Podcasts by Category
- 68 - BONUS - "Panchita!" With Doug Bello of UNSAID Studio
Join us for an enlightening episode with Doug Bello, co-founder of Unsaid Studios, as we dive into the making of "Panchita," an animated short that marries storytelling with technological innovation to support social causes. In this conversation, Doug unveils the creative and technical journey behind the film, the collaboration with the charity Techo, and the global teamwork that propelled this project to success. Discover the challenges and triumphs of producing animation that not only entertains but also advocates for change, offering insights into the future of storytelling in the digital age.
Watch the short here
Fri, 05 Apr 2024 - 67 - BONUS Jasmine Katatikarn -Illuminating a Career in 3d Animation
In this bonus episode of CG Talks, Marco is joined by Jasmine Katatikarn, co-founder of the Academy of Animated Art. Jasmine shares insights from her over 20 years of experience as a senior lighting artist at studios like Blue Sky. They discuss the nuances of 3D lighting, including shaping, directing the viewer's eye, and creating mood. Jasmine provides perspective on lighting for different scenarios like feature animation vs VFX. She also gives advice for lighting dark and overcast environments.
The conversation covers her work founding the Academy of Animated Art to fill education gaps and help students achieve industry jobs quicker. Jasmine talks about the Academy's mission to increase diversity by making animation accessible to younger generations.
Additional topics include: leveraging AI as a creative tool, being a lighting generalist with specialization, and expanding opportunities for CG artists outside entertainment. Jasmine offers thoughtful commentary on the state of the industry. Overall, an insightful look at CG lighting and education from a veteran artist's viewpoint.
Thu, 28 Sep 2023 - 66 - #11 Gleb Alexandrov and Aidy Burrows - All I want for Christmas is Blender ! 2/2
This is a very special episode of CG Talks (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) as we have two guests : Gleb Alexandrov and Aidy Burrows who run a Blender tutorials platform creativeshrimp.com together. (It is the second part of a 2-part episode)
This time we let ourselves loose on being Blender nerds and talked about the Blender Conference 2022 experience in Amsterdam (where we got a chance to meet in person after the long pandemic break). Aidy, Gleb and DJ share their impressions of the event and how Blender’s awesome community is wonderfully growing.
What is color ? How to be an artist in the face of modern technology and A.I. ? Is it possible to reach Hollywood quality with a home PC ? What does music have in common with CGI ? Those are just a few of many questions that we touch in this friendly conversation.
We end the podcast with some heartfelt Christmas wishes from Gleb accompanied by a soothing guitar strum.
We wish you a Shrimpy Christmas and a Creative New Year !
Happy listening and happy rendering !
GarageFarm.NET/CG Talks team
Wed, 21 Dec 2022 - 65 - #11 Gleb Alexandrov and Aidy Burrows - The secret creative life of shrimps 1/2
This is a very special episode of CG Talks (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) as we have two guests : Gleb Alexandrov and Aidy Burrows who run a Blender tutorials platform creativeshrimp.com together. (It is the first part of a 2-part episode)
We open the conversation by getting to know a bit more about shrimps and their creative abilities, how Gleb met Aidy and how they both started their adventure with CGI and Blender. We get to know (or come up with new versions of it) the backstory behind the CreativeShrimp name.
DJ asks the Shrimps about the secret formula of their collaboration, how they manage to run a business on-line being located in Poland and the United Kingdom.
Gleb and Aidy recently launched their new lighting course, and we discuss the success of it. Whether you are a Blender user or not you’ll find a lot of great knowledge and observations in Gleb and Aidy’s approach to lighting. After all without light there is no vision and no image. Talking about the great supportive community around creativeshrimp.com we take a break in the conversation only to jump back to the Blender community and general nerdiness in the next episode (to be released soon !)
Stay tuned and share the podcast with your CG friends
Happy Listening!
GarageFarm.NET/CG Talks team
Fri, 16 Dec 2022 - 64 - #10 Kay John Yim - Effective CG artist's toolbox 2/2
This episode of CG Talks (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) is the second part of our conversation with Kay John Yim - a London based architect who also creates inspiring personal CGI fantasy artworks.
Kay John’s main tool of choice is Cinema 4d but he has used a lot of 3d tools throughout his career (including Houdini,Rhino,IClone and many more). We talk about the softwares and workflows he uses to create the stunning and very detailed architecture environments in his artworks as well as tools he uses to create his characters. We touch the topic of AI tools that cause so much hope and controversy in the digital art community. John creates a lot of animated artworks so we talk about using render farm services (such as our service) and his experiences with it.
You can find some of John's work here:https://johnyim.com/
And follow him on social media:
https://www.youtube.com/c/jyjohnyim
https://www.instagram.com/k_johnyim/
Join us in another interesting conversation about CG (and don’t forget to subscribe and share it with your friends)!
Happy Listening!
GarageFarm.NET/CG Talks team
Thu, 08 Dec 2022 - 63 - #10 Kay John Yim - Architect’s romance with CGI art 1/2
In this episode of CG Talks (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) we are privileged and excited to talk with Kay John Yim - an architect by day and CG artist by night as he describes himself.
This is the first part of our interview with Kay John Yim, the second one (where we talk about the tools John uses to create his art) will be released very soon.
Kay John started his career in Hong Kong but now is working in London. For a few years now he’s been developing his personal 3d art using all the tools he learned in his architectural practice. His renders and animations feature fantasy characters in stunning architectural locations with a lot of detail and sophistication.
You can find some of John's work here: https://johnyim.com/
And follow him on social media:
https://twitter.com/k_johnyim
https://www.youtube.com/c/jyjohnyim
https://www.instagram.com/k_johnyim/
DJ and John talk about the inspiration behind these artworks (including Wes Anderson and Roger Deakins), using online challenges as an opportunity to grow as an artist. We discuss finding an audience and recognition as a 3d artist in social media as well as the NFT hype bubble and many more!
Fasten your seatbelts and join us in another interesting conversation about 3d art !
Happy Listening!
GarageFarm.NET/CG Talks team
Wed, 30 Nov 2022 - 62 - #9 Grant Osborne - 3D artist growing through challenges 2/2
This episode of CG Talks (The podcast where CG guys talk about CG) is the second part of a conversation with Grant Osborne - Melbourne (Australia) based 3d generalist and motion designer.
This time we discuss the latest on line 3d challenge run by the famous Clinton Jones aka. Pwnisher (however you spell it ?) called ‘Moving Meditations’. Both Grant and DJ have participated in the challenge and submitted their animations. Grant shares the ups and downs of working on his submission. Despite not qualifying for any rewards, the fun, learning and creative engagement in such challenges are a great opportunity to grow as a 3d artist. Grant has also participated in many other 3d challenges such as 36 days of type (check out his instagram to see his very inspiring and playful creations : https://www.instagram.com/itsgrantosborne/?hl=en
We talk about trying new things vs sticking to your comfort zone and many other cool topics like AI taking our jobs or just the tedious and boring tasks :). Listen, be inspired and keep rendering. (If you want more interesting interviews with GC industry guests make sure to subscribe and share the podcast with your friends ! )
CG Talks / GarageFarm.NET team !
Wed, 19 Oct 2022 - 61 - #9 Grant Osborne - The 4th dimension of design 1/2
This episode of CG Talks (The podcast where CG guys talk about CG) is the first part of a conversation with Grant Osborne - Melbourne (Australia) based 3d generalist, motion designer. DJ and Grant talk about getting into 3D and Grant’s experiences with design softwares including After Effects, Cinema 4D and Houdini. Grant shares his passion and struggles with hard parts of design and learning it. We also venture a bit into the world of sound design and how it supplements the visuals. Listen to the episode and get inspired to find your inner spark (or mojo). Stay tuned for the second part of the interview in which we talk about personal 3d projects and on-line challenges (and especially the latest Pwnisher’s challenge - Moving Meditations) as an opportunity to grow.
