Introduction
It happens sometimes that I still have this certain unsure feeling. Perhaps you might know this feeling as I do: it is the feeling of being lost. Each time I want start with a new 3D image – be it scenery, character or sketch image – I start my 3D application of choice and what am I presented with? I see this virtual world full of nothings. “Well…Okay. What do I want to create again? A full 3D scenery image that blows everyone off?”
[…A Moment of Silence…]
[I start to laugh until I lose consciousness *thud*.] [Two hours later I continue writing:]
The Fear
Admittedly the description above is a little bit over the top to make your reading more worthwhile and my writing easier. Yet the feeling I still sometimes have is true (and I am quite sure that I am not the only one).
The reasons why we have those unsure feelings can be quite wide in case of possibilities. For some it might be the simple “That much work…”-kind of feeling. For the (many) other of us it might be the “Will my 3D image turn out good?” Or “Will they like my 3D image?” With a small exception of the first one most of the other reasons can be accounted to the insecurities we all have regarding our work, especially when we start from nothing. It is on contrary quite normal.
Yet the worst thing you can do in those moments is to either to not start at all and giving up or to push it off for some time.
Don’t worry. Simply Work.
The world is full of people who think back in time and quietly ask themselves if they could have made it. And in review the answer might not be that comforting as they suddenly know they could have made it. So don’t be one of them.
Don’t worry about the flat and virtual nothings in front of your eyes. Don’t worry about the work. Don’t worry about the other people in the forums or everywhere else that might talk your 3D image bad. It doesn’t matter because in the end you created something and made a (if not the) step towards your future.
Don’t worry and simply start to work. If you want to create a 3D head of a woman, simply start to work on the nose or the overall shape. If you want to model a majestic old 3D tree start with the main trunk or create the overall shape (which you hopefully painted beforehand). As soon as you have something in your 3D scene working will become much easier than before. And the more you have in your 3D scene the easier you can continue to work on because whenever you restart your 3D application of choice you will know that you won’t be presented with a big nothing.
And this something-is-better-than-nothing-principle can apply to your “career” as a whole. Simply start to work, create one 3D image after another and don’t think too much about the quality. Continue to work and ask other people what you could do better the next time. Slowly but surely, and without knowing it, you will get better and better. And more often than not you will sit in front of your flat screen monitor and smile to yourself while you constantly watch your result. And you can believe me on that one!
It is amazing how many times I thought to myself that it wasn’t possible. Yet in the end I also many times was surprised how well some 3D images of mine turned out.
In this regard it is highly important to note one thing: it does not matter how great 3D images of other people let alone the pros are. And it doesn’t matter how your images lack on every level in comparison. In fact this doesn’t matter at all. The best of the best 3D images you might take as a reference are your long time goal, perhaps in two or three years. They show you how other people work in terms of modeling, texturing, painting, and lightning. Take those images and save them. And then simply start to become as good as the pros by starting to create a 3D image. Step by step.
Of course I too strive for the best quality possible and compared to the pros I am still way not good enough. I still see those images and think to myself “Wow, if I were that good…” But that doesn’t matter because one time I can be as good as them.
And so will you.
