Instead of another tutorial I’m dedicating this week’s post to improving skills as an artist. Quite often we get caught up in the technicalities of 3d that we forget what creating art is all about.

I often think back to when I first started Blender and how differently I would approach it now.

Here are some tips to fast track your success as an artist:

1. Produce one finished render each week

If I could jump back in time machine to my skinny-framed 14-year old self, I would give him this one tip: create one finished render each week.

Why? Because when you come at blender with the flipent approach of ‘There’s no rush, I can stop whenever I like’, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Think about it: If your school teacher told you that you could hand in your assignment “whenever”, do you honestly think you ever would? Chances are you just wouldn’t get around to it. Why would you go through the pain of completing that boring assignment when Call of Duty provides instant gratification? When you have no deadline you become lazy.

Deadlines are what drives society to finish projects.

Did you know that when tradesmen are hired to construct a building they have strict deadlines for which the project needs to be finished by? I once heard of an insulation company having to pay fines of $80,000 per day until they could finish the skyscaper they were working on. They overshot their deadline and had to pay the (very hefty) price.

I know that you’re probably just using Blender as late night hobby, but it’s worth at least entertaining the idea of setting yourself a goal. My recommendation would be to set yourself the goal of creating one finished render in 7 days. This imaginary deadline ensures that you stay on track and don’t get distracted by Facebook or other time wasters. The rule is that on day 7 you must stop working on it, regardless of how bad it is and upload it to a forum and start another project. Repeat this process every week and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you grow as an artist.

Funnily enough, I recently discovered that director Sam Raimi has the exact same advice to aspiring film makers.

2. Recreate photographs

Photo I found on Flickr.com

My recreation of that photo - Used in the tutorial 'Introduction to Texture Nodes'

One of the biggest questions a lot of 3d artists have is, “Why does my scene look so fake?” Well if you create a scene based entirely off a photograph then you won’t have this problem, as you can compare your scene with the reference photograph.

When you set out to replicate a photograph you start to notice new details in the photo that you had never seen before. The bounce lighting, the glare, the depth of field, the subtle reflections, all of these things are essential to making the scene believable, but you wouldn’t have noticed them without carefully studying the photo.

Now I know what you’re thinking: “Replicating photos are boring! I’m an artist, I have a right to be creative!” Well that’s true, and I’m not suggesting that you recreate photos forever, but if you’re just starting out it’s essential to understand the fundamentals before moving onto more complicated things. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time to create wacky sci-fi scenes in the future, but for now it’s more important to understand the fundamentals of how to create a real world scene.

3. Ask for honest critiques

Photo by Kim Bentley

Lately I have noticed a disturbing trend in the online art community: users are no longer looking for critiques, they are looking for compliments.

I know why this is happening but it doesn’t make it any less stupid. People that do this are putting their fragile emotions before your long term success.

Be a man. Post your artwork with the phrase, “I want to improve my skills as an artist so please give your honest feedback! Don’t worry about hurting my feelings ”

This encourages people to open up and tell you what they really think. Which is a good thing. Instead of the same old “Well done, looks great” response you’ll get real feedback on how you can improve for next time. This is invaluable if you want to improve as an artist.

4. Surround yourself with better artists

'Forest Refuge' by Alex Roman

There’s an old saying, “If you want to soar like an eagle, don’t run with the turkeys.”

It’s almost scary how much of an effect our peers have on our life. Studies have shown that if you take the income of your five best friends, average it out, it will be the same or close to yours. The same goes for your weight, spending habits and oh yeah, artist talent.

Now I’m not just talking about the friends you hang out with on the weekend. I’m talking about the online art communities you associate yourself with.

For example, if you post your artwork on BlenderArtist.org you will get a lot more positive comments than if you posted it on CGSociety.org. Why? Because CGSociety is a community of industry professionals that has a lot higher standards than say, BlenderArtists which is a community of mostly inexperienced or new artists (you know it’s true).

Now I’m not here to bag on BlenderArtists.org, as they provide an invaluable service to the community. But I do want to highlight the importance of surrounding yourself with artists who are more talented then you are. If you constantly surround yourself with mediocre art then you’ll feel accomplished and more likely to slack off. However if you surround yourself with awesome art, then you you’ll realize how lacking you are.