Wed, 05 Oct 2022 - 60 - #8 Federico Biancullo - Jack of all trades master of The Big Picture 3/3
Hello and welcome to CG Talks (the podcast where CG Guys talk about computer graphics)
This is the third and last part of the interview with Federico Biancullo - Archviz artist, founder and creative director of The Big Picture - an archviz studio based in Bologna Italy. Federico is also a blogger and a podcaster - host of the “There’s something about archviz” podcast.
There’s a popular saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” - Federico defies that statement with his widespread interests and various experiences. Being specialized in a narrow field can give you unique expertise and advantage over the so-called ‘generalist’ however staying open to learning new things and having multiple skills under your belt can be very beneficial as well. In fact, Federico’s impression of the archviz industry is that most of the smaller to medium-sized companies are very interested in having 3d generalists instead of specialized one-taskers. That may not be the case for big companies and studio powerhouses which tend to have stricter pipelines and compartmentalized structures. The flexibility of generalists is very valuable in a changing, dynamic reality of a small archviz studio. We also talk about using skills from outside of professional life which may prove priceless in the most unexpected moments.
The archviz business is changing. New technologies and opportunities arise and we need to be really agile to adapt. We hope that the open-minded and flexible approach of Federico will give you some inspiration to experiment and forge your own unique path in the ever changing world of computer graphics.
Listen and enjoy !
And as always : ‘Happy rendering’ from GarageFarm.NET / CG Talks team
Tue, 16 Aug 2022 - 59 - #8 Federico Biancullo - What's the (selling) point of archviz ? 2/3
This is the second part of CG Talks (the podcast where CG Guys talk about computer graphics) conversation with Federico Biancullo - Archviz artist, founder and creative director of The Big Picture - an archviz studio based in Bologna Italy. Federico is also a blogger and a podcaster - host of “There’s something about archviz” podcast.
In the first part we discussed the issue of mental health in the archviz industry.
This time we dig into the core of what archviz is really about as an industry. Federico talks about his approach to clients and that it is not just beautiful images that they expect. Is there a link between insurance companies and architectural visualizers ? Find out yourself by listening to our conversation.
Listen and enjoy !
And as always : ‘Happy rendering’ from GarageFarm.NET / CG Talks team
Fri, 12 Aug 2022 - 58 - #8 Federico Biancullo - About mental health and hygiene in archviz 1/3
This is the first part of CG Talks' (the podcast where CG Guys talk about computer graphics) conversation with Federico Biancullo - Archviz artist, founder, and creative director of The Big Picture - an archviz studio based in Bologna Italy. Federico is also a blogger and a podcaster - host of the “There’s something about archviz” podcast.
We kick off the conversation with an ever-up-to-date but even more relevant now (in the post-pandemic time) topic of mental health in the archviz industry. Federico has been advocating for that on his podcast and finds this a quite important issue especially due to the type of people that work in those kinds of jobs. We discuss some of our experiences regarding remote work and the lockdowns. In the course of the conversation, we even digress into the looming threat (or opportunity) of artificial intelligence taking over the jobs of artists.
You’ll definitely find some healthy tips inside this part of CG Talks that we hope will lift your spirit.
Stay tuned for the next parts of this episode with Federico, where we will talk about selling points in archviz and dealing with multiple challenges as a 3d generalist.
Listen and enjoy!
And as always : ‘Happy rendering’ from GarageFarm.NET / CG Talks team
Mon, 08 Aug 2022 - 57 - #7 Lucian Raicovitan - The road to the CGI industry powerhouse 1/1
This time Marco had an opportunity to talk with a very special guest, Lucian Racovitan - an Architect turned Archviz artist who has plied his architectural chops for at least a decade in different places across the globe - Japan, Abu Dhabi, Copenhagen before he shifted to 3D visualization full-time. He is the founder of Bucharest Studio, and he and his team have been behind some absolutely stunning archviz renders! We're glad to have sat with him for a closer look into the life of Lucian as it relates to his work with Bucharest Studio, his perspective as a visualization artist, and his experience with us at GarageFarm.NET. Take a seat and listen to this great conversation about Lucian's experience path!
Tue, 28 Jun 2022 - 56 - #6 Zacharias Reinhardt - Small steps make big success 3/3
This time we had an opportunity to talk with Zacharias Reinhardt - a 3d Artist, tutor, YouTuber, entrepreneur and founder of CG Boost, an educational platform for 3d artists that want to boost their Blender 3d skills. If you are a 3d artist and haven’t heard of Zach yet, you probably might have stumbled upon online competitions/challenges such as weeklycgchallenge.com or SculptJanuary - Zach is the person behind these events.
Becoming an entrepreneur and running his own tutorial business was not planned by Zacharias from the beginning. It rather happened gradually through many twists and turns. Before he got to know that both doing 3d art and teaching are his superpowers, Zach tried freelancing, working in a TV company, and running a YouTube channel. We talk a bit about how parents sometimes view a 3d artist's career as something not stable or serious - luckily, this was not the case with Zach, whose parents were very supportive and believed he’ll find the right way. This ability to test himself in many fields and learn from experiences finally resulted in understanding what he really wanted to focus on and gave him confidence and courage to start CG Boost.
Zach gives us some insight into how he organizes his work - these are some powerful tips you can use too! He developed those skills throughout many years of testing what works for him. Everyone (even successful people that you think are way ahead of you) starts small and grows from there. Zach’s approach is to start with something simple and build upon that rather than struggling for something perfect. Improvement comes with time.
We also talked about how to deal with less pleasant parts of work. Zach shares how he divides those into smaller, less painful doses, and when possible he uses the great power of delegating tasks to people he trusts. This approach steadily improved his work/life balance quality so now Zach can truly enjoy a vacation without constantly worrying about the business matters.
If you doubt that following your gut feeling and earning money with free and open-source software is possible - listen to this episode and Zach’s case will prove it surely is. Zach’s business model also shows it is possible to do what you’re best at and run a successful company with the right people on board.
Sun, 05 Jun 2022 - 55 - #6 Zacharias Reinhardt - The quest for the tutorial's Holy Grail 2/3
This time we had an opportunity to talk with Zacharias Reinhardt - a 3d Artist, tutor, YouTuber, entrepreneur and founder of CG Boost, an educational platform for 3d artists that want to boost their Blender 3d skills. If you are a 3d artist and haven’t heard of Zach yet, you probably might have stumbled upon online competitions/challenges such as weeklycgchallenge.com or SculptJanuary - Zach is the person behind these events.
We take a dive this time into the nitty-gritty of tutorial-making art. This topic is close to both Zach’s and DJ's hearts so the conversation goes deep into the subject - neither even if you’ve ever attempted making a tutorial nor plan to do it, you surely have watched both good and bad tutorials, you should listen to this convo and get some benefits from it. We try to define what makes a great one and what can destroy (or harm) the learning experience of the viewer.
We asked Zach to recall his first tutorial and reflect on all that he has learned through the years that made him one of the most successful Blender tutors around. We also discuss the inspiration coming from other tutorial makers in the community. It turns out that both DJ and Zach are huge fans of Ian Hubert’s one-minute ‘Lazy tutorials’ which are perhaps more useful for more advanced users who gladly skim through most tutorials just looking for that one nugget tip that answers a specific 3d workflow problem. However, these might be more on the entertainment side (which is of course great) Zach likes to make sure that his tutorials are extensive and easy to understand and follow - even (or perhaps especially) for beginners. He regards his Blender Launchpad course as the best he has done so far and considers it to be a great extension and thorough introduction to Blender for everyone who may have stumbled upon Andrew Price’s ‘The Donut tutorial’ and is hungry for some more in-depth training. Zach does not consider this competition, but rather a symbiosis of all the Blender tutorial creators who cater to all possible flavors and tastes of various community members. After all, 3d artists are one big family and we never stop learning.
