I am learning 3D and I am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of things you can do, as long as you put in the time. And the problem is that I get starry-eyed looking at too many different kinds of arts.
Some people are unreasonably good when sculpting female characters, some people can do wonders using Blender’s Grease Pencil, some people achieve amazing pieces of arts mainly using Geometry Nodes. Not to mention people who specialize in isometric rooms and such.
I geniunely am interested in all of these aspects of the 3D art scene. But I realize that if I don’t focus somewhere, I could be decent at making every kind of art but I will never be “good”, if that makes sense. How did you guys decide what your area of expertise would be?
This is not really true - 3D generalists exist, in large numbers, and they get paid quite a lot, usually. It’s not that uncommon for a professional 3D artist to be excellent at sculpting, modeling, rigging, and animating. A great example is Dikko on YouTube- he’s a accomplished 2D artist, he sculpts and poly models characters, he rigs and animates characters, he does multiple different styles of stylization, he designs, builds, and rigs creatures, he even does VFX. He does it all very well, and he’s not limited to Blender either, he also uses Maya.
My point is- what you actually want is to be a 3D generalist, it sounds like. So be a generalist just be realistic with yourself. It will take longer overall to get good at all the things you want to get good at- years, probably, in total, but it’s entirely possible and entirely doable. Don’t limit yourself for fear of not being good enough - push yourself in everything you want to be good in, until you are, and enjoy every second of the journey
I’m a hobbyist, and I haven’t decided yet. Amusingly enough I had a firm focus when I started to learn Blender – I wanted to make Steam Workshop game assets for an existing game that I was playing. I no longer even play that game because I got totally sucked into Blender (I got to the point where I could have made most of the assets I wanted to do, and just kept going).
The things in my head that want out (there are more and more the further I go with Blender) aren’t pulling me in a specific direction, nor does the 3D art that I like, so “jack of all trades” is it for now.
I would say if you don’t have a decided liking and/or aptitude for a specific thing, to give all that appeal a solid try. I made myself a curriculum (from looking at a bunch of books and courses teaching general Blender knowledge), and am going through it fairly methodically so I don’t fritter my time away. Once I have learned the basics of all aspects, I will know a lot more about what I want to specialize in first. That knowledge is often not there at the start because one doesn’t really know what all is involved, so getting a taste of it is really helpful.
I know some people think that focus and devotion to one thing take you there, but in my personal experience it’s not true. Sure, as a generalist you might never dwell in the highest-praised pantheon of art, but then again even most people who concentrate on one area don’t usually get there because other factors go into it than focus. But you can most definitely get good at a number of specializations as a hobbyist or generalist.
“How did you choose what aspect of 3D to focus on?”
Was studying JAVA web programming at the time, I think was around 2005 'sh second semester met up with a couple of guys on campus who’d worked a bit for second tier game studios which essentially got me interested in 3D content generation. Specifically mechanical hard surface, basically props and since I’m a diehard petrol head (…into cars, alot) plus really didn’t find character art all that appealing, even-though I’ve a traditional portraitist background - so heyho found myself modeling anything running on wheels or track or bullets popping out’ve the business end, whilst still having a blast with it years later.
Anyways, I guess a Mark Twain quote nicely sums up my experience, thus far working partime freelance
“Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Edit:
Additionally, mid too large budget (AA or AAA) game production environments are usually dedicated too filling specialized roles although doesn’t necessarily mean conventional disciplinary positions per se whether weapons, characters, enviro/level design, rigger, animator…etc because recent trends seem to suggest sub-categorized skill sets are gaining traction in terms of hair groomers, shader - texture artists as well too name just a few however conversely reliance on all rounder generalists continue to persist throughout the indie scene.
In the early days of my 3D journey I was like this too. There was just so much amazing stuff that you could do, that I tried to do everything.
I ended up starting my career as a generalist, and I was doing everything: from modeling to unwrapping/texturing/rigging/animation/lighting/renering/compositing/simulations…everything!
And then I naturally gravitated towards the game industry, and then I ended up specialising in hard surface, and after years of that I now work as a miniature/collectibles sculptor.
I love sculpting organics as much as I love modeling hard-surface, so I could never choose or drop one or the other.
I would say, at the start just enjoy exploring. Try everything. See what you enjoy most, but don’t just solely focus on a single thing. It’s much better in the long run to be a well rounded artist with a grasp/knowledge of the various fields and disciplines.
But you can most definitely get good at a number of specializations as a hobbyist or generalist.
I am learning Blender as a hobby so that’s definitely something I am very reassured to read. Come to think of it I have seen time-lapses of 3D pieces requiring a lot of different skills, with the artist performing flawlessly on each of them.
I can’t begin to imagine how many hours of training are required to reach this level of experience all-around, but I definitely have the motivation to keep learning!
Thank you for your answer!
I would say, at the start just enjoy exploring. Try everything. See what you enjoy most, but don’t just solely focus on a single thing. It’s much better in the long run to be a well rounded artist with a grasp/knowledge of the various fields and disciplines.
I think that is exactly what I wanted to hear.
It is very intimidating to see experts on each field, so much that I forbid myself to think I could reach their level unless I focus solely on that. I am saying this because most of the time artists on ArtStation only post one kind of content (characters, or isometric arts, or hard surfaces…), but it’s wrong to think they haven’t tried everything before eventually choosing their path.
I will definitely keep enjoying myself and try a bit of everything. Thank you!