Personally I make it a habit to watch The Third and The Seventh on a regular basis. It reminds me how much further I have to go

5. Actually ‘do’ tutorials, don’t just watch

Photo by John Norton

If you only watch a tutorial, you may remember about half of it by the time it’s finished, but it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll have forgetten most of it by the end of the next day. However if you actually do the tutorial, you will not only retain the information longer but you will also discover new tips and realize that somethings don’t pan out as you thought they would in your head.

Don’t get into the habit of thinking that by simply watching tutorials you are improving your artistic talent. It’s only by doing it that you actually start learning.

6. Decorate your workspace

A 'cubicle' at Pixar Studios

One thing that Pixar, Google and Facebook share in common is that they all give free reign to their employees to decorate their workplace as much as they want. Why? It’s simple: Studies have shown that decorated workspaces increase creativity and encourage out-of-the-box thinking.

It makes sense really. If you put one person in an empty white room and another person in a colorful decorated room, chances are the second person will think of more creative ideas.

Printouts, magazine clippings, posters, anything! Provided it’s inspirational to you, go ahead and stick it to your wall. The next time you’re struggling to think of an idea, your wall will no longer be blank

7. Become an information junkie

Photo by Ruth Ellison

I once heard a speaker say that if you can read three books on one topic then you will become an expert of that field. Why? Because nobody else can be bothered doing this.

There is a plethora of information regarding art, and most of it is free. You just need to tap into it and start absorbing it.

There’s magazines, interviews, DVD commentary, tutorials, making-ofs, breakdowns and more.

Sure you may read some stuff that you already know, but I can guarantee that there will be at least one nugget of invaluable information you can learn from every book or interview out there. Motivational speaker Tony Robbins got to where he is today by attending hundreds of seminars as a kid. He came at it with the approach of ‘If I learn just one tip from this seminar then it has been worth my while’. He became a sponge for new information and as a result is one of the highest paid public speakers today.

What simple, practical tips can you offer new artists? Post your comment below.

It’s inspiration time! If you follow my Facebook page then you’ll know that I like to post little snippets of inspiration that I find on the net. But it’s not always created by Blender users.

“Do you know any good animations created with Blender?”

It’s a question that I get asked a lot, because let’s face it: we all want to know if Blender has what it takes to compete with the big boys.

Well, I’ve been hanging out in the Blender community for the last 8 years and so I’ve encountered quite a lot of blender animatons. You’d be surprised at the quality of blender animations out there.

So in lieu of a tutorial this week, I’ve put together the ultimate blender inspiration post: A list of the most inspiring Blender Animations. Some of these you may have seen, some you haven’t, but I hope that it can inspire you to get out there and create your own animation with Blender.

In no particular order, let’s begin with…

1. Memory

Director Junichi Yamamoto won Best Short Film at the 2009 Suzanne Awards for this attention grabbing short film about a robot in a post apocolyptic world.

2. BMW 3 Promo

Mike Pan modelled, lit and rendered a BMW for this conceptial advertisement using Blender 2.5.

3. Transformation

Andre B used Blender and AutoCAD to demonstrate the beauty of mechanical transformation in this beautiful short film.

4. Mindfields

When Andy Goralczyk created this short film way back in 2003 it became a milestone achievement for Blender. Up until then animations produced with Blender were rather basic, but in just 5 minutes Andy demonstrated grass rendering, deserts, character animation and meteor explosions. Way to break the mold Andy!

5. Kajimba

Red Cartel (formerly known as Promotion Studios) created this animated film project aimed at the Adult comedy market. It gained lots of attention for the Sydney based studio, who then went on to create TV adverts for Bridgestone Tires.

6. Evolution

Alex Glawion won Best Design at the 2009 Suzanne Awards for this moving short film about evolution.

7. Old Key

A personal favourite of mine that showcases particles, fluid simulation and very realistic rendering. The music alone is enough make me hit replay

8. Bounce to space

Pablo Vazquez somehow managed to give a bouncy ball personality in this humourous short film. He received a nomination for Best Character animation at the 2009 Suzanne Awards and later went on to work on Sintel.