Zach also gives us a glimpse of some future plans he has for CG Boost which include reviving the CG Boost challenge that got on hold for a short period of time.
Fri, 03 Jun 2022 - 54 - #6 Zacharias Reinhardt - 3D as a career boosting hobby 1/3
This time we had an opportunity to talk with Zacharias Reinhardt - a 3d Artist, tutor, YouTuber, entrepreneur and founder of CG Boost, an educational platform for 3d artists that want to boost their Blender 3d skills. If you are a 3d artist and haven’t heard of Zach yet, you probably might have stumbled upon online competitions/challenges such as weeklycgchallenge.com or SculptJanuary - Zach is the person behind these events.
Zacharias describes his 3d adventure since his early high school years when he started doing fun VFX shots for homemade Sci-fi short films he made with his older brother, one of these turned out not so short - it was an hour-long! Back then he first stumbled upon Blender which he later replaced with Cinema 4d. Once Zach started to get into more serious paid 3d jobs, he was again allured to Blender due to it being free and open source and it seemed to allow for similar functionality as C4D. Zach says he never regretted that choice. His Blender adventure soon led him to create some YouTube tutorials which had some success. This encouraged him to create educational videos he then sold on DVDs - does anyone still remember those ancient times?! All of this along with impressive artistic skill growth over the years resulted in a quite bold and highly successful launch of CG Boost which encompasses all of Zach’s endeavors.
Wed, 01 Jun 2022 - 53 - #5 Lucas Bazyluk - A runner's quick guide to better management 3/3
This time, DJ talked with Lucas Bazyluk - Director of Operations at GarageFarm.NET. In this convo, we went a bit outside professional life and the CGI Industry to talk about running (and it is not running scripts or animating run-cycles). Lucas has been a runner for quite a few years and he was able to achieve his dream goal of successfully running a marathon! It might have taken him a bit longer than he expected but the lessons he learned through it were sure worth the additional effort!
Though running may seem irrelevant to the daily life of a 3d artist (or at least some of them), there is more you can learn from Lucas' passion than you might think. It comes down to setting goals and meeting them in time. Lucas shares his observations on how we usually overestimate our abilities in the short term while we tend to underestimate them in the long run. Little daily habits and routines when practiced regularly until they come to us as naturally as breathing can not only make our lives easier and more orderly but also become a foundation for long-term success and efficiency.
Mon, 23 May 2022 - 52 - #5 Lucas Bazyluk - Enter the CGI dragon or how I got involved in cloud rendering 2/3
This time, DJ talked with Lucas Bazyluk - Director of Operations at GarageFarm.NET. What does translation have to do with render farms and 3d CGI? It might not be obvious at first glance however you never know what skills might get you where in your professional career. This was the case for Lucas, who was approaching the new opportunity with an open and curious mind.
Now after working in the 3d industry for over 9 years he shares with us his insights from the perspective of an outsider who has now become an insider. Where is the CGI industry heading? Are offline renderers doomed to extinction? We hope you can get some new thoughts on these and other related topics from listening to this podcast episode.
Fri, 20 May 2022 - 51 - #5 Lucas Bazyluk - An unexpected journey to the world of web design 1/3
This time, DJ talked with Lucas Bazyluk - Director of Operations at GarageFarm.NET about his unexpected journey into the world of web design. It is an inspiring story of how a practical need paired with curiosity and problem solving enabled Lucas to successfully contribute to GF’s success.
Lucas wouldn’t have imagined himself designing websites before he joined GarageFarm around 2013. He was involved in a totally different market segment and focused more on managerial tasks. In fact, he got employed as a translator at first because of his excellent knowledge of Korean, Polish, and English (a rather niche combination). The adventure with designing websites and apps began soon after that as Lucas spotted the need to improve the existing rather raw solutions that were used in those early days of the company. Quite soon these small improvements of UI (simple graphic and icon layouts) have sucked Lucas into design thinking. He shares with us what (and how) he learned along the way. Is this unexpected career twist going to lead Lucas to redesign Starcraft’s UI (Lucas’ favorite RTS game)? We shall learn that in time. As for now, enjoy listening to this inspiring story of digging into the design from scratch.
Wed, 18 May 2022 - 50 - #4 Fabio Palvelli - Do your thing and don't be afraid to fail 2/2
DJ is proud and happy to interview Fabio Palvelli - a 3D artist, business consultant, and YouTuber, Founder of the famous D2 Conference (first for archviz and now for all digital artists). Fabio is also known for his positive attitude (especially towards dogs, pizza, and Nutella but life in general too) and he became one of the early adopters in the emerging NFT digital art scene.
In this part, we focus on Fabio’s art and his personal goals and experiences. Fabio talks about his love of color and his spark to create art for joy. Fabio tells us about his everyday render challenge (similar to Beeple’s) that he does to stay creative and inspired (regardless of external approval). The conversation revolves around what drives Fabio’s creativity and what he loves the most about art. We share some inspirations from the modern and contemporary art world including Kazimir Malevich, Peter Tarka ( https://petertarka.com/ ), and Harry Pack ( https://www.harrypackart.com/ ).
Fabio has always been a community man (just to mention his D2 conference roots) so he is open to collaborations. DJ asks him about the collabs he already did and he would wish (or dream) for the future.
We also touch upon his shift from using Cinema 4d to Blender. Fabio shares what he loves about the new software and mentions what he misses from C4D (particularly the mograph)
Sat, 30 Apr 2022 - 49 - #4 Fabio Palvelli - Digital art's future or the biggest scam of the century? 1/2
DJ is proud and happy to interview Fabio Palvelli - a 3D artist, business consultant, and YouTuber, Founder of the famous D2 Conference (first for archviz and now for all digital artists). Fabio is also known for his positive attitude (especially towards dogs, pizza, and Nutella but life in general too) and he became one of the early adopters in the emerging NFT digital art scene.
The NFT stands for Non Fungible Tokens and it undoubtedly was the most controversial three letters of the last year. We dive with Fabio into the pros and cons of the whole NFT hype. He openly talks about his own experience of being skeptical at first, then enthusiastically jumps into the gold rush to finally land a positive but balanced point of view. In a friendly mood DJ and Fabio try to dismantle strange acronyms like GM or WAGMI. Fabio also talks about making money in the NFT space (or losing it) and how capricious it actually is.
Are NFT-s the future of digital art or is it nothing more than a scam? Will there be more and more Beeple-s or is that just a seasonal trend that will pass like a summer storm?
Thu, 28 Apr 2022 - 48 - #3 Brian Kouhi - Bender vs Maya as animation industry deathmatch 4/4
This time our special guest is Bian Kouhi - Toronto-based animator with impressive experience working on big titles like “Paw Patrol” and “Maya and the Three”, founder of 3d Animation Hub YT channel, where he publishes tutorials and all animation related stuff - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianKouhi
Brian is an entrepreneur who has recently launched an animation course/mentoring platform https://www.toanimate.ca/ which aims to jumpstart people's animation careers using Blender. This interview hosted by DJ is divided into four parts covering different topics from starting a career in animation, through learning the skills and software to running a tutoring business.