In addition to Mr. Twain’s very fine comment as noted above, I’d just add two other things:
“Moore’s Law” shows no sign of stopping." Therefore, no matter where "3D and/or game technology is today, you can be 150% certain that it will not still be there tomorrow. Therefore, throughout your career, you are always going to have to re-invent your career, “on the fly.”
“Therefore, get used to it.”
However …
"Customers are always the same, and your reputation always precedes you." No matter what else you do, never forget that. “Never make a promise that you cannot exceed.” And then, if anything’s going “terribly wrong,” always make sure that your customer is the first to know, never the last. If you ever have to decide between “less” or “more” communication with your client, always opt for “more.”
After trying to figure out this myself. If there is an actual recipee for success or a shortcut to quick results. I just realized that everything has to do with motor skills and prior background.
We always think that is about technique, or sophistication, or knowledge or learning etc… These are fine up to a point, but after that is all about doing the work. The real results can be achieved only through actions. So for example if there is one tutorial that is explained in 10 minutes this roughly translates to 10 hours of practice until is understood and settled and by experience and repetition (after many months) the ratio keeps getting closer and closer to 1:1.
As for example at one point, where I was desparate and almost dropped out of art. I thought that those who are the most lucky artists are the “inkers”. Is like they could exclude all of the problems of artwork (perspective/content/etc) and focus 1000% only on creating superb lines. And by this mentality I approached drawing from the other side of the things. And by getting really good eye-hand coordination and really stable hand I would then be in a much better position to adapt to the theory of content etc. But without motor skill simply there is nothing that can be done.
And for prior background as mentioned earlier, here we are in deep trouble. Because in the modern educational school system, that is based on rote memorization of words and lists (provided that the school system serves a specific purpose for specific reasons). Drawing something at perfect photorealism is like a miracle or a dream. While for example memorizing entire volumes of books and writing scientific essays is very common thing and boring. But due to prior experience we tend to get better at one over the other.
More or less it means that we daily train our brains for 12+ years during our school years for working only with the “speech” and “audible” parts of the brain and our “visual” parts of the brain are severly under developed. So as adults if we start drawing or getting into artistic professions is like we start at a very basic level (almost at the kindergarden level of drawing) and then see how it goes.
Good news is that the brain always is learning, but indeed it will take almost years. Though there is only one way to become a master in only a year, if you have practiced 9 years earlier.
It would be counted in years, not hours. Disciplines like hand animation and anatomy are lifelong learning pursuits, and this is not an exaggeration. The good news is that these days there is practically an infinite amount of resources to learn from and many of the tools we have now make your life a lot easier.
The bad news is that the quality of work constantly raises the benchmark and you have to continuously push your own boundaries to maintain the quality level.
This question is akin to ‘how long is a piece of string?’. There are many variables at play. Some artists can become quite decent in 1-3 years, and others might be doing it for 10 years and still be at a low level of knowledge/skill. Some artists will come into this with great 2D drawing skills, or as natural problem solvers, or with a great eye for reading and dissembling complex objects into basic forms, etc. A lot will depend on the artist. Are they naturally lazy or do they have an borderline obsession with meticulousness? There are many factors.
It’s all about the amount of quality learning time you put into it and how much passion you have for it.
I’ve been doing this stuff for 20-odd years and still have the same love and enthusiasm today, as the first year I started this. That passion always pushed me on to constantly strive to improve and to overcome the difficulties and frustrations that are an essential part of 3D.
The main thing when you’re learning, imo, is to not just be a blind button pusher, following tutorials button by button, without actually learning anything. Always question the WHY is he doing this or that, and not just what buttons are being pushed to get from A - B. Trial and error and self exploration are far more valuable learning tools than press buttons that someone is listing off to you.
Either was, the 3D learning journey never ends. The technology, techniques, methods, and tools are constantly evolving, and so should we be. On the other hand, the traditional techniques and observations that the European masters gifted us are timeless. Colour and light theory. Shadow and light. Human, animal, and cloth anatomy observations, etc. These are just as important and shouldn’t be neglected solely in favour of the technology side of things. Learning the programs and tools is the easy parts. Learning the art is the lifelong pursuit.
Best of luck. And most importantly: have fun and enjoy yourself.
I’m just very glad that Robert Zemekis put his weight behind doing the movie, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
He knew, as everyone else did, that the people who still knew how to do this were nearing the end of both their careers and their lives. He determined to make a movie in which, although it did involve ILM, “no computers were used.”Ink. Paint. Celluloid. Every frame hand-drawn. Optical printers. And, damned the expense. It was the last hurrah for something that we will never see again. But, for one last time, he got them all together and they didit.
I call myself a generalist but I do have a tendency to focus on making environments and rendering stills as a hobby. I’ve also explored making realistic 3D assets too. When I first started, it was of course like I said above, because of a game, but as I began learning Blender, I experimented with different aspects of it. Most notable of which was basic animations and physics simulations. I found that I didn’t like them so moved on to trying other things. Making environments was just what I ended up falling into.
The reality is, I still look at all these other things people can do with Blender and want to try them out too. I don’t feel “locked in” to my choice. Maybe I will find something else I want to focus on, I don’t know until I try and that’s the recommendation I can make to you - try different things one-by-one, eventually you might find something you want to focus on more.
just be realistic with yourself. It will take longer overall to get good at all the things you want to get good at- years, probably, in total, but it’s entirely possible and entirely doable. Don’t limit yourself for fear of not being good enough - push yourself in everything you want to be good in, until you are, and enjoy every second of the journey 