9. Omega – Teaser Trailer

Andy Goralczyk used a unique combination of stop motion and CG, to pull us into this post apocolyptic world of robots and trash formations. Omega is still a work in progress, but you can follow the progress on his blog here.

10. Esign

[iframe: src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/b717oeNkHXY?rel=0&showinfo=0" frameborder="0" width="540" height="333" scrolling="no"]

Chris Larkee created this abstract animation way back in 2005, winning Best Design at the Suzanne Awards.

11. Overheated

David Ward created this hilarious spoof of Pixar’s Cars about a grumpy car stuck in the sun.

12. The Cup

The students at Pepe-Shcool-Land created this hilarious short film in just three months using Blender. They received a well earned nomination for Best Short film at the recent 2010 Suzanne Awards.

13. Dikta – Goodbye

Miðstræti studio was contacted by the Icelandish band Dikta to create a music video for their popular song. The band gave complete artist license to the studio who pulled through to create a unique styled animation about a world made of paper.

14. Stop

Eoin Duffy won Best Design at the 2007 Suzanne Awards for this attention grabbing music video. It’s a perfect example of why visuals aren’t everything when it comes to creating a powerful video.

15. Chicken Chair

Bassam Kurdali created this iconic short film way back in 2003, and has stood the test of time with it’s brilliant character animation.

16. Lighthouse

Red Cartel created this short film for American insurance firm Liberty Mutual as a series of online short film around the theme ‘responsibility’. It is regarded by many as one of the finest Blender’s animations to date.

17. Project London: Benny’s Fuel and Repair

Project London is an independant, feature length, live action movie that uses blender for all it’s VFX work. It’s still a work in progress but you can follow their progress here.

18. Lista

Pawel Lyczkowski created this unique stop motion styled animation and won Best Short Film at the recent 2010 Suzanne Awards. Well deserved!

19. Suite Noire

Matray created this high impact opening for a TV show. Apparently the client deemed the intro “inappropriate” and it was never aired. I have no idea what the show was about but if I saw this intro I’d be hooked!

20. A Glimpse of Light

Alex Glawion created this super slick animation and received a nomination for Best Design at the 2009 Suzanne Awards. As with most of Alex’s work, the music and visuals go hand in hand to create a beautiful work of art.

21. Tape-à-l’oeil

Jason-Sean Guillemette created this artist short film about the topic ‘Cinema & Me’. The lighting, compositing and rendering are all top notch.

22. John el esquizofrénico Music Video

MoxStudios put an incredible amount of work into this catchy music video. It won Best Design at the 2010 Suzanne Awards.

23. Babioles Trailer

Matray composited this cute CG characted onto live backplates for the TV show pilot, Babioles.

24. Taste Lab

Chris Burton created this humourous short film about two rival professors in a race to create the ultimate drink. For his hard work, Chris received a nomination for Best Short film at the 2010 Suzanne Awards.

25. Klaas Vaak (TV intro)

Red Cartel created another amazing piece of work for the opening of the dutch TV show called Klaas Vaak (if you’re easily scared don’t watch past :32).

26. HapiLoli

Japanese artist Tomo, proves that anime styled animation is 100% possible using blender in this cute animation of a girl dancing. Be sure to check out his followup video: ルイズ／恋愛サーキュレーション

27. Death Grind

Endre Barath created this thought provoking short about the effect that television has on our minds. He received a nomination for Best Short Film at the 2009 Suzanne Awards.

Honourable Mentions

Some of these videos are more ‘tests’ than animations, but they are still powerful enough to deserve a mention.

• Japanese Camera Mapping by JuL J
• Blender car game test by Mike Pan
• Dynamic Paint + Indirect Lighting = Awesomeness by miikah
• Massive Blender fluid simulation by Mike Pan

That concludes this list of inspiring Blender animations! I deliberately left out Sintel, Big Buck Bunny and Elephants Dream as I wanted to focus on the lesser known independantly produced animations

Which animation was your favourite? Did I miss an animation? Write your comment below!

Car renders are a dime a dozen these days, so it takes a lot to stand out. Here’s a collection of the very best car renders across all 3d platforms.