In the fourth and last part of this interview, we dive into the ever-hot topic of 3d software comparisons. Maya is the long-time leader and Blender is the underdog claiming to replace the king now or in the future. Battle for the crown of ‘the industry standard’ always heats up internet comment sections of the CGI community and Brian Kouhi has a very unique position to take part in the discussion (or flamewar it is ?). He has been using both Maya and Blender in high-end animation, so when he talks about it, he speaks from the perspective of real industry experience. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the animation software deathmatch of the year!
Among many things we talked about in the interview are:
- Where Blender shines and where it still lacks
- The grease pencil and its potential for stylized animation
- ‘Maya and the Three’ production (and a little insight on Tangent Animation shutdown)
- How should Blender be fixed (in the eyes of an animator)
- Animation for film vs animation for video games
Mon, 25 Apr 2022 - 47 - #3 Brian Kouhi - Blending art and business 3/4
This time our special guest is Bian Kouhi - Toronto-based animator with impressive experience working on big titles like “Paw Patrol” and “Maya and the Three”, founder of 3d Animation Hub YT channel, where he publishes tutorials and all animation related stuff - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianKouhi
Brian is an entrepreneur who has recently launched an animation course/mentoring platform https://www.toanimate.ca/ which aims to jumpstart people's animation careers using Blender. This interview hosted by DJ is divided into four parts covering different topics from starting a career in animation, through learning the skills and software to running a tutoring business.
In this part, we talk about business…and art too. Are art and business worlds apart or can you blend them seamlessly into your life? Brian Kouhi seems to be a living proof you can. And probably you should! Brian tells us how he got interested in managing finances when he got his first serious income. He then used his newly acquired investing knowledge to build a solid plan that could back up his long-term goals of independence and being able to work on his own projects.
Brian also shares with us some useful insights about time management to keep a full-time job alongside business development. The sense of control, personal impact, and fulfillment that running your own business gives is surely worth a couple of extra hours’ work and some sweat!
We also talk a bit about the tricky art of balancing the pricing of work and products. Listening to this inspiring conversation can also give you valuable hints on how to leverage YouTube and online community sharing to build an audience and develop your brand.
Finally, Brian reflects on how running a business impacts his artistic skills. Does it have a positive impact on art? Find out by listening to this episode and stay tuned for more!
Fri, 22 Apr 2022 - 46 - #3 Brian Kouhi - Learning to animate (the least painful way) 2/4
This time our special guest is Bian Kouhi - Toronto-based animator with impressive experience working on big titles like “Paw Patrol” and “Maya and the Three”, founder of 3d Animation Hub YT channel, where he publishes tutorials and all animation related stuff - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianKouhi
Brian is an entrepreneur who has recently launched an animation course/mentoring platform https://www.toanimate.ca/ which aims to jumpstart people's animation careers using Blender. This interview hosted by DJ is divided into four parts covering different topics from starting a career in animation, through learning the skills and software to running a tutoring business.
In this part of the conversation DJ and Brian talk a bit about learning and teaching animation. What it takes to learn to animate and how to even start if you want a career in animation. Brian gives clear answers to the most crucial questions:
Is learning animation hard?
What is the number one skill you have to master to become (a good) animator?
Is there a shortcut or do you have to go through the long and painful way?
We also discuss the pros and cons of universities for animation, free learning content on YT, and the added value of paid structured courses like ToAnimate that make them a worthwhile investment. Brian gives a ray of hope to those that would like to join the animation community in their 30’s or 40’s saying it’s never too late to pursue your dreams (though it might take more perseverance and devotion). Is learning rigging a necessity or even a bonus for an animator? Are the new AI tools for animation - like Deepmotion or Plask a threat or a breath of fresh air to the animator’s world? We cover those topics together with many small digressions in this episode of CG Talks.
Tue, 19 Apr 2022 - 45 - #3 Brian Kouhi - How to start an animation career? 1/4
This time our special guest is Bian Kouhi - Toronto-based animator with impressive experience working on big titles like “Paw Patrol” and “Maya and the Three”, founder of 3d Animation Hub YT channel, where he publishes tutorials and all animation related stuff - https://www.youtube.com/c/BrianKouhi
Brian is an entrepreneur who has recently launched an animation course/mentoring platform https://www.toanimate.ca/ which aims to jumpstart people's animation careers using Blender. This interview hosted by DJ is divided into four parts covering different topics from starting a career in animation, through learning the skills and software to running a tutoring business.
The first part is dedicated to Brian Kouhi’s story of jumping into the animation industry, getting an education, and the lessons he learned back then. We get to know an inspiring story of a young but very ambitious immigrant from Iran to Canada forging a successful career in animation. We hope this conversation will give you a new perspective on how to start an animator’s career and how to do it really well.
Wed, 13 Apr 2022 - 44 - #2 Louis du Mont - Around VR & Metaverse 4/4
In this episode of CG Talks, the podcast where CG guys talk about computer graphics, our very special guest is Mr. Louis du Mont, independent digital 3d artist, director, and founder of a small boutique animation studio ‘Weareformation’ based in London. Louis is also a YouTube tutorials creator who shares his Blender knowledge on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/mrlouisman
This time we talk about the covid pandemic and how it impacted both the professional and private life of Louis as well as the CGI industry as a whole. Louis describes his remote-working experience and the pros and cons of it. We take a closer look at Great Britain and London particularly (just because Louis is living and working there) and discuss what were the effects of both Brexit and the pandemic on the computer graphics market. Staying home throughout the lockdowns was surely a good excuse to engage with virtual reality so we took a minute to share our impressions of the latest Unreal 5 Matrixdemo. Is the super immersive VR experience something exciting or rather a menace we should dread? Louis is definitely on the optimistic side expecting more opportunities that the new technology provides. We also touch upon the controversy surrounding the NFT trend in the digital art space.
There are plenty of interesting insights in this episode so enjoy, watch, listen and stay tuned for the next episodes of the CG talks podcast!
Tue, 22 Mar 2022 - 43 - #2 Louis du Mont - Born to sculpt 3/4
In this episode of CG Talks, the podcast where CG guys talk about computer graphics, our very special guest is Mr. Louis du Mont, independent digital 3d artist, director, and founder of a small boutique animation studio ‘Weareformation’ based in London. Louis is also a YouTube tutorials creator who shares his Blender knowledge on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/mrlouisman
The main theme of this episode is sculpting. Both digital and traditional. Louis comes from an artistic family. His father Andrew du Mont (http://andrewdumont.co.uk/)is a sculptor creating impressive metal artworks. With this kind of family background, Louis was doomed to become an artist himself (but what a pleasant doom it is) and though starting the career from animation he eventually got into digital sculpting in Z-Brush and later in Blender and Nomad Sculpt as well. The creative freedom that sculpting provided compared to poly modeling was a breath of fresh air in Louis’s pipeline, and once he started using it there was no stopping. Louis explains his sculpting learning path including traditional, digital, and even VR sculpting. We also discuss the latest events of Maxon buying Pixologic and Z-Brush and the whole software as a service subscription trend. Among those things we also touch upon topics like the value of studying anatomy and studying at universities.
There are plenty of interesting insights in this episode so enjoy, watch, listen and stay tuned for the last part about VR, the pandemic, and the metaverse!
Mon, 21 Mar 2022 - 42 - #2 Louis du Mont - 3D tools that matter 2/4
In this episode of CG Talks, the podcast where CG guys talk about computer graphics, we continue the interview with Louis du Mont, 3d artist, director, and founder of a small animation studio ‘Weareformation’ based in London. Louis is also a YouTube tutorials creator who shares his Blenderknowledge on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/mrlouisman
This is the second part of a 4 part interview hosted by D.J. and Amiel (both passionate Blender users). The main topics discussed in this episode are the tools Louis uses (or used) in production. He has quite a long history with 3d and other digital creation areas and throughout his career, he has used a bunch of different tools for specific tasks in the pipeline. We asked Louis about the pros and cons of Lightwave and Blender as well as the challenges and benefits of learning and adapting new software. Due to Louis’s passion for photography, we asked about the impact it has on his 3d work. We also digress about music and audio production which Louis has on his interests radar.
