically little tree-like diagrams connected sort of like a web. Things connect in different ways, until you get to the very top node (or the root, if you will), which is what you use to slap onto an object. Suddenly, voila, you have a texture on your thingus! It's akin to magic, or so I am told.
Last night, I took some time to sit down and try to re-educate myself on how I can use these to create amazing-looking textures without making everything look so cookie-cutter. One such instance of this is when you are looking at some wood cabinets. Sure, if you get some pre-fabricated cabinets, sometimes they use the exact same mould for all of it - which makes everything look all the samey. Real wood cabinets, however, have distinct and varied patterns - no two pieces are the same, though they will usually share some similarities.
Using the pre-made "wood" shader in Maya is no good, as I have now come to learn. There is nothing 'standard' in 3D (another pitfall, I am finding). Everything must be custom-tailored to one's needs in any given project (which of course makes it more difficult, since you must know everything in order to proceed in any given project). However, knowing how to tweak it is something entirely different - you can get some amazing results in a fairly short order if you understand the purpose behind the nodes you are given, and how to utilize them properly.
Of course, now that I understand how to properly use this one little thing, it's got me thinking in a completely different direction... now I am starting to see how I can use this for *other* objects. Metal textures, rock textures, anything that has a distinctive pattern to it that needs to be varied but similar, the possibilities are starting to swirl about in my head.
Sometimes, taking a step back and looking over the things you've done in the past is a good way to re-inspire yourself. Look back, sometimes, and ask yourself: Was there something I wanted to learn but forgot about? Can I find a solution to that problem now?
You never know - you could surprise yourself.
You never know - you could surprise yourself.
As a side note: if I ever manage to get something half-decent as a render (likely a simple object), I'll probably throw it up on the internet somewhere and link it here. I'm likely to start with things like tables and cabinets and desks, just to make it easy on myself and to get a feel for how to really make something shine. Then, maybe I can tackle dynamics... because knowing how to produce life-like flames is freaking amazing.
You can quote me on that one.
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