Reply To: Unsure if I should stop 3D temporarily to focus on art fundamentals

[Adam Bowkett]

Congratulations on picking the hardest career of all time, working with animal hides would be far easier.

Total Science – Going in Circles (Artificial Intelligence Remix) is one of my favourite tunes.

When I listen to it I day dream of a humongous, rickety, lone world war two bomber in flight. The crew all gearing up, reading turrets and mounts, it’s weapons free as they approach a formation of 1000 fighters on the horizon. Completely outnumbered, it’s do or die trying. Their lives are now in the hands of the gods and as the tune kicks in, the fighters dive in and tracer fire lights up the sky.

Going in circles is not a bad thing, motor racing makes a fortune from it.
What you are experiencing is a centrifugal force, this comes from a general understanding of everything but not mastering one. By choosing to master one it unsettles the force and you will shoot off in that direction.

Have someone else model for you, it’s not expensive and if you had a Studio you would charge the customer anyway. Specialise in Lighting, refraction and wave lengths are beautiful mind-bending subjects that should suit a technical mind. Or your namesake, produce colour artificially.

By wanting to do everything you are making things exceptionally difficult for yourself, rewarding results will take far longer to achieve.
Personally, I purchase all of my textures because as I enjoy modelling and animation. It’s highly likely I will drop modelling in favour of animation.

When I have absolutely no idea what I am doing in 3D, I purchase a reference manual and read about it. A few ahhh moments like the moment calculus finally clicks and then it’s off the next problem.

Best of luck.