I have long amused myself with synths, too. (Since the 70s)

I know that synth sounds can be designed without knowledge of math. So can Poser shaders. However, getting good at it, with realism - well that's a different story.

I used to tweak my synth piano sound, by ear alone, for hours and then play it for ordinary people, who would inevitably tell me I still failed to match the sound of a piano. My musician friends agreed I had done good work in getting it closer, but my non-musician friends only had scorn for the large gap between what I was trying to achieve and what I'd actually done.

Shaders are like that, too.

Eventually the synth tech got so good that all the sounds I wanted were literally recorded and available. There wasn't a lot to do in "creating" a sound, and I got bored with it and took up 3D. I still play the instruments (both real and synth) but I don't spend any time tweaking sounds. There is still work to do as an artist, but not so much as a craftsman.

The 3D equivalent would be assembling a render by pasting photos into a collage.

 

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Renderosity forum reply notifications are wonky. If I read a follow-up in a thread, but I don't myself reply, then notifications no longer happen AT ALL on that thread. So if I seem to be ignoring a question, that's why. (Updated September 23, 2019)