Rainy Night by Morteza Najafi

Goldie by Maurice Panisch

Morning by Morteza Najafi

Porsche Speed by Daan Pol

Dirty Car by Jiwoong Chung

Power by Morteza Najafi

Green Snake by Ahmed AL Barazengi

Nissa Skyline Gtr 34 by Alessandro Baldasseroni

Honda Civic by Alexander Neskoromyuk

Mantis Burn by John Kearney

Crash Kiss by Nicolas Crombez

Snow Buggy by Marek Denko

HH-60G PAVE HAWK MEDEVAC by Andre Cantarel

Okay that last one’s not a car, but can you blame me?

If you liked this post, you might also like 20 Architectural renders that break the mold.

Have I missed one? Post a comment!

Ready to turn your hobby into a serious art form? These products will make your life that little bit easier.

1. CrazyBump

This amazing program creates detailed bump maps from any still image you throw at it. Watch the video on their homepage to see a demonstration. It’s simple, easy to use and the results are speak for themselves. Be warned, once you’ve used this program, it’s hard to live without it.

Price: $99 Personal / $299 Commercial License

Buy: crazybump.com

2. 3d World Subscription

Photo by: Hideki Saito

It’s certainly not the cheapest magazine around, but the value you get more than makes up for it. Every issue is jam packed with articles from industry professionals, an inspirational gallery of works, making of feature films and tons of tutorials.

Price: Yearly subscription – $80 UK / $90 Rest of the World

Buy: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

3. CG Textures Membership

It’s no secret that the best place to find textures is CGTextures.com, but whilst the website lets you sign up for free, you are restricted to a tight download quota and smaller sized textures. A paid membership solves all these problems as well as giving you full access to their full sky map range, basically meaning it pays for itself on the first day.

Price: Starting at $65 a year

Buy: cgtextures.com

4. Digital Lighting and Rendering

This best selling book has become the industry standard for learning how to light your scene. From sub surf scattering to caustics, this book will teach you how to make your scene ridiculously good looking. If you’re serious about 3d, this book deserves a spot on your shelf.

Price: $37.80

Buy: amazon.com

5. Graphics Tablet

Photo by: andyp_uk

Whether it’s for 3d sculpting or just sketching out your ideas in photoshop first, a graphics tablet is definitely a good idea. A mouse can be cumbersome to work with at times, so it can help to work at the speed of your thoughts with a much more natural solution. Concept artist, David Revoy recommended the Bamboo Fun as an all round, cost effective tablet with more than enough features for what most artists will need.

Price: $299

Buy: wacom.com.au

So those are my 5 recommendations, what invaluable products do you recommend?

Don’t get me wrong, I love 3d art,  I really do. But after spending 7 years scouring the internet for inspiration I’ve become a little bit cynical. Now when I look at 3d art, I only see it’s flaws.

Are my renders perfect? Absolutely not. My portfolio is riddled with flaws. In fact almost every single piece of my artwork violates at least one of these ‘rules’. This article is to share what I’ve learnt as an artist and as an onlooker.

Here’s my top ten pet peeves…

1. There’s no point It doesn’t tell a story, it’s not advertising anything and it’s certainly not pretty. What exactly is the viewer getting from this? Nothing makes me close the window faster than a piece of art with no clear objective.

2. You use pre-made content Stock models are great for studios who want to save time and money by purchasing a pre-made model. But it has absolutely no place in your portfolio. Personally I find no pride in showing someone a render that I haven’t created entirely by myself, but that’s just me. If you don’t know how to model it, why not learn?

3. You’re copying something far more successful I love Wall-E as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean I try to mimic what a professional studio has slaved over for years on end. Why? Because unless it’s an uncanny comparison (which it won’t be) viewers will only spot its flaws.

4. You didn’t plan it on paper first It’s easy to tell when an artist failed to put their idea on paper first: it’s a confusing mess. They started with an idea, skipped the planning stage and jumped straight to their 3d program. Most artists cannot model/texture/render in 3d at the same speed as their imagination. The best thing you can do is put it on paper as soon as the idea strikes you, that way you have a reference in 2 weeks time when you’re sitting at your computer and asking, “what was I making again?”.

5. It’s cliche If I see another cave troll or big breasted warrior I’m going to puke. Be original and create something that everyone hasn’t already seen a thousand times.

