I was recently involved in a debate about a particular workflow. While the goal was admirable, I thought the execution was ill-advised and I left the debate feeling like my opinion was delivered passionately but was perhaps a bit heavy-handed.

On an unrelated note, I recently attempted to re-create a scene in Poser that I originally created elsewhere and felt that the Poser version took a bit more time than the other version with a result that I thought wasn't as good - though in fairness it's been a few years since I've studied Poser.

That got me thinking - yes, there are rock stars whose contributions reverberate through their respective forums (BB, among others being an obvious choice here), but I'm more concerned with the "average" user:

In your opinion, what are your strengths and weakness in 3D art (not specific to any particular application)? Are you more of an artist? Programming / script creator? Animator? Other? Granted, the 3D medium requires all of these skills (and more) but perhaps your strengths favor one area over another.

Overall, are you inspired or turned off by the medium's "ease"? Said another way, from concept to completed render, do you enjoy your time spent or do you feel it's time consuming or frustrating?

What area(s) would you like to improve if time and money weren't limiting factors? 

As an example, I have a friend who is a self-professed Z-Brush maniac (we debate daily about the strengths of Z-Brush vs. Mudbox, whose interface makes much more sense to me) but is really looking to explore the animation capabilities of Lightwave once his ultimate creation is complete.

I consider myself a cynical but well-intentioned, life-long rigging and animation novice whose part time dabbling with render wrangling seeks to find a workflow which "plays to the strengths of my preferred render engine". 

Would love to hear your opinions. No summary, nothing to publish, just curiosity. Thanks in advance.

I'm an artist first and foremost, but I also do some modeling. my one "weakness" is that I seem to be stuck in a perpetual "advanced beginner" stage, due to a short attention span I don't give things the attention I should, so I learn enough to have fun, but not enough to excel.

I call Myself an advanced amateur..  I just go where My mind takes Me..

No formal arts training,  but involved with amateur photography for Many years..

I have been using poser since version 2 ...   Also Corel  Painter since version 2..  ( When it was Fractal Designs, Metacreations,  etc. )

 I do not call myself an "artist" because I am not even able to draw a straight line with a pencil. Said that, my (relative) strength lies in 2D programs, that is, I am able to make or modify textures (but not complex procedural shaders).
Another strength is that I have a good fantasy and I able to imagine nice scenes and images (even if only in my mind).

My weakness is more or less everything else. I don't know to model a simple cube (let alone a teapot) and I know absolutely nothing about morphs and their magic.

Given enough time and money, I would like to improve:  1) modeling and sculpting skills,  2) lights use and simulated light math.

Giorgio

Strength: UV Mapping (I think).
Weakness: ???
DPH

My weakness in Poser are definitely dynamic cloth and procedural mats. I listen with rapt attention to bb, but that doesn't mean anything sinks in...lol. Although, I have been getting better at the materials lately, I'm still not where I want to be.

Lights would be a weakness too, IMHO.

I'm much better with texturing than anything else...it's what I've been concentrating on the longest. I'm not bad with setting up a balanced scene either.

I'd love to be better at modeling, but I'm like wheatpenny - my attention span is short for that type of thing, and while I really, really try I'm perpetually rotten at it and always frustrated...lol.

Laurie

My biggest weakness is not being able to rig, then advanced material useage.
Biggest strength is the ability to design original and fun things.

But as an artist - even says that on my business card ! - I look at the weaknesses as another technqiue that needs learning, so I don't feel bad about it.  

Main Strength : Modeling. (damn I love just diving in and creating)
Reasonable at Texturing and Rigging.

I hate UVmapping. I can do it... but I hates it.

"I hate UVmapping. I can do it... but I hates it."

For me it's like doing a large Jig-Saw Puzzle.
DPH

the problem for me, are  the tools we have.
most are optimised for organic shapes. but for non-organics, those optimisations cause problems. where I just want a shape laid out as if I just unfolded it like a papercraft model, most offer an 'wrap' tool that introduces distortions into the mapping. ok for organics, but for say piping on a model where you ideally want it laid out as a straight cylinder (as an example the same can be said for say a model like a room with a lot of bulkheads and alcoves) it's not good at all. I then have to fix those distortions...

Quote - In your opinion, what are your strengths and weakness in 3D art (not specific to any particular application)?

I would have to say that my strength is my eye for detail, placement and colour.  I'm also getting pretty good with lights!

Quote - Are you more of an artist? Programming / script creator? Animator? Other?

I don't consider myself a "3D artist" because I can't draw/paint using a graphic program (largely because I can't get over the disconnected feeling of using a graphic tablet....looking straight ahead while my hand is drawing off where I'm not looking). 

All I do with Poser is use other people's products and dress them up, change the textures,  place things in an environment and add some lights to come up with a pretty picture.  IMHO there is more to "3D Art" than that.

If I were able to incorporate some interesting post work and some of my own creativity, other than effects using tools in a graphic program IE: blur etc.  then I would consider myself a "3D Artist".
When I finish an image using Poser, I do get a sense of satisfaction that I managed to pull out the completed image that I saw inside my head before I started.  It's fun and relaxing, but I don't get that sense of artistic accomplishment that I do when I draw and sketch.

I do consider myself an artist in other areas though.  I love to write. I write poetry and short stories. And I've had offers to publish a novel complete with advance.  But I can't get over my fear of feeling emotionally exposed to the world so I declined the offer.  I also love to draw and sketch and can paint a little.  I am hoping to get into a day position at work so that I can take some evening classes in oil painting.