There are plenty of interesting insights in this episode so enjoy, watch, listen, and stay tuned for the next parts where we talk about sculpting, VR, and the metaverse.
Thu, 17 Mar 2022 - 41 - #2 Louis du Mont - Forming an indie 3d studio 1/4
In this episode of CG Talks, the podcast where CG guys talk about computer graphics, our very special guest is Mr. Louis du Mont, independent digital 3d artist, director, and founder of a small boutique animation studio ‘Weareformation’ based in London. Louis is also a YouTube tutorials creator who shares his Blender knowledge on his channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/mrlouisman
This is the first part of a 4 part interview hosted by D.J. and Amiel (both passionateBlender users). We start with Louis du Mont’s origin story. How he got interested in art and particularly 3d graphics. Louis is a man of many talents and has always been a curious and passionate artist as well as a technology geek eager to test new stuff. We discuss the art of animation and the new stylized animation trends of movies like ‘Into the Spiderverse’ or ‘Final Fantasy’. We also discuss the business side of running a small studio. Artists often find it hard to tackle both the artistic and business approach of 3d graphics. Louis who teamed up with a friend forming (nomen omen) ‘Weareformation’ seems to have found a sweet spot on that issue. Louis shares with us how he approaches picking jobs to take and what are the benefits of having a studio company over being a single freelancer. While being your own boss has some responsibility and cost, it surely has the advantage of having a more decisive and personal influence on what you create.
There are plenty of interesting insights in this episode so enjoy, watch, listen, and stay tuned for the next parts where we talk about 3d software, blender, z-brush, sculpting, VR, and the metaverse.
Tue, 15 Mar 2022 - 40 - #1 Gordon Neill - Pandemic games, A.I.+ Art inspirations and experiencing real life 3/3
In this episode of the CG Talks Podcast (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) we are thrilled to interview Gordon Neil host of a podcast called Digital Artcast. He has interviewed top industry professionals from the game development industry and this time gladly sat on the other side of the mic to talk with us about his journey and experience. Neil is a 3d artist specializing in gamedev currently working for Fabricated Madness on an exciting new project - ‘The Chronicles of Dr. Zammsy ’ a new collectible card game using the NFT blockchain technology. Our audience can be sure that today’s episode will be full of crispy stories straight from Gordon’s pouch!
This last part of CG Talk's interview with Gordon Neill (host of Digital Artcast) revolves around the pandemic and how it affected the CGI industry and artists' lives. We also play some little future forecasts of how Artificial Technology might impact the way we work and create. The remote work and lack of off-line meetings, the difficulties as well as opportunities it brought. Neill also shares his art inspirations from comic book artists including Mike Mignola’sHellboy, Todd McFarlane, and Jim Lee. We discuss the value of traditional art craftsmanship in the age of modern digital tools. We wonder what the future of digital art will look like with the uncanny valley being conquered on one hand and the widespread trend of stylized animations like ‘Into the Spiderverse’ on the other. Finally, we dive into the topic of Artificial intelligence tools in digital creative work. Will A.I. deprive all artists of work or is it just another tool in the toolbox? What if all the electricity went out? Neill shares his hobbies and passions that help him keep a healthy balance between the digital space and real life. This can also help improve your artwork.
To find more about Neill’s work and the Digital Artcast check out these links:
https://linktr.ee/geoart
https://www.artstation.com/geoart
https://www.instagram.com/gordymakesart
Sun, 27 Feb 2022 - 39 - #1 Gordon Neill - Let's talk about art 2/3
In this episode of the CG Talks Podcast (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) we are thrilled to interview Gordon Neil host of a podcast called Digital Artcast. He has interviewed top industry professionals from the game development industry and this time gladly sat on the other side of the mic to talk with us about his journey and experience. Neil is a 3d artist specializing in gamedev currently working for Fabricated Madness on an exciting new project - ‘The Chronicles of Dr. Zammsy ’ a new collectible card game using the NFT blockchain technology. Our audience can be sure that today’s episode will be full of crispy stories straight from Gordon’s pouch!
In this second part of the conversation, we focused specifically on the gamedev industry and how Neill got to work as an artist for games. This episode is full of little nuggets of experience that might prove really useful for young aspiring artists who want to go that path. Making a portfolio that stands out, specifically aiming at a company and the type of work they produce is just one of the topics Neill covers. The interview also goes into tangents like the Metaverse, Unreal Engine 5 Matrix demo, and what it promises for the future of gaming. Are games bad for your health as your parents may tell you? Neil gives us a few reasons to think differently about the impact of gaming on your life.
Finally, Neill reveals a bit about his new job and the game project he's involved in called ‘The Chronicles of Dr. Zammsy’ - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm0TSo7TIz8psD00PRVW5ig
‘Dr.Zammsy’ is a digital card collectible game based on blockchain and NFT-s (Non-Fungible Tokens) so we take a minute to discuss that hot and controversial topic as well.
Sat, 26 Feb 2022 - 38 - #1 Gordon Neill - Digital Artcast's guide to working in gamedev 1/3
In this episode of the CG Talks Podcast (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) we are thrilled to interview Gordon Neil host of a podcast called Digital Artcast. He has interviewed top industry professionals from the game development industry and this time gladly sat on the other side of the mic to talk with us about his journey and experience. Neil is a 3d artist specializing in gamedev currently working for Fabricated Madness on an exciting new project - ‘The Chronicles of Dr. Zammsy ’ a new collectible card game using the NFT blockchain technology. Our audience can be sure that today’s episode will be full of crispy stories straight from Gordon’s pouch!
In the first part of the conversation, Neil tells us his story of how he became a digital artist starting from a totally different career (literally ‘working on the railway’) and giving a courageous leap of faith to pursue his dreams of making games he loved to play as a kid. Neill describes a memorable turning point story when he got back home from a wrecking shift fixing the railway stuff outside. Scotland’s rough weather has taken its toll and it was just enough to help Neil realize this was not how he wanted his life to go on and he made the decision to change. Along the way, he started the Digital Artcast - which gradually became a fast train to industry networking as well as his personal and professional landmark. All this story came to fruition with numerous ups and downs. Neil openly talks about his struggles and how eventually they led to some unexpected success. Though many podcasts appear in space and quickly disappear, this was not the case with Digital Artcast. Relax and listen to Neil Gordon’s inspiring story. It clearly shows that devotion, humility, and true passion with a dose of persistence is a great recipe for success.
Fri, 25 Feb 2022 - 37 - s03 e13: From MMORPG games player to AAA visual storyteller - Mathias Zamęcki
In this episode of our CG Talks Podcast, we are honored to interview Mathias Zamęcki, a high-end visuals creator for the gaming and animation industry. Mathias has worked for numerous well-established brands including Blizzard, Digital Domain, Riot Games, Blur Studio, CD Project Red, and many more. Despite his young age (Mathias has just entered his thirties), he has gathered massive experience in the CGI industry. Being a self-taught artist required a lot of drive, passion, and perseverance.
Like many adolescent guys of this millennium, Mathias was deep into MMORPG computer games. The world of internet forums (can you recall those ancient times !?) introduced an idea of an online avatar, a small icon image that represented a player/persona in the virtual space. This spurred Mathias’ interest in photoshop as he wanted to make those images for himself. It was the era of early YouTube, and stumbling upon a digital drawing/painting tutorial was another breakthrough moment in the young man’s journey to art.