6. It’s a test render Hey cool, you just got your head around the new array modifier! Don’t post it on the net. Test renders are exactly that. Tests. They are a learning experience that should remain on your hard drive.

7. It’s poorly lit Let me say this once and for all: Dark is not moody. If you want to create a moody atmosphere there are plenty of ways of doing it, but making your scene dimly lit is not one of them. Pick up a copy of Jeremy Birn’s Digital Lighting and Rendering to learn how to light your scene like a pro.

8. You don’t realise it sucks No one likes receiving bad feedback on their artwork, especially after you’ve spent weeks creating it, but to tell the hundreds of posters that they “just don’t understand it” is like throwing salt on the wound. If you want to progress as an artist you need to be able to take critiques on-board and learn from your mistakes.

9. It’s boring architecture Archiviz is great skill to have under your belt. There’s a lot of work available and it pays quite well, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring and emotionless. Read my post on 20 Architectural renders that break the mold or watch Alex Roman’s amazing short The Third and the Seventh and you’ll pick up dozens of ways to make still architecture interesting.

10. It’s overly post-processed There’s nothing wrong with fixing the colour levels or altering the contrast in Photoshop, but when you start adding filters and chromatic aberration to hide your own incompetencies there’s a problem.

Well that’s me finished, what are your pet peaves?

With 2009 now behind us, it’s time to look at the great shorts and animations that have inspired us throughout the year.

10. Fallen

Fallen features the most unlikely of main characters: a falling asteroid. The short follows his quick descent down to earth as he deals with the concept of life and death. The ending is executed perfectly, and more than nails home the point: Live your life to the fullest, regardless of the end.

9. French Roast

Winner of several major film festivals, French Roast focuses on a quiet restaurant patron who wants nothing more than to enjoy his coffee and read his paper. It’s a fun little short with a great ending, that manages to fit a complicated story into almost only one camera shot.

8. Ataque de Pánico!

Ataque de Pánico! plays like a 10 year old boys wet dream: Giant robots blowin’ up a city. But whilst it wins no points for it’s story, it more than makes up for it with it’s impressive special effects. The variety of locations and quick cuts means the viewer doesn’t get a chance to get bored. The amount of work that went into rotoscoping and filming all this is worth the watch on it’s own. But what blows my mind is that all this was shot on $300 budget, and yet it still manages to pack the punch of a major hollywood blockbuster.

7. Spec Ops: The Line Trailer

This beautifully crafted trailer paints the scene of a deserted Dubai after cataclysmic sandstorms have blown in, scaring away the once thriving population. The amazing visuals combined with haunting soundtrack of Bjork build an eery tension that leave you wanting more.

6. Blood Trails

(Viewer Discretion is Advised – Extremely Violent)

Blood Trails, is definately the most disturbing animation I’ve ever seen in my life, but it’s also one of the best. The trailer was produced and directed by Nathan Love who was asked by Perspective Studios to create an engaging trailer for a feature length script to help sell the concept to investors. Whether or not this will one day be made into a film is beyond me, but the sheer excitement and terror contained in this trailer makes me think it probably will. For more info on this short, check out this interview with Nathan Love.

5. Please Say Something

This isn’t your typical short, and it’s not for everyone either. Please Say Something, follows the story of a troubled relationship between a cat and a mouse. The fast paced abrupt editing can at first be hard to follow, but by the end you’ll be completely drawn in. The character building is absolutely fantastic and the old school stylized video game look is the icing on the cake.

4. Yankee Gal

Set in World War II, Yankee Gal shows a pilot’s dream-like moments between life and death. The amazing visuals combined with the superb audio effects, make for an amazing short that stays in your mind long after it’s finished.

3. Alma

Certainly a late comer to the party, Alma was released less than 2 weeks ago in time for Christmas. This amazing short was created in 2 years by an enomously talented team of artists. The ending was predictable, but with the creepy sounds, brilliant colors, and steady pacing, it didn’t matter: my eyes were peeled to the screen from start to finish.

