Reply To: Frustration question – off topic.

[Aaron Rudderham]

Funny you mention this, I made a similar post exactly one year ago (so happy anniversary to that post), which you can read here.

The bottom line is yes, it’s completely normal, and it’s something you never truly get out of. I’m assuming the reason you want to make complex scenes is because you feel it’s the “next step” into becoming a modeler and you feel frustrated when you can’t reach it yet. This is perfectly understandable, despite me asking those questions one year ago I still feel the same way at times. There’s quite a few tips in that thread so I definitely advise giving it a read. 

If there’s one piece of advice I’d recommend above all others, it’s that you’ll never get better by sitting there worrying about how far away your goals seem. Results require action. It may not be great the first time, or the second, or the third or however many it takes but what it will do is refine your skills and give you something new to learn, until before you know it your scenes are getting staff picks left and right.

Feedback is great for this, as it results in a mini goal in and of itself. Not only will you generally want to make another scene as there’s a few more things you’d like to try out or improve but “MinecraftLover06” pointed out that the composition was fairly lopsided and made one half of the scene barren, which is something you hadn’t noticed until you showed people.

I understand the daunting task of getting your feet wet in these more complex endeavors may seem, but remember it’s okay to fail. It’s something we all do and no one great ever got where they were by being flawless. Failure is only bad when you let it dictate your life, or by not learning from it.

Above all else though, enjoy it. Whilst there are people here who do it purely for the enjoyment art gives, obviously some of us have dreams of doing this as our dayjobs and making it our livelihoods. Either way, we both have (or at least should have) some level of passion with what we do, and that’s what will keep you going. Study hard, but not so hard that it makes you hate it.

Hope some of these words may have helped, and good luck on your 3D journey. We’re here if you need us.