He got himself a small Wacom tablet and started his digital artist’s career. With a lot of ups and downs along the way, Mathias jumped straight to work for a game development company. This experience proved to be the best academy for the artist, which required pushing the skills in all aspects of digital creation. The company was small so Mathias had to be a real generalist and go boldly into many tasks.
The common denominator throughout Mathias’ career is learning. Constantly trying to challenge and improve his art, through paid work as well as personal studies and projects. Mathias is also eagerly sharing his knowledge and discoveries online, and we discuss the benefits of teaching others for your own artistic awareness and growth.
How did Mathias get to do jobs for AAA games companies? What can help you receive job offers from animation studios? Why is it important not to get stuck with your ideas but turn them into actionable projects?
You might find answers to these kinds of questions in this episode. Mathias’ approach to CGI has proven to work extremely well and it would not be wise to ignore such valuable insights. So take your time, listen, enjoy and keep learning!
Mathias is very active on a lot of social media platforms so make sure you follow him to see what he’s up to (there’s always something inspiring going on) and to get valuable resources and tips that can help you on your digital artist’s journey:
➡️ https://linktr.ee/mathiaszamecki ⬅️
Wed, 27 Oct 2021 - 36 - s03 e12: How to get rich and famous making animation, or die trying - VIVIX Studio
How can you build a company, find financing and make your big dream animated series project a reality?
Easy, peasy...
First take a part in a worldwide animated project like “Love, death + robots” that made a smashing success on Netflix. The next thing you do is find the perfect business match and team up with the best 3d artists you can find to establish a high-quality animation studio.
Sounds too cocky?
Our special guests in this episode have a lot to tell you on how it can be done (and actually is). Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ilya Kuzyuk (CEO) and Ilya Mozzhukhin (Animation Director) from VIVIX studio.
They met together as a very unusual combination of artistic and business talents to break straight to the first class of ambitious animation projects.
Their dream was clear - to create high-end animation for adults (a whole new generation raised on animation and video games which they are a part of as well)
But why make something great, just for a few people to watch. Their plan was to hit big time from the get-go.
Long animation projects are no peanuts and require a lot of money to make. Ilya Kuzyuk as the business brains of the team based on his rich entrepreneurial experience knew exactly how crucial it is to secure proper financing.
First, they did some contract gigs to raise some money. Achieving some success in that field they quickly realized that doing client jobs takes away their focus and effort from the big goal - which was their own original animation project called Artificial Detective. They decided to search for an investor willing to bet on the project. They knew no one would buy the idea without any substantial pre-production work that could pitch the project.
With the funding they had, they’ve prepared a lot of high-quality concept work (which they agreed to show on-screen to our beloved podcast audience)
In the podcast episode, we also discuss the pros and cons of using Unreal Engine in animation productions and the future of offline rendering.
Digressing to topics like remote work and the pandemic, the crucial importance of storytelling or unusual merchandising ideas.
If you are interested in 3d animation, making business with art projects, or just a fan of sci-fi series on Netflix, Disney+, HBO, or other streaming platforms of your choice, you will find this episode insightful and interesting.
Enjoy!
Wed, 29 Sep 2021 - 35 - s03 e11: How to learn Blender - Michael Bridges from Canopy Games
What is the best way to learn Blender and 3d graphics? Let's discover it in our latest CG Talks podcast episode, where we've hosted a special guest Michael Bridges - a Blender 3D tutor, indie game developer, founder of Canopy Games, and a co-host of the Blender Nest podcast.
This time we've discussed the experience of getting into 3d for the first time and various learning approaches. How to advance quickly and in a thorough manner? Is there a real value in taking structured paid courses? Is university any good for a 3d apprentice? If you’re interested in 3d graphics, learning Blender whether for game development or any other use case, listen to this episode to discover the tutor's point of view and get some inspiration to choose your learning course - You'll find the conversation interesting with a big dose of positive energy and humor!
Have a listen and enjoy!
Resources:
https://www.canopy.games/
https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelBridgesTutorials
https://twitter.com/TechEdMike
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKEKVUDqEFLU8Frq8OEdvdA
Tue, 31 Aug 2021 - 34 - s03 e10: Deepmotion - future of motion capture
Attention! There is a nice treat at the end of the podcast for our listeners who want to test out Animate 3D :)
In this episode of CG Talks - the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics we have very special guests - Mr. Kevin He (CEO and founder of Deepmotion Inc.) and their Product Director Mr. Ergin Dervisoglu together with DJ and Amiel they are going to talk about Deepmotion’s new AI-driven motion capture service and the technology behind it.
You will learn how working on World of Warcraft can inspire creative research on how to automate the animation creation process and lead to opening a cutting-edge tech startup.
What is the difference between AI and machine learning? Is AI going to kill us all (or at least take away our jobs)? Is automatic motion capture suitable for professional work? How fast does it develop and can it replace expensive equipment? Can physics simulation be automated? Why did Deepmotion receive an Epic Mega Grant? What about face tracking?
If any of those questions ever crossed your mind or at least seem interesting, have a listen to this episode and you just might find the answers.
Let’s dive into the future of motion capture that is happening now with video-based automatic mo-cap cloud service - Animate 3D by Deepmotion.
Resources:
Animate 3d - https://www.deepmotion.com/animate-3d
Face tracking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGjqa3O6o1k
GarageFarm.NET's tutorial on using Deepmotion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku0zMs5sUew
Deepmotion's VR Body tracking gets Epic Megagrant - https://uploadvr.com/epic-megagrants-avatar-magnet/
About Deepmotion - https://www.deepmotion.com/company
Wed, 21 Jul 2021 - 33 - s03 e09: Substance of texturing - interview with Amiel Goco
In this episode of CG Talks DJ and Andrew interview Amiel, our GarageFarm.NET team Substance specialist, and content creator.
We learn about the simplicity and also the huge power of Substance, and get valuable tips on how to get started and create CG materials like a pro.
On top of that, we learn why you shouldn't keep your works on your
HDD even if you think they are not good enough and why Amiel considers himself rather a technical guy than an artist.
Resources:
Substance Painter - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-painter/
Substance Designer - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-designer/
Substance Alchemist - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-alchemist/
Substance Source - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-source/
Ambient occlusion - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_occlusion
Zbursh - https://pixologic.com/
Iray , 3d view Substance Painter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92ngIojcd5M
Sbar file and other formats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwn89RgGr_A
Blender mask tools - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fk-6yKTzMU
Quixel mixer - https://quixel.com/mixer
ArmorPaint - https://armorpaint.org/
Wes McDermott - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoYBJMg934qT0NHLMU0tHrg
Smart materials - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xppOU2y10Cs
Substance baking maps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srUXsAjD2xs
WSD Gaming - https://acronym24.com/wsd-meaning-in-gaming/
Pbr validation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh2wROK7ceE
Voronoi texture - https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/textures/voronoi.html
Photogrammetry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry
Houdini - https://www.sidefx.com/
Daniel Thiger Marmoset tutorial – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZC6QkwxHRA
Corridor Crew Terminator 2 remake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXehBx0Yc_w
Avid - https://www.avid.com/
Davinci resolve - https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pl/products/davinciresolve/
Tablet and substance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-LzeT50pw
Tips for painter Amiel tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgquP-teXd0
Vertex painting decals blender - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzzRr-VVYps
Luxcore render seamless textures - https://luxcorerender.org/new-features-in-v2-5/
Corona seamless textures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKK0Pzw3sjM
Substance animated textures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOAJVykMdg
Exporting maps in different resolutions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgMJsMR74w
Thu, 01 Jul 2021 - 32 - s03 e08: Buy 'em all - Epic acquires Artstation
In this episode Marco, Amiel and DJ are discussing the ins and outs of latest Epic Games' acquisition of Artstation.
