Introduction
When you are working on a 3D image, a normal image or something completely different, it can happen that you get so absorbed with it that you continue to make some corrections here, some additions there or a rework somewhere else. While this is of course normal in most cases it will become quite the opposite when you are working too long on it, despite the fact that you might create your 3D images just for fun.
In contrast to a project for pleasure and as a hobby in business time is money. And because of this there is a principle with a limit one person/corporation should work on a project because the gain is not worthy anymore. This principle is called Pareto Principle which is also known as the 80/20 rule.
The Pareto Principle
The Pareto Principle got its name from Joseph M. Juran, who not only suggested this principle but also suggested the name for it (after an Italian economist called Vilfredo Pareto).
In its core the principle is really easy to understand. It states that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the efforts. In other words 20 percent of the effects come from 80 percent of the efforts. Since this principle is about 80s and 20s it is also known as the 80/20 rule.
The remarkable thing about this principle is the fact that it can be applied almost everywhere: in a kitchen you could say that 80% of the flavors are caused by 20% of the ingredients. The remaining 20% that are missing have to be filled up with a whopping 80% of the ingredients. Or take the Pareto Principle to business itself: 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of its customers. The remaining 20% of its sales volume are caused by a 80% majority of its customers (those small 20% of all customers are the big goal of each company; they are the A-Customers).
And of course, you can take this Pareto Principle to the work of art or – as in our case – computer graphics, aka 3D images: 80% of the visual quality of a 3D computer generated image is caused by 20% of the efforts. Again the remaining 20% would take as much as 80% of the efforts.
So what does this mean in our daily 3D virtual work?
Applying the Pareto Principle
Of course it is impossible to simply say: work three hours and you are done because each and every 3D image differs and therefore the time it takes to create it. If you aim for a simple sphere on a simple ground, it would be seconds. If you want to create a big Lord of the Rings-esque matte “painting” we talk about days, weeks and perhaps even months. As you can see it is impossible to tell you when you exactly should stop with your 3D work.
Nevertheless there are one rule of thumb I have learned in the last months when I created my various images and 3D sketches you find in my gallery:
As soon as you start working on smaller details in an otherwise more or less finished scene, stop.
This is something I have witnessed on myself very often in the past. I got a scene in which almost everything was modeled, textured and filled with light. Yet I didn’t stop working on it. I moved some points in the virtual space, made small corrections to my texture maps because one wrinkle didn’t look right or moved one leaf around because I didn’t like it.
When we apply the Pareto Principle in those old cases you can see that I was always way past the moment in which 80% can be created with 20% of time. I was in the 20% which took 80% of my time. And you can believe me on that one. Sometimes I worked days on a texture map because of way to minor details that didn’t increase the quality of the final image in any significant way.
So when you are working on a 3D scene, be it a character like Gollum or a wonderful scenery for a science fiction wallpaper, force yourself to stop working when the moment is ripe. Don’t try to go too far because you can reach 80% of an image quality in just 20% of the time it would take to reach the full 100%.
Over time you will get better and naturally these 80% will change. When you start working the field of 3d generated images they can be as small as a good modeled, untextured head. Some years later they might be as big as a completely modeled and textured warrior.
In any case you should never forget: the longer you work on a 3D image that is already beyond the 80% you miss the chance to start working on a new one.