2. Partly Cloudy

Partly Cloudy Movie Animated Trailer HD by hasagsdahg

It shouldn’t surprise you that Pixar’s Partly Cloudy got a mention here. It’s comical enough to entertain children, yet wholesome enough to give the adults the warm and fuzzies. This charming tale about personal responsibility is told without a single line of dialogue, but thanks to Pixar’s knack for story telling we know exactly what’s happening.

1. Steel Life

Steel Life is a visually stunning masterpiece that takes the viewer on a journey of life’s deepest emotions. It’s not the sort of movie you’d put on to entertain your friends, this particular short is best viewed by yourself, in a dark room, with the volume up. Steel Life is a truly engaging experience, and in my opinion is the best animation of 2009.

Honourable mentions:

• Arx Avari
• Good Vibrations
• Dans la Tete
• Frat

So there you have it, the cream of the crop of 2009. If you think I missed one, please point it out in the comment section!

If you liked this post you might also like my list of 6 more Amazing Animated Shorts.

This years Blender Conference was one of the biggest ever. With over 200 attendees, 40 presenters, and topics ranging from 2.5 updates to protein expressions, there was a lot to take in.

Here are the 7 discoveries you cannot miss…

1. Surge in gaming development

From the announcement of the speaker lineup, it was obvious that change was in the air. A total of 11 gaming presentations were held, in comparison to last year’s one. No doubt thanks to the Apricot project, Blender is being looked at as a commercial game development platform.

Several announcements for commercial games were announced, including: Super Yum Yum, Thorworks, Pokme and Foreign Legion, as well as special discussions on iPhone development, digital puppetry and sensory controlled gaming.

2. Blender is being used in numerous real world applications

Another pleasant surprise was learning how many uses blender has outside of it’s pretty graphics. There were presentations on using blender for robot guided medical interventions, fire safety and smoke physics, protein expressions and improving road safety. All this has proved once again that the possibilities of Blender are limitless.

Using Blender to improve road and tunnel safety

3. Full time developer

Arguably the most exciting news was the announcement that Blender will be receiving some serious tender loving care in the form of a fulltime developer for 12 – 18months. The funding was received from an anonymous sponsor who needs the API sped up for business purposes. He proposed that hiring a developer full time might fix the issue. Not only does this greatly benefit the community, but it sends a strong statement about blender’s impact on commercial studios.

4. Frustration over lack of documentation

When Ton held a round table discussion on Blender education, I don’t think he expected the heated discussion that arose. Several beginners spoke up about the difficulties of trying to learn Blender from scratch, stating that at times it was impossible to learn some features due to missing documentation.  At the 60 minute mark the discussion was far from finished and had be continued upstairs. Although a resolution didn’t seem to have been made, it was clear that the community needed to be more focused on the learning aspect if we want to encourage more users.

And on that note…

5. Enthusiastic users are scarying away the public

A special presentation by Tom Musgrove educated us on “How to be an effective Blender advocate”. His presentation covered common etiquette in the 3d industry, and how not to deter future users from Blender by being obnoxious.

Ouch.

The presentation was good advice for anyone in any field. It’s common knowledge that repulsive behaviour will drive anyone away. But a subtle reminder could be what the community needs right now.

6. Amazing entries at the Suzanne Awards

One of the more pleasant surprises was the quality of entries into the this years suzanne awards. I spoke with Ton after the screening who said “it was almost like being at a real film festival”. Couldn’t agree more. From the start of the 90 minute screening till the end, the audience was engrossed in the mixed stories and visuals each artist brought to the competition.

The festival was summed up nicely by an equally impressive award ceremony in which the winners were announced:

Best Character Animation: Dragosaurio
Best Design: Evolution
Best Short: Memory

7. Durian is going to be “epic”

Or should I say Sintel (the new title)

Colin Levy lived up to the high expectations of the community when he delivered a polished presentation of what we can expect in the third open source movie. Starting with a teaser trailer, he went over concepts, showed some storyboards, then handed the microphone over to the rest of the team to show off their current progress.

The results speak for themselves…

Concept artist David Revoy, talking about the proposed look for the main character.

Did I mention that all of this was completed in less than 3 weeks?

The finished result is looking very promising indeed.

If you never been to a blender conference before, I’d highly suggest attending the next one. It’s a brilliant opportunity to network with like-minded people and recieve feedback on new ideas and proposals. So what are you waiting for?