Is Epic the upcoming Big Brother of 3D Industry? What is their strategy? What's in it for a simple 3d artist? Should we rejoice or fear?
These questions along with numerous digressions about a healthy lifestyle in a digital world, monopolies, imperial and metric systems, and many others fill this entertaining episode.
What happened to Star Wars when Disney bought the franchise.
Is freebie giveaway enough to change people's habits?
If you are curious who the heck is Sherrif of Rotterdam go ahead and give this episode a listen! Share your thoughts about the latest moves from Epic in the comments below!
Resources:
Adobe acquires Substance - https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2019/01/23/adobe-acquires-allegorithmic-substance-3d-gaming.html
Epic vs Apple FAQ - https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/02/apple-epic-trial-faq/
https://magazine.artstation.com/2021/04/artstation-is-joining-the-epic-games-family/
https://cgpress.org/archives/epic-games-acquires-artstation.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Disney
Mon, 14 Jun 2021 - 31 - s03 e07: Unreal Engine 5 Early Access
In this episode, DJ, Andrew, and Amiel talk about Unreal Engine 5, what it means for the industry, and answer one of the biggest questions for 3D artists: Is Unreal Engine 5's real-time ray tracing going to replace traditional renderers?
Resources:
Unreal 5 Early Access - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5
Unreal 5 Early Access video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZnM7CH-v4
Epic games - https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/
Lavina\vantage - https://www.chaosgroup.com/vantage
Quixel library - https://quixel.com/megascans/
Nanite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMorJX3Nj6U
Lumen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTq4xPvxfk
Jamal jubaev - http://jamajurabaev.com/
LOD - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_detail_(computer_graphics)
Texel density - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-mIY87314g
Andrew price, the future of modelling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlgLxSLsYWQ
Nick Gordon - https://www.youtube.com/user/GameAudioAustralia
Doom sountrack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmt9VA00Tv4
Sound creation tools in Unreal 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uleiEmLNyy8
Unreal 5 and Mandalorian -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpUI8uOsKTM
Ian Hubert Blender interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY8Ol2n4o4A
Thu, 10 Jun 2021 - 30 - s03 e06: Old and new generations in the 3d industry
In this special episode, DJ introduces Amiel - our young and talented content creator, who does Substance Suite-related tutorials for Garagefarm.NET Academy. With Marco and Andrew taking a short break (no worries they’ll be back soon) we dive into the personal experiences of older and younger generations in the CG industry.
How was it back then when books were still a viable option for learning 3d?
Are the times easier for young artists nowadays? Can plenty be a curse?
With so many people jumping into Blender now, how does it compare to times when doing so was a renegade choice putting you on the outskirts of the mainstream?
Some digressions on where the industry is heading towards are also inevitable.
Will we finally get the ‘perfect’ render button or will the knowledge of how things work still be of high value?
Was PBR shading always a standard, and how to adopt the new when you are used to old ways of working?
Are technical constraints good for creatives or is it better when things happen at a click of a mouse?
Why care about the fundamentals and technical correctness or topology when computers can handle more and more? What does Cyberpunk have to do with all that?
Answers or perhaps even more inspiring questions to ask yourself can be found in this episode of CG Talks - the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics.
Resources:
Sketchup -https://www.sketchup.com/
IOR Values -https://pixelandpoly.com/ior.html
Principled BSDF -https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/la...
GIMP -https://www.gimp.org/
Substance Source -https://source.substance3d.com/
Cyberpunk 2077 -https://www.cyberpunk.net/ph/en/
Justice League vs. The Snyder Cut - Filmmaking Comparison by Thomas Flight -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uemtK...
How Animators Created the Spider-Verse | WIRED -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-wUK...
new cinema 4d release -https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d/ -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G84u...
old Blender versions to check how it evolved -https://download.blender.org/release/
PBR workflow explained -https://academy.substance3d.com/cours...
https://cgobsession.com/what-is-pbr-a...
zx spectrum - the computer worse than your modern fridge but great for its time -https://worldofspectrum.org/
Mon, 10 May 2021 - 29 - s03 e05: Your favourite part of the 3D workflow is...?
In this episode of CG Talks DJ and Marco discuss the stuff they enjoy most in the whole 3d workflow. While everyone seems to hate UV unwrapping, it is not that obvious what actually is the most fun and satisfying thing to do in the vast 3d graphics world. Modeling, sculpting, scene layout or lighting, or just obsessively tweaking the render settings parameters - it is all up to one's tastes and preferences. Marco and DJ are giving their utterly biased and subjective opinions on that issue while digressing about lots of useful and interesting stuff for CG artists worth checking out. Starting off with comparing their experiences with different software like 3dsMax and Cinema4d and comparing them with their Blender fanboyism - struggling hard for staying objective with an inevitable blender cultist final conclusion that they just love Blender 3d. Non-Blender users do not get discouraged! - this can be a unique opportunity of understanding the mind of a blender head... After all 3d creation is software agnostic. Does look dev and lighting give you shivers as they do to DJ? Do you agree with Marco that physics simulations can drive you mad unless you are the zen master? Give a listen to the podcast and share your thoughts in the comments. Discussing favourite actions in 3d is a great reason to sidetrack into other topics such as how great it is to live today as a 3d artist with AI tech and other conveniences at hand.
Podcast resources:
3d Cursor Blender tool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AqaKD0d5v0
Sculpting in Blender for Beginners - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG1IEpU5VAw
Workbench render engine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDythbQCZM
Blender Cavity maps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyi03X9J8A4
Look development phase - https://conceptartempire.com/look-development/
Kitbashing with Meshmixer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1UUTBZRnE8
Smoke simulation in Blender beginners tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-CvxH5-_M
Blender Schrinkwrap Modifier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNLCJGtsU7M
Cloth Mesh Filter Blender - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5QUFo9XN0s
Rich Colburn – Modelling cloth tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNXBYI-WPU4
Arqui9 archviz channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBzPV2uSji-Z5-x_svnZV1w
Affinity software - https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/
Blender Rigify tool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAhbO7U1ID8
Blender cleanup tools - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbv45vi4pbs
Nodevember 2020 results video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhLVzcCl1ug
Nodevember website - https://nodevember.io
Simon Thommes - https://www.artstation.com/simonthommes
PIFuHD - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxk-ijYY4n4
3d Printing library - www.thangs.com
Retopology - https://conceptartempire.com/retopology/#:~:text=Retopology%20is%20the%20process%20of,mesh%20polygon-by-polygon
Reallusion - https://www.reallusion.com
Character Creator - https://www.reallusion.com/character-creator/
Grease pencil to the tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDorym2Jqrw
Blender Evee renderer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-9rYUwY47Y
Thu, 15 Apr 2021 - 28 - s03 e04: Spiders heavier than paint | Vaughan Ling interview
In this episode of CG Talks - the podcast where CG guys talk about CG, we are privileged to chat with Vaughan Ling - 3d artist, the teacher also known as Heavypoly. Vaughan, DJ, Marco, and Michał(aka Andrew) discuss Vaughan’s recent app development endeavor with Heavypaint.
An Interview with Vaughan could not go without mentioning his impressive input to Oscar-winning feature film animation “Into the Spiderverse” and other successful projects.
What open source tools like Godot Engine and Blender mean for his workflow?
Can one take an unorthodox path in UI design and succeed?
Is there life for an artist without undo?
Answers to these questions might just be found in this exciting but also laid-back podcast episode.