Looking at my gallery:

Strength - nada
Weakenss - everything
uberweakness - backgrounds

Lawsie, where to begin...;)

My current weaknesses that I'm working on are making models that don't 'melt' in Poser, and UVMapping in such a way that the texture's applied evenly. Not to mention finding textures that have some detail and realism that the 'experts' have. It's boiling down to where to cut edges in Wings, and which UVMapping method to use when...;)

because I am not even able to draw a straight line with a pencil - that's why I'm a 3D 'artist'...;) I can't either...;)

I mainly want to get the pictures in my head onto the screen; it's just convincing my fingers to cooperate...;)

postwork, not being able to achieve much in any paint program( without snafuing everything ) limits me in the pictures i can create. so i tend to do more character portrait type images than anything else.

 I consider myself pretty good with morphs. It's what I love most about Poser - creating morphs. Right from the start I was amused by the fact that you could make things "do" something, be it a crumbling beer can or something else. So I'm pretty good at making things "do" something.

I'm mediochre at modeling. Getting better every day but there are still lots of times where I just stare and thing "now HOW did they model THAT?!"

My weakness is that if I can't pre-visualize something in my mind, and figure out in advance how to do what, I can't model it. It may be a simple model, like.. a fork, for instance.. But still I've never managed to make a believable fork yet. And it's become my goal, as silly as it may seem, to make a FORK!

I've modeled lots of apparently more complex things over time, but that fork still haunts me.

Oh and I dislike texturing. UVMapping and texturing. I can do it but it is not something i enjoy much. The textures I've made for various characters has really been an excuse to make the MORPHS for the figure L

My biggest weakness is my short attention span (waves at wheatpenny) - if something isn't done in a day or two I lose interest in it. So I have a lot of "almost done" things lying around :(

Quote -
My biggest weakness is my short attention span (waves at wheatpenny) - if something isn't done in a day or two I lose interest in it. So I have a lot of "almost done" things lying around :(

Yes, maybe a weakness, but....

In my job (like many other jobs) I deal every day with deadlines. The software must be delivered by next month, the quality check and the manuals must be ready next week, and so on.

3D drawing is an hobby. A pastime. HERE, I can afford to not be worried about finishing perfectly the job.  :tt2:

So I feel justified if I produce thirty half-finished images, then I delete them because I am not satisfied. I don't feel guilty if I spend a month trying to understand Blender without success.

After all, sometimes the voyage is more important than the destination, right?  :biggrin:

Giorgio

Forgot to mention that drawing is a huge minus for me. I can do it and I think my style is realistic but it takes a long time to commit an image to paper, which I'd rather devote elsewhere. This is a huge reason why I've never finished a project - my "production designer" side is way under-developed. I will hope to change that soon.

Wish I had advice for the short attention span people. My problem is the opposite - never enough time to complete what I want.

DPH -  don't sell yourself short. You're the most prolific UV remapper I know. I don't mind UV mapping, only because it's necessary but I don't relish it mainly because there's no "instant gratitude".

Advanced material (I'm guessing procedural?) usage appears often. That's one of my favorite things but the results rarely come out the way I want, so I have a large library of "non Earth" materials.

Acadia - based on your criteria, I'm not a 3D artist either but I really think that's a case of semantics. There is still a finished product based on a concept, using 3D as a medium so all the elements are there. It sounds like you're comparing your work to say, Meats Meiers or someone, which might be a little unfair to him ;)

TrekkieGrrl - "as silly as it seems to make a fork" That's not as silly as it seems because as soon as I read that, I started thinking "how would I make that?" Sure, at the beginning it would seem simple but there would be two difficult areas: correctly shaping the transition between the neck and the "head" and how do you make the area between the tines round / curvy while keeping the rest relatively straight without introducing too much detail? No seriously, that does sound challenging.

my weakness is that I'm not an artist. I'm just a 3d software user :crying:

I believe I join the long line here -- and I'm with wheatpenny on short attention span

I don't let the words "an artist" deter from my sense of imagination - even though I don't have one yet. 

My real weakness is not going beyond just the Victoria factor in Poser.   Been a user for 5 years, and I'm just get hooked in it.  I been fascinated with 3d/computer graphics ever since I wanted to get into a Graphic Artists major, but was swayed away from it to get into Interior Design -- so much for letting others think what's best for me. :crying:

With the way my computer runs and fear of using too much memory/not enough memory/not enough CPU..., I want to make crowds and put more people and places in my scenes than just making pin-ups and WIPs, but I get stuck [artist block perhaps?].  I tend to say that I'll make a character, add textures - shaders - test it - package it - send it to sell, but I try so hard to improve in doing more than just make female characters to the point that I drift into something else.  Granted, I'm not a pro...

I like to create something that no one else have thought up.  My strengths are drawing, dooddling up an idea. 

I like to create concepts - mostly like buildings, landscapes and the like.  For inspiration: I love big cities, mostly architecture, and things dealing with high-rises, buildings and I just use my poster board and pencil and just draw away my visions.  With SketchUp, I can create concepts (to me) more that I can with other applications (Hex, Silo).  And, I love texturing.

I just feel more comfortable with the tools that I have, but I still love my 2d (pencil and paper) - so maybe that's bonus points for me.

Just my observations into this topic...

JB