If you are into digital painting trying out Heavypaint is a must: https://www.heavypaint.app/
Here you can find and admire the scope of Vaughan’s impressive work: https://www.heavypoly.com/
Check his YT channel for tutorials and chilled Heavypaint livestreams:https://www.youtube.com/user/kakapoopie
some more links to stuff we mentioned:
Into the Spider-Verse - How Animators Created the Spider-Verse | WIREDLove, Death & Robots - Love, Death & RobotsBlender online class - https://www.heavypoly.com/blender-online-classGodot engine - https://godotengine.org/Jama Jurabaev - https://www.artstation.com/jamaHero – Blender Grease Pencil Showcase - HERO – Blender Grease Pencil ShowcaseConcept art - Concept artPipeline Dreamworks animation - Penguins show us the Pipeline of Dreamworks Animation Studios (CC Español).Koenigsegg - Blender Car Project | 3D Model Breakdown - Koenigsegg - Blender Car Project | 3D Model BreakdownDreamWorksTV - This is DreamWorksTV!Alberto Mielgo - Alberto MielgoTron - Uprising - TRON- UPRISING Official Trailer | HD - EnglishCraig Mullins - http://www.goodbrush.com/Peter Chan - http://peterchanconceptart.com/Annis Naeem - https://www.annisnaeem.com/designworkGouache - GouacheKrita - https://krita.org/en/Alchemy open drawing project - http://al.chemy.org/Infinite Painter - https://www.infinitestudio.art/discover.phpImpressionism - ImpressionismRebelle painter - https://www.escapemotions.com/products/rebelle/aboutCorel painter - https://www.painterartist.com/en/product/painter/Mon, 22 Mar 2021 - 27 - s03 e03: Fringes of CG
In the far reaches of the CG animation world, beyond the reach of mainstream pop culture, dwells some pretty incredible and sometimes batshit crazy content. Join us as we descend into the surreal landscapes of out-of-the-box creators, and reexamine our perception of Art and Creativity!
Resource links:
Beeple - https://www.instagram.com/beeple_crap/
Esteban Diacono - https://www.instagram.com/_estebandiacono/
Uncanny valley - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
David lynch - https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch
Delirium - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens
Body horror inside out - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_horror
Japanese horror - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_horror
Outsider art - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsider_art
Precolumbian art - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_art
Cool 3d world stuff - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzNZlJzmjomyl00ewlxHqOA
Peter Jackson early movies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixJ6I2b6Spc&t=2s
Braindead - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braindead_(film)
Fauvism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauvism
Henri Matisse - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse
Stan Procopenco - https://www.youtube.com/user/ProkoTV
Marschall Wandruff - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0MdSo4IwuFeAcvsltL43_A
Cyriak - https://www.youtube.com/user/cyriak
Oleg Vdovenko - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAQwk8vjlBLizpmGKVbZNLQ
Ubik - https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubik
Michael Gondry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Gondry
Daft Punk ‘Around the world’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JPa3BNi6l4
Kung Fury - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS5P_LAqiVg
Crowdfunding - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdfunding
Lion King the Remakeboot - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi-Q73RSF_c
Beavis and butthead - https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beavis_i_Butt-head
Adult Swim smalls - https://www.adultswim.com/videos/smalls
Tim and Eric Awesome Show - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJ1dbyDcrI
Fri, 26 Feb 2021 - 26 - s03 e02: February updates
In this episode, DJ, Marco and Andrew are discussing happenings which took place around January 2021 around our farm, 3d world, and not only! Take a seat, listen to our latest CG Talks and check the links in the description to find cool CG and art-related stuff.
Resource links:
New Adobe AI features –https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/202...
AE Color space update –https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects...
Open vdb steam smoke loops on Gumroad –https://gumroad.com/betweentwopines
Importing OpenVDB to Blender -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlHDc...
Turbosquid was acquired by Shutterstock -https://blog.turbosquid.com/2021/01/2...
Turbosquid -https://www.turbosquid.com/
Envato elements (3d assets) -https://elements.envato.com/3d
Interview with Erindale (Erin Woodford) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snHH4...
Nodevember -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhLVz...
New Sketchup 2021 – parametric objects – Live Components -https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup...
Andrew price video – How A.I will change the 3D industry -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlgLx...
Turbosquid CheckMate quality standard -https://www.turbosquid.com/CheckMate
PixelSquid -https://www.pixelsquid.com/png
AE 3d features -https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/a...
Tilt Brush going opensource –https://www.tiltbrush.com/
NVIDIA Holodeck -https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/design-v...
Second life virtual gallery -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TapCi...
GAS – gear acquisition syndrome -https://www.slrlounge.com/the-cure-fo...
Xesktop new servers -https://xesktop.com/features/
Blender Render Farm Comparisons on BlenderArtists -https://blenderartists.org/t/blender-...
Arnold 6.2 – Light Mixer Imager -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CNoh...
Luxcore render – light mixer (light Grup) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsz9y...
Chaotica -https://www.chaoticafractals.com/
Artcore Reallusion – mocap library -https://actorcore.reallusion.com/
Showreel Monica Eggert -https://vimeo.com/502330162
Everything nodes project in Blender -https://developer.blender.org/T67088
Blender mograph -https://www.mographmentor.com/industr...
Blender new asset browser - Alpha state -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAoLx...
Keymesh addon for Blender -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6CqP...
Red and blue clay guys animation -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=913yg...
Clay Gumby -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf7QZ...
MTV Celebrity Deathmatch -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX7gU...
Green Jelly – Three Little Pigs -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtffv...
Among us clay modelling -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoqCI...
Among us clay animation -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExlMq...
Thu, 18 Feb 2021 - 25 - s03 e01: What to expect of 2021 in CG
In this episode, Andrew(aka Michal), Dj, and Marco look at some of the interesting developments of this new year, and what those developments could mean for CG artists, and the industry at large.
Resource links:
Boston dynamics video - Do you love me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3KWM1kuAw
Jimmy Kimmel - Donald Trump deepfake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKPQHrSnX3I
Trump’s speech deepfake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJJLqXVpVGY
Silicon Graphics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Graphics
HDRI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_imaging
Stalin’s edited photos - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_images_in_the_Soviet_Union
deep fake - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepfake
Blender 3.0 in 2021 - http://www.cgchannel.com/2020/03/check-out-the-blender-3-0-and-lts-product-roadmap/
Animcraft - https://www.animcraft.com/
Mixamo - https://www.mixamo.com/#/
Deep motion - https://deepmotion.com/
motion capture - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_capture
Actor core - https://actorcore.reallusion.com/
Andrew Price 2021 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPQzi-LYW8s
Artbreeder - https://www.artbreeder.com/
Photoshop AI – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ngWpspNLY
30 Vr games coming in 2021 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMRW5Z2GQ6w
Virtual reality real estate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l9qRDMVNRY
Redshift for blender - https://www.blendernation.com/2020/11/20/redshift-plugin-for-blender-released/
Arnold for blender - https://www.blendernation.com/2018/06/29/arnold-render-comes-to-blender/
Renderman for Blender - http://www.cgchannel.com/2020/09/blender-to-get-official-renderman-plugin/
Non-photorealistic rendering - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-photorealistic_rendering
Into the Spiderverse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0
Blender Grease Pencil - https://www.blender.org/features/grease-pencil/
Chaotica - https://www.chaoticafractals.com/art/general
Sculpt January 2021 - https://cgboost.com/sculptjanuary2021/
36 days of type - https://www.36daysoftype.com/
3d working with references - https://www.pluralsight.com/blog/film-games/four-tips-modeling-reference
Fractal - https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraktal
Mitch "Mantissa" Sinnave - https://mantissa.xyz/
Fabio Pavelli Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fabiopalvelli/
Kodak 3200 grain - https://mare.photo/en/kodak-tmax-3200/
Houdini - https://www.sidefx.com/
Mon, 01 Feb 